Scholarship & Research
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Item Education For Sustainability (EFS) as a lived experience at a land grant university (MSU): a case study of MSU teaching faculty(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2022) Short, Daniel Owen; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Michael BrodySustainability is a contentious and awkward topic to teach. Increasing concern and awareness of sustainability issues drives a need to study sustainability through an education lens. Education, specifically Higher Education (HE), is a vital source in understanding and ultimately addressing sustainability issues. However, HE institutions continue to promote unsustainable patterns on a local, regional, and global scale. There is an alignment between MSU's mission as a land grant institution and that of Educations for Sustainability (EfS). The shared mission is to serve local regions and citizens by addressing local, regional, and global issues through education, research, and service. This exploratory qualitative study aims to examine and describe the lived experiences of educators at MSU who teach 'fundamental' EfS courses. Data collected is from Interviews, course artifacts, a survey, and observations from the sample of four (n=4) MSU faculty and their courses. The research used a collective case study methodology. A central finding of this study is the faculty's dedication to accurately representing the complexities of sustainability to their students. The faculty's beliefs and experiences manifest in their courses by promoting inclusive scholarship and adaptable course design. This study offers a reflection of a small sample of MSU faculty teaching EfS to promote further research into EfS at MSU.Item Investigating the efficacy of a collaborative evaluation model using visual research methods and concept mapping strategies to evaluate a professional learning program for teachers building competency in media literacy(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2021) Vradenburg, Nicole Angeline; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Sarah PenningtonThe purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of collaborative evaluation as a method for understanding and describing how a collaborative professional learning program for educators will improve their self-reported skills in media literacy while engendering them to deliberately employ media literacy practices in their lesson plans. The model investigated for this study had six phases and employed the use of surveys, collaborative discussion, and the creation of visual artifacts to gather descriptive data to answer research questions. This participatory approach to evaluation gave participating teachers the opportunity to evaluate the data alongside the researcher. The role of the researcher as the program evaluator and facilitator leveraged the collegiality and strong relationships developed over time to gather detailed data about the professional learning program and the self-reported growth in media literacy competency of the teachers. Facilitators of professional learning for teachers can employ a collaborative evaluation model to gather testimony form participants describing their experiences that will inform the design of future programs for teachers. Findings suggest that including teachers in the evaluation of the programs in which they participate is an effective evaluation strategy that increases the chances that the data collected will inform the future professional learning programs for teachers. This model is recommended for programs that are meant to support teachers in building their competency in a specific content area, such as media literacy, over time through collaboration with peers.Item Exploring the conceptual framework and knowledge base of nature-based experiential education(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2020) Meyer, Joshua Joseph; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Robert CarsonThis study examined the current status of Nature Based Experiential Education (NBEE) with respect to its underlying knowledge base and conceptual framework. Compared to other professions, including K-12 education, these formalized attributes have appeared to be fairly minimal. Anecdotally, NBEE draws upon an eclectic array of sources for inspiration and knowledge, while practitioners rely extensively on their own acquired base of personal experience for guidance. If this is true, then there is a certain element of rugged individualism to be admired. The tradeoff, though, would be a commensurate inability to form a cohesive discourse community, to identify and codify best practice, to establish a coherent research agenda to advance the state of the art, and to support either professional development or the establishment of standards in any kind of systematic and meaningful manner. Assuming that these are desirable goals, the initial challenge was to determine what sources of knowledge are most prominent among its practitioners. This study addressed that problem by using a qualitative mixed methods approach. The researcher employed three separate but complementary methods - by critically reviewing NBEE-related literature, by interviewing individuals with expertise in NBEE, and by surveying NBEE practitioners. The results of this study tend to support the anecdotal view that practitioner knowledge is eclectic, diverse, and largely dependent upon the experiences of individual practitioners, a kind of folk craft which is nevertheless shared among members of the field. It also revealed a small but robust inventory of inspirational and informative publications, some widely known. The project itself was met with interest, as