Scholarship & Research
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/1
Browse
9 results
Search Results
Item Assessing the use of citizen science projects to improve high school student data literacy skills and engagement(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2022) Roeder, Grace Elizabeth; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: C. John GravesStudents are exposed to various interdisciplinary concepts in a science classroom including how to work with and understand data. Data literacy is becoming an ever more important skill employers look for. However, most high school students are lacking proficient data literacy skills. Data literacy involves basic statistical calculations such as mean, median, and mode as well as cleaning and organizing data into graphs and tables for analysis. The purpose of this action research project was to try to address the lack of data literacy skills in high school students by integrating a year-long citizen science project. Citizen science is an opportunity for ordinary people to contribute to the world of science through collecting data or observations for practicing scientists. Thirty-four environmental students at MHSS in Middletown NJ took a pre survey to assess student confidence levels in data skills, science activities, and citizen science. They also took a data skills pretest to assess actual student skill levels. Next, students took part in a yearlong citizen science project where they took photos and IDed observations using the iNaturalist citizen science platform. At the end of the year, students cleaned, organized, and manipulated their data into graphs for analysis. After completing the project, students took post tests and surveys to assess any changes in skill or confidence levels. The teacher recorded student progress in personal notes as well as conducted exit interviews to obtain qualitative results. It was found that in the beginning, most students had high confidence in their skills, but performed poorly on the pretest. After the duration of the project, all but four students out of 34 improved in their post test scores. The number of poor skill level individuals dropped from 60% to 29%. Data confidence levels increased slightly and student confidence in science activities improved. Exposure to raw and messy data through citizen science projects is a valuable tool that science teachers can and should be using to improve data literacy skill in high school students.Item Assessing the impact of citizen science on motivation, civic awareness, and understanding of the scientific process in a college microbiology synchronous classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2022) Andrews, April Marie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: C. John GravesThe COVID-19 pandemic impacted education by removing science from physical classrooms. Adopting remote learning in the fall of 2021 brought new challenges for hands-on discovery and engagement in scientific experiences for my microbiology students. The goal of this study was to assess the impact participation in citizen science had on student motivation, epistemic beliefs toward science, understanding the process of science, as well as value of data contributed by peers. The traditional curriculum was modified to include online collaboration and discussions by students to solve a real-world problem related to a potential public health threat by integrating a series of inquiry-based exercises. The project, Discover the Microbes Within: The Wolbachia Project, allowed students to partner with Vanderbilt University and join researchers from all over the world to study and understand the prevalence of this naturally occurring intracellular parasite. Students spent time exploring their community and collected specimens of native arthropods in and around the Toledo campus of Owens Community College. Students worked in small strategic online breakout groups and took on one of three roles; microbiologist, epidemiologist, and reproductive specialist as part of their research to validate claims regarding health threats. Students prepared and reported back to the class their proposal and task force recommendation to submit to the CDC. Students conducted online activities exploring biotechnology techniques (i.e., polymerase chain reaction, gel electrophoresis, Sanger sequencing, bioinformatics etc.) that promoted scientific literacy and problem-based learning outside a traditional classroom setting. Pre- and post-Likert scales were utilized to compare science motivation, scientific literacy, and opinions toward science and technology. A WebQuest online group evaluation, interviews and written response to discussion board forums were used as data collection instruments. Data were processed using both quantitative and qualitative analysis strategies. Students reported that they felt they were learning the same if not more online compared to face-to-face instruction at the end of the semester. The results suggested that students took a more proactive role in their education, self-identified more as 'real' scientists, and made positive growth with respect to epistemic beliefs toward science when given meaningful examples that make local connections during remote instruction.Item Increasing student engagement with citizen science(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2022) Brewer, Robyn Sue; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: C. John GravesStudents actively engaged in their lessons will learn better. The current model of many science courses uses standard labs covering concepts that have been taught in the classroom. Students are doing experiments that have already been done before and already have an answer. They know it is not real. It is simply an assignment. This project implemented citizen science into the classroom. Students were given real projects and evaluated on their learning outcomes. The citizen science units were compared to standard teaching units. The data suggests a positive relationship between using citizen science as a teaching technique and student learning outcomes.Item Assessing the effects of expeditionary field science courses on student's environmental literacy(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Bavier, Adam Geoffrey; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisThis action research project studied how student's environmental literacy responded to an immersive field biology experience. Treatment was a 5-day expeditionary field course designed to connect students to wildlife research in Yellowstone. While on course, students participated in science education modules structured around the natural and cultural history of bison and the modern practices used to manage