Scholarship & Research
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Item Exploring the impact of standards-based learning on lesson planning in an undergraduate math methods course(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2022) Day, Corinne Thatcher; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Fenqjen LuoThe study examines the performance of pre-service K-8 mathematics teachers on lesson planning assignments using the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE) 2017 Standards for Preparing Teachers of Mathematics as a reference for evaluation. In addition to contributing to the literature on pre-service mathematics teachers' pedagogical content knowledge, the study aims to evaluate the impact of standards-based learning (SBL) on student growth in a higher education setting, where SBL has not been widely implemented or studied. A case study research design is utilized to identify strengths and weaknesses in planning for mathematics instruction in a cohort of 21 PSTs enrolled in a math methods course at a small public university, with comparisons made between first and final drafts of two lesson-planning assignments on which PSTs received extensive instructor feedback. Interviews were also conducted with four participants who student taught during the subsequent semester. Findings indicated growth in performance between drafts of the lesson-planning assignments in terms of designing student-centered math lessons but also revealed gaps in PSTs' mathematical content knowledge. Specifically, most PSTs lacked an ability to link procedures to their underlying concepts, resulting in less than proficient performance on mathematics lesson planning. Contributions of the study include the development of an AMTE-aligned tiered rubric for evaluating both PST and mathematics teacher educator (MTE) performance in mathematics instruction and for potential use in framing and evaluating Standards-based practicum experiences in mathematics teacher preparation.Item Diversity awareness in education: a socially just education for all(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2022) Mantei, Christopher James; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Tena Versland and Nick Lux (co-chair)Researchers argue that many P-20 educational environments operate with nineteenth- century ideas like Taylorism, limiting students' growth and success. Preservice teachers require tools demanded in twenty-first-century educational settings; currently, there is a gap in awareness, experience, and knowledge regarding diversity in current education. This study attempts to discover the resolve for two inquiries: (1) what are the dimensions and genetic epistemology of a socially just education for all; and (2) what are the participants' experiences participating in a comprehensive course framework designed to support the implementation of a socially just education for all experience? Furthermore, this study employed meta-narrative and grounded theory methodologies to effectively and efficiently discover resolve for the inquiries. Diversity is at the core of United States Education's values, including complete inclusion for all. One-dimensional thinking is the propellant that sustains the American system of averagarianism, a standardized education system. The study sought to develop a course that focused on culturally responsive practices that allow preservice teachers to create a comprehension of the historical traits of a socially just education for all. The meta-narrative findings guided the continuing development and enhanced awareness of the necessity of comprehensive teacher preparation program course frameworks for P-20 education that allow preservice teachers to create the mindset, develop an awareness of identifiers, and implement culturally responsive practices into a curriculum. The grounded theory results provided nineteen conceptual categorical codes emerging from participants' experiences in a course framework that implements a socially just education for all. In addition, grounded theory analysis produced five supporting theoretical codes with multi-dimensional awareness emerging as the core code. The robust multi-dimensional awareness theory (MDAT) model was developed through the meta- narrative and grounded theory methodologies to illustrate the dynamic transition participants experience. The study's findings support the notion that preservice teachers' and non-preservice teachers' experiences are multi-dimensional and require a course that supports their journey of creating a mindset, developing awareness, and applying praxis.Item K-8 preservice teachers's preparedness for technology integration in mathematics: examining perspectives, anticipated practices, and abilities(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2022) Meyerink, Monte Shane; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Fenqjen Luo; This is a manuscript style paper that includes co-authored chapters.Research on the use of technological resources--such as virtual manipulatives and mathematical games--in kindergarten through eighth-grade mathematics has highlighted numerous benefits to students' achievement in and attitudes toward mathematics. However, studies have also highlighted preservice teachers' lack of preparedness to integrate technology into their future classrooms. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation is to examine kindergarten through eighth-grade preservice teachers' preparedness to integrate technology into mathematics by analyzing their perspectives on technology integration, their anticipated technology integration practices, and their technology integration abilities. In this three-manuscript dissertation, qualitative analyses employed a social constructivist paradigm and utilized an ethnographic approach to examine preservice teachers' preparedness to integrate technology. By using the PICRAT model as a guiding theoretical framework in each study, preservice teachers' perspectives and abilities were examined in relation to how their anticipated uses of technology would impact mathematics instruction in respect to both students' learning and teachers' pedagogical practices. Findings showed that preservice teachers' tended to report a lack of knowledge in relation to technology integration and both ask questions and express concerns related to how to appropriately integrate technology into mathematics. Nevertheless, preservice teachers also reported an intent to integrate technology into their future classrooms at a relatively frequent basis. When examining preservice teachers' abilities to either evaluate an existing geometry activity or create a geometry activity that utilizes a technological resource, preservice teachers tended to evaluate or create activities that integrated technology in a way that both enabled interactive learning on behalf of the students and amplified