practitioners and experts generally agreed that the profession would benefit from a more systematic and contemporary foundation of canonical knowledge and guiding principles. The study concludes by making several recommendations on how these goals can be served.Item The space between: the plight of rurally isolated, impoverished Montana school districts(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2019) Patterson, Joshua Glenn; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: David HendersonDespite growing awareness of the teacher staffing crisis in rurally isolated, impoverished Montana school districts, little has been done to effectively address the issue. As opposed to a general lack of supply, current state and national research attribute the problem to challenges in teacher recruitment and retention. While many of these studies have identified factors associated with teacher staffing challenges, none have fully conveyed the essence of the struggle through the experiences of school leaders who endure the crisis. Therefore as revealed through the experience of eligible superintendents, the purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate teacher staffing challenges in rurally isolated, impoverished Montana school districts and the role of state school funding policy in the recruitment and retention of high quality teachers. Anchored by punctuated equilibrium social theory, the study's conceptual model provides a basis for multiple instrumental case studies. Investigative research began with two focus groups of eligible superintendents and was followed by multiple interviews with the superintendents of four representative case study school districts. Audio recordings of interviews were transcribed and reviewed using typological data analysis methods to identify semantic relationships, themes, and significant statements. Study trustworthiness was established through bracketing the researcher's personal experiences with teacher staffing challenges, thick description, peer review, member checking, and triangulation with school district related information and other state research. Findings indicate that current Montana school funding policy may exacerbate the staffing challenges experienced in these remote and poor districts as well as their organizational functioning.Item On a heuristic point of view concerning social media news and secondary teachers(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2018) Johnson, Spencer Theadore; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ann EwbankCertain cues used by a consumer of news can trigger heuristics that help determine whether information is credible (Metzger, 2007; Sundar, Knobloch?Westerwick, & Hastall, 2007). This study addresses which cues secondary teachers perceive as effective when assessing the credibility of news on social media. The purpose of this study is to determine how secondary teachers rate cues in order of importance when evaluating the credibility of news obtained in the context of social media. The participants in this study were secondary teachers in a northwest state who teach about online information credibility. A survey adapted from the Kids and Credibility Study (Flanagin, Metzger, & Hartsell, 2010) asked secondary teachers to rate the importance of 23 credibility cues or heuristics commonly found in social media news posts. A principal components analysis revealed three components that are a composite of heuristics reflected in the literature (Beavers et al., 2013). The resulting components were named Endorsement, Reputation & Confirmation, and Low Level Endorsement respectively. By using a sum scores comparison, the composites of heuristics were ordered by perceived level of credibility (DiStefano, Zhu, & Mindrila, 2009; Grace-Martin, 2016). Reputation & Confirmation rated highest on the scale as indicators of credibility, Endorsement ranked second, and Low Level Endorsement ranked last. The results of the study indicate that secondary teachers believe that the most effective heuristics while using low to medium cognitive effort for assessing news credibility are the reputation of the author of the information, along with confirming the information from another source to make a quality judgment on the factual nature of the source. Social endorsements (such as 'likes' and 'shares') on social media play an important role in determining credibility; however, secondary teachers indicate that they perceive Reputation and Consistency to be better at indicating credibility. This study illuminates the role heuristics play in credibility decisions when evaluating news found in a social media setting.Item Instructor usage of learning management systems utilizing a technology acceptance model(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2017) Brown, Lisa Ann; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Arthur W. BangertLimited research exists on the factors that influence an instructor's choice to use a learning management system. The purpose of the current study is to explore how task technology fit constructs relate to the other constructs that comprise Davis' Technology Acceptance mode. The technology acceptance model is widely used as an indicator of actual use of a technology system. A sample of 284 instructors completed a survey consisting of demographic questions, open ended questions about their reasons for choosing to choose to utilize a learning management system, and Likert scale questions about six constructs of the research model including task technology fit, ease of use, usefulness, attitude, intent to use, and actual use. The relationships between TAM model constructs and Task Technology Fit were analyzed using a partial least squares structural equation model