their population. Pre/post environmental literacy assessments were administered and a progressive Draw-an-Ecosystem model was delivered and scored. Results showed moderate content knowledge learning as well as increases in students empowerment and intention to act relative to environmental issues and their confidence with science competencies.Item Outdoor education and citizen science in a high school freshwater ecology science classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) Tierney, Sarah Martina; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisOutdoor education and citizen science practices were implemented into a high school freshwater ecology curriculum to assess student motivation, attitude, and in general their connection with the outside world. In this study students were exposed to various outdoor learning opportunities and citizen science activities. Pre and post treatment student surveys were conducted, student interviews, student journaling, and student engagement tally sheets were all recorded to assess student engagement. As a result of this study, a majority of students reported a benefit from lessons outside the classroom as well as indicating an increase of energy, pleasantness, and engagement.Item An analysis of fossil identification guides to improve data reporting in citizen science programs(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2018) Butler, Dava; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisAn increasing number of organizations use untrained volunteers to gather scientific data. This citizen science movement builds enthusiasm for science by engaging the public, as well as providing a way to gather large amounts of information at little or no expense. The challenge of citizen science is obtaining accurate information from participants. Identifying an image style that increases correct identifications helps not only the citizen science movement but also scientific instruction in general. This study tests three visual guides for identifying late Hemphillian (5-4.5 m.y.a.) fossils from Polk County, Florida. Each guide has identical layout and text, differing only in image style: color photos, grayscale photos, or illustrations. Teams of untrained participants each use one guide to identify fossils. Geology and paleontology professionals also identify fossils for comparison. Comparing results reveals that photographic images, either color or grayscale, produce results most similar to data from professionals.Item Citizen science in a high school science classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) McAndrews, Sean David; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisThis study was conducted to determine the impact of adding citizen science projects into a high school science classroom. The primary question of interest was what impact does the inclusion of citizen science projects have on student achievement? I was also interested in evaluating student attitudes about science before and after taking part in citizen science projects, as well as student perceptions of taking part in 'real science' activities in class. Students participated in a pre-treatment test and survey to measure their knowledge and interest in science. They participated in online citizen science projects for three weeks. At the end of the treatment, students completed a post-test and post-survey to measure changes in knowledge, attitudes, and confidence. Observations of student behavior in class during participation in the project were documented. Finally, randomly-chosen students participated in exit interviews about the project. Student scores on the assessment did show a small increase when compared to pre-treatment values. Measures and observations of student attitudes such as the survey, student journals, and post-treatment interviews did indicate that many students enjoyed participating the project, and that they did perceive that they were assisting with authentic science projects. These results align with previous research studies on the value of incorporating citizen science projects into classrooms. This project allowed me to incorporate new activities and ways of teaching into my science classroom. I was able to test these new activities and methods and evaluate their effectiveness. This will serve as the basis for similar future projects.Item Field science experiences in paleontology: shaping science stewardship in high school learners(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) Lepore, Taormina Jean; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisHow do field science experiences shape a sense of conservation and stewardship in learners? This study analyzed separate groups of female-identifying and male-identifying 9th grade high school students (N=80) on their first field paleontology experience at Rainbow Basin Natural Area, California. Likert-style surveys and written self-reflections indicate relative consistency in pre- and post-treatment responses student-to-student, through when paired with qualitative responses, the power of science stewardship and a personal sense of connection to public lands becomes markedly apparent. Future studies in the realm of science stewardship in field paleontology will help illuminate the impact of field paleontology on science learners.Item Implementing a citizen science project in a 9-12 high school science classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) Langager, Paula Marie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Walter WoolbaughThis classroom action research (AR) project explored the impacts of project-based learning on high school students critical thinking, decision-making, data collection and data analysis skills through the implementation of a citizen science project. AP® Environmental Science (APES) students co-developed a citizen science project that explored their local schoolyard biodiversity by designing and researching their own scientific investigative question. An evaluation of students changes in science self-efficacy, and attitudes toward science research and specific science tasks was tracked throughout the project. Pre- and post-Likert surveys, open-ended questions, field journals, focus group interviews, and a biological solutions science poster were employed as data collection tools. A mixed methodology (qualitative and quantitative) was used to analyze the data. These results showed that students made reasonable gains in data collection and analysis skills, critical thinking and decision-making abilities. Noticeable improvements were detected in student attitudes toward science and science self-efficacy. A discernable change was observed in the student's overall data and data analysis skills related to a field study.