Scholarship & Research
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Item Navigating scientific literacy in the midst of crisis: teachers' challenges and supports as framed by social ecological theory(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2024) Pavlovich, Christina Lynn; Co-chairs, Graduate Committee: Jayne Downey and Rebekah HammackThis dissertation investigated the long-standing challenge of achieving scientific literacy in K-12 public schools, highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic and emphasizing a need to understand teacher experiences to address systemic issues and enhance student scientific literacy. The study focused on describing factors impacting experiences teaching scientific literacy during the COVID-19 socio-economic-health crisis. Participants included ten high school science teachers in a Northwestern state of the United States. Methods were grounded in the theoretical framework of constructivism epistemology and Bronfenbrenner's (1997) Social Ecological Theory. Data collection was modeled from the methodology of Ali et al. (2022), collecting data from teacher surveys and one-on-one interviews. Interviews produced a 1) free-ranked list, 2) concept map, and 3) interview transcription for each participant. Data analysis employed complementary strategies and consisted of two phases: 1) an initial analysis phase which employed three complementary data analysis strategies, and 2) a secondary analysis phase rooted in constant comparison for triangulated synthesis. Findings revealed factors impacting teaching scientific literacy during the socio-economic-health crisis of COVID-19 including influence from community and societal perspectives of science, student inequities, teaching dynamics, and the balancing of demands between personal and professional responsibilities. Subfactors aligned to these themes helped further describe participant experiences in context. Participants described several relationships between their social networks, or social ecologies, and factors which impacted teaching scientific literacy. Science, particularly trust in science, was centered in participant descriptions of public-level impacts. The findings underscored the need for education systems to bridge the cultural gap between science and education. Interactions and processes involved in teaching within the classroom environment presented an unexpected result, with a precisely inverse relationship between frequency and magnitude. While it was frequently encountered, it was not perceived as highly impactful compared to other factors. This finding suggests the importance of considering both frequency and magnitude of impact in decision- making processes and raises questions about the prioritization of resources and support efforts within educational systems. Recommendations include the development of culturally responsive science policies, empowering local curriculum, fostering teacher support networks, and expanding pedagogical strategies to engage students and families beyond the classroom.Item Misalignment with values and practices: a content analysis on how one school district is implementing the science of reading(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2023) Fassbender, Christina Jordan; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Allison Wynhoff OlsenThe term "Science of Reading" (SOR) has gained increased awareness over the past couple of years and has garnered the attention of researchers, teachers, and other educational stakeholders. As a result, the definition and implementation of the Science of Reading has led to misunderstandings between research and practice. This project uses content analysis to examine how one school district defines and implements SOR using a scripted curriculum and other outsourced curricular materials despite the research behind SOR. Relying on curriculum theory as an analytic lens, this paper also examines the impacts of SOR within the studied school district to analyze whose interests are being served and silenced. By presenting first a historical account of the past reading wars, I focus on the arguments for and against SOR. Next, artifacts in the form of district and teacher communications, teacher worksheets, websites, and responses from teacher interviews are used to identify mis/alignment with the pedagogical foundations purported by leading SOR scholars. Finally, a discussion and implications are offered to detail the impact that conflicting curricular values may have on young readers as well as current and future teaching practice of reading teachers in the focal district.Item Continuing the Debate: A Response to the Literacy Research Association’s Dyslexia Research Report(Australian International Academic Centre, 2022-08) Green, Elizabeth A.The Literacy Research Association (LRA) is known for releasing research reports on essential topics in the field of literacy. An Examination of Dyslexia Research and Instruction, with Policy Implications is a recent LRA report with far-reaching impact in education and policy. The report claimed to be a summary of dyslexia research and instruction, however, much recent research on dyslexia definitions, diagnosis, interventions, neuroscience, and law was left out. This paper is a response to the LRA report with the intent to examine elements of the report that are particularly important and well explained, as well as those that are problematic.Item Implementation of new literacy practices based on the science of reading: a relational leadership approach(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2021) Sullivan, Nichole Daines; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Tena VerslandThe purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand how literacy leaders describe their roles and responsibilities in relationship with each other as they lead the implementation of a new literacy curriculum based on the science of reading through the lens of relational leadership. Further, the study sought to understand how literacy leaders include multiple perspectives and empower others in a purposeful, ethical way through the process of the science of reading curriculum implementation. Specifically, this paper examined how literacy leaders led change in literacy instruction in response to student achievement data that did not exemplify the excellence and potential they believed their students could achieve. A single case study design was chosen for this study, so that the focus of the study would be on the process and relationships of literacy program interactions. The results of this study found that the antecedents for relational leadership and the development of relational leadership during the implementation of a literacy curriculum based on the science of reading are multidimensional and comprised of five themes: (1) trust and mutual positive regard as antecedents for relational leadership, (2) intentionally developed vision building takes time, (3) knowing people and teams through regular interaction, (4) consistent messaging of fidelity to the implementation of literacy curriculum, and (5) intentional support and effort of teachers and administrators. These factors connect to what relational leaders know, their state of being, and their actions, and these factors work together to create a context where a deep change in the teaching of literacy can take place within a school system.Item The impact of education on remedying illiteracy(Montana State University - Bozeman, 1959) Nasr, Sabah E.