method with SMART- PLS. The relationship between task technology fit and actual use was mediated by ease of use, usefulness, attitude, and intent to use. To evaluate the constructs in the model, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted and the factor structure for online and face-to-face instructors were different. Two models were developed, one for face-to-face instructors, and one for online instructors to account for this difference. The research models were evaluated for face-to-face instructors and online instructors. The study found significant relationships between all the TAM constructs and Task Technology Fit for face-to-face instructors. The relationship between attitude and intent to use was not significant for online instructors. This research supports the need for more research into the differences between online and face-to-face instructor's perceptions of technology use. The differing instructional needs of face-to-face and online instructors have implications on the training and support an institution should provide to increase usage of learning management systems.Item Faculty collaborative dyads: profiles and productivity(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2016) Peters, Martha Cabell; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Carrie B. MyersCollaboration among faculty on research endeavors is becoming more common as the research problems being addressed are more complex and require differing skills and knowledge. Higher education institutions should be interested in understanding these collaborative relationship as a way to support and encourage them and to understand the culture and behavior of faculty. This study seeks to understand those collaborations by looking at the collaborative dyad of two faculty members as the unit of analysis. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between research productivity and the demographic characteristics of faculty collaborative dyads. Using a survey methodology, data was gathered from tenured and tenure-track faculty at two research institutions about their primary research collaboration and the resultant productivity of this collaboration as measured by three outcome variables: (1) Intellectual Contributions - Published, (2) Presentations, and (3) Grants Awarded. The relationship between the demographic characteristics of gender, rank and discipline on the productivity of the dyad were studied with data gathered through an electronic survey to faculty at two institutions. A 34-item survey was distributed to 830 faculty and 207 usable surveys were received. Descriptive statistics and negative binomial regression were used to analyze the data. The results of negative binomial regression analysis of the data indicate that disciplinary homophily is significantly related to all measures of productivity while rank homophily is significantly related to Intellectual Contributions - Published and gender homophily is significantly related to Presentations. Overall, though the research supports the Similarity Attraction Paradigm theory in that homophilous dyads tend to be more productive than their heterophilous counterparts. This study adds to the growing body of knowledge about interdisciplinary collaboration, and specifically the micro-level characteristics of what productive collaborations look like. Recommendations for promoting such collaborations include mentoring of different ranks, and facilitating collaborations across disciplines that are more different from each other than would typically be found in a research collaboration.Item Teacher consultant transformation in a local National Writing Project site(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2016) Waterton, Nigel Paul; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Nick Lux; Christine Rogers Stanton (co-chair)Teacher professional development is both evidentially and emotively understood to be largely ineffective. Yet the National Writing Project's professional development model has established a long-term record of measurable impact on student writing improvement and profound influence on its participants' ways of thinking and living their teaching and writing lives. For many, the experience is transformative. This dissertation investigated two questions: First, what are the features of a professional development model that facilitate transformation learning over time? Second, how do participants view the way these features of a transformative professional development model inform their classroom instruction? This narrative inquiry is informed by the theoretical lens of adult transformational learning and investigated two practicing writing teachers who participated in the National Writing Project Summer Institute at least three years ago. The study found four resonant narrative threads: structure, risk, audience, and agency. Participants deeply restructured their classroom writing instruction over time in a way that shared agency with student writers and that posed risk to instructors and students. This occurred frequently through shifting writing audience away from teachers and providing greater authorial voice to student writers, which are practices both participants experienced in a National Writing Project local site.Item Impact of PT3 professional development activities on teacher education faculty at Montana State University-Bozeman(Montana State University - Bozeman, 2001) Mentzer, Nathan James; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Scott E. DavisItem The implementation of technology learning activities by technology education teachers in Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, 1990) Ray, Steven John; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Douglas Polette