teachers' pedagogical practices. Activities that used technological resources to either promote students' passive learning or replace teachers' practices were less frequent, and activities that used technology to either foster students' creative learning or transform teachers' practices were rare. Additionally, preservice teachers' activities tended to align with PICRAT levels that are associated with higher degrees of impact on mathematics instruction when preservice teachers evaluated activities rather than created activities. To conclude, implications for teacher education programs and areas of future research are presented and discussed.Item Instructional feedback and learning: understanding the perspective of pre-service teachers for personal learning and future teaching(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2021) Dallman, Dallas Ann; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jayne DowneyInstructional feedback has been demonstrated to be a critical element in student learning and achievement. While important for learning, instructional feedback is challenging to provide and challenging to receive. Research suggests that instructional feedback is often underutilized, particularly in post-secondary education. Pre-service teachers are in a unique position of being both receivers and providers of instructional feedback concurrently. There is a lack of research examining the perspectives of this group as it relates to the receipt and application of instructional feedback as well as their intentions regarding the use of instructional feedback in their future practice. This case study explores the perspectives of elementary pre-service teachers in the advanced stages of their teacher education program. A three-part interview protocol included a constructed scenario, a guided recall, and direct questioning about beliefs and values. The protocol was used to identify the ways in which pre-service teachers experience instructional feedback, understand instructional feedback, intend to use instructional feedback in their own practice and pre-service teachers perceived level of preparedness to do so. The results demonstrated that this group of pre-service elementary teachers values instructional feedback as a tool for learning, are hungry to receive effective instructional feedback from experts in the field, and would like more practice and preparation to be able to provide effective instructional feedback to their K-8 students. While this case study is a spotlight on a specific group of pre-service teachers in one specific teacher education program, the findings suggest that pre-service teachers as a group may also be unique in their understandings and appreciation for instructional feedback.Item The impact of a middle grade professional development school on teacher training and retention(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2020) Stierman, Catherine Rowan; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Michael BrodyTeacher preparation and retention are in a state of crisis. Just under 20% of all pre-service teachers will still be in the classroom four years after graduation (AACTE, 2018; Cowen, Goldhaber, Hayes & Theobald, 2016; Darling-Hammond, 2003; Ingersoll, Merrill & Stuckey, 2018; Latham & Vogt, 2007; NCES, 2016; NCTAF, 2003). The quality of training and the sense of self have been identified as the determining factors for persistence in the education profession. The research is very clear that professional development school (PDS) prepared teachers are significantly more likely to enter and to persist in the field. This case study focused on ten undergraduate education majors in a middle grade professional development school with a significantly higher than average retention in the field. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected simultaneously. Sources included five inventories, twelve sets of interviews, and eleven reflections. It was determined that governance at both the university and middle school sites allowed the classroom teachers and professors to provide a curriculum that centered on the identification, practice, and internalization of effective educators through active learning and student-centered pedagogy. Three curricular practices were identified by the participants as being significant influences on their development and success as teachers: opportunities to see classroom teachers and professors model best practice, substantial time to practice their own skills, and a structure for reflection and processing of learning events.Item A study of two evaluation methods for student teachers(Montana State University - Bozeman, 1970) Furtak, Christina HelmerItem A study of Montana State University's elementary education para-professional quarter, 1970-1971(Montana State University - Bozeman, 1971) Britton, Virginia CrisseyItem Effects of returning two-weeks late to college on the scholastic achievement of student teachers(Montana State University - Bozeman, 1961) Craig, James RalphItem A description and evaluation of the Montana State College student teacher training program conducted in the Manhattan schools(Montana State University - Bozeman, 1963) Grue, MiloItem Pre-service teacher efficacy development within clinically based practice : examining the structures and strategies in the collaborative cohort(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2016) Will-Dubyak, Kathryn Deeanne; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Nick LuxResearch indicates that teachers benefit from education coursework in their preparation that provides opportunities to develop and practice pedagogical understandings (Darling-Hammond, 2000, 2006). Research also indicates that opportunities to enact learning from coursework are beneficial in teacher efficacy development within teacher preparation (Tschannen-Moran, 2007). Therefore, teacher education programs need to examine their structures and practices in an effort to provide the opportunities to enact their coursework to develop teachers' pedagogical understandings and teacher efficacy. What needs to be better understood are the actual structures and strategies within the communities of practice that provide and encourage opportunities for growth of teacher efficacy for pre-service teachers. A case study methodology was used to explore the structures and strategies that pre-service teachers identified as contributing to the development of teacher efficacy within the collaborative cohort during the fall 2015 semester in a teacher education preparation program located in the Rocky Mountain West. The findings suggest that (a) school communities matter as a context for preservice teacher efficacy development, (b) purposeful, aligned, situated learning experiences which bridge course and field work contribute to efficacy development, and (c) a mindset of continual professional growth within practice develops confidence.