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 Measuring cognitive engagement and motivation in informal contexts(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2018) Obery, Amanda Christine; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Michael BrodyMiddle school (G5-8) students' cognitive engagement, motivation, and future aspirations in science were quantified within informal contexts (week-long summer camps) with self-reported measures of cognitive strategies, self-regulation, value, self-efficacy, and future aspirations over the course of two phases (N = 152, N =140). The participating middle school students engaged in one of two informal science summer camp opportunities. Informal science experiences may be places which participants can gain science-related capital in equitable ways. This study set out to test the growth in cognitive engagement, motivation, and future aspirations in science differed from students of varying genders, races, and socioeconomic statuses. Survey results over the course of two phases were analyzed via partial-least squares structural equation modeling to explore whether cognitive engagement and motivation predicted future aspirations in science, such as taking high school courses or pursuing a career in the sciences. As operationalized, cognitive engagement (cognitive strategies and self-regulation) and motivational (value and self-efficacy) constructs significantly predicted future aspirations in science (R 2 = 0.29, p < 0.05). Growth in cognitive engagement and motivation were also investigated to understand if students of different genders, races, and socioeconomic statuses have different experiences, with only small differences being uncovered. Results support the claim about the key role that cognitive engagement, motivation, and informal learning experiences may play to encourage future aspirations in science and show the ability of these experiences to foster the development of these skills in equitable ways. Better understanding cognitive engagement and motivation and how these are influenced by informal science experiences could improve the effectiveness of these interventions to foster students' future aspirations in science, a continuing societal priority, in ways that do not fall into the same patterns of inequality that seem to persist in formal education.Item Examining the pathways and supports leading MSSE program graduates into leadership roles(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2016) Solberg, Kathryn Vaplon; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Mary LeonardThis study examined the pathways taken by science teachers to move into leadership roles, specifically teachers who had participated in and graduated from the Master of Science in Science Education (MSSE) program at Montana State University. Distributed teacher leadership has been identified as having the potential to improve schools, however, little is known about the pathways teachers take to move into leadership roles, how schools go about distributing leadership, or the supports that help teachers develop leadership skills. There is also a need to better determine how teacher leadership development and progression is supported through graduate programs. This research was a two-level quantitative-qualitative research. The first level used a survey to explore the leadership roles teachers filled and the pathways teacher leaders took to move into leadership roles. The second level focused on creating case studies of eleven MSSE program graduates. Case study data was used to further examine and provide deeper insights into the pathways teachers used and the motivators or supports that encouraged them to move into or take on leadership roles. Case study data was also used to determine the extent to which participants perceived the MSSE program supported or contributed to their leadership development and progression. Specific supports provided by the program were identified. The study provided evidence that the pathways taken by teachers tend to follow two main trends: teachers either volunteer in order to fill a void or address a need, or teachers are recruited by an administrator to fill a leadership role. The formality of the leadership role did not determine the formality of the pathway taken to move into the role. Conclusions include a descriptive framework for pathways taken to leadership and descriptions of specific supports provided by the MSSE program as identified by MSSE program graduates.Item An investigation of the development of life science concepts in selected elementary school science textbooks and laboratory programs(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 1978) Lucas, Rhodora Joy KentItem The influence of critical thinking on Christians' belief and belief change with reference to the polarities of creationism and organic evolution(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 1995) Towne, Margaret GrayItem Learning from one's own teaching : new teachers analyzing their practice through video recorded classroom observation cycles in an e-mentoring program(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2012) Ceven, Jennifer Ann; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Elisabeth SwansonInduction, or the first three years of a new teacher's career, is a particularly formative period yet there exists only a limited literature base to support teacher educators who work with this population. Induction phase teachers benefit from professional development experiences that support them to learn about teaching while they are teaching. This can occur when they receive feedback about their instructional practices and ideas on how to further improve their work. One means for providing this feedback is to engage new teachers with experienced mentors who observe a classroom episode and structure discussions before and after that observation. This classroom observation cycle can support new teachers to inquire into an aspect of their practice with the help of an experienced educator. This study examined the implementation of video-recorded classroom observation cycles in an established online mentoring program, e-Mentoring for Student Success (eMSS). New teachers and their mentors were observed as they conducted an initial observation cycle. Based on the observed behavior of the participants, the researcher designed a professional development session that framed observation cycles in the context of disciplined inquiry and encouraged mentors to focus on concrete evidence, discuss science content, explore the relationship between teacher actions and student learning, support the new teacher to critically evaluate the instructional episode, and induce the mentee to commit to alternative strategies. Following this session, participants conducted a second observation cycle. At the conclusion of the study, all participants were interviewed to capture the experience of video recorded classroom observation cycles from each individual's perspective. Qualitatively studying the interactions between mentors and new teachers helped to identify the conditions that supported disciplined inquiry and the impacts it had on new teachers' professional growth. New teachers expressed that they reflected on and implemented changes to their instructional practice following the observation cycles. In addition, they appreciated the opportunities to receive feedback in a low-risk environment and felt a stronger connection to their mentors. Classroom observation cycles have the potential to equip new teachers with the skills and dispositions to learn about teaching from the act of teaching each day of their careers.Item Conceptual understanding of science through archaeological inquiry(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2011) Moe, Jeanne Marie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Michael Brody.Since the launch of Project 2061 in 1985, an effort to improve science education, educators have searched for engaging ways to teach science inquiry in the classroom. While archaeology is inherently interesting, it is an underused vehicle for teaching to national standards, especially science inquiry, in pre-collegiate education. This case study examined students' conceptual understanding of five science inquiry concepts (observation, inference, classification, context, and evidence) and the Nature of Science (NOS), the differences between science and history, and the similarities in science inquiry and historical inquiry through the study of archaeology. This qualitative case study included 27 subjects, all fifth grade students who were studying American history through archaeological inquiry. Data was collected through a series of learning assessment probes and a performance task designed specifically for this study. Interviews, observation of the performance task, and examination of classroom work completed data collection. With only minor exceptions, students were conversant in all five of the inquiry concepts, however, their understanding of each concept was highly individual. In many cases, students retained some misconceptions, misunderstandings, or incomplete understandings of the concepts. Identification of the cognitive processes underlying student understanding helped trace the origin of misconceptions, misunderstandings, and incomplete understandings. All of the students demonstrated some understanding of the Nature of Science and the relationships between science, history, and archaeology. The study has implications for learning, for curriculum development, and for teaching and teacher preparation. Students can easily retain misconceptions throughout a course of study or can fail to reach complete conceptual understanding. Identification of misconceptions and their source can provide teachers with a clear starting point to dispel misconceptions and to create deeper and more accurate conceptual understanding of science processes. Results can be used immediately to improve the curriculum used in this study and to design better science inquiry curricula. Future research could be designed to confirm the results of this study and to expand the sample to a larger and more diverse group of subjects.