Scholarship & Research
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Item A 3D anatomy app as a learning tool(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2022) MacKenzie, Michael John; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: C. John GravesComplete Anatomy is a digital 3D anatomy platform that allows users to manipulate virtual human models. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the students perceived the app as useful, and how they made use of the app to help them understand anatomy and anatomical relationships. At the beginning of the semester surveys and questionnaires were conducted to determine students' initial perceptions of the app. Over the course of the semester, students were given a brief lesson on how to use the app, provided with resources within the app, and given quiz questions based on images created in the app. At the end of the semester surveys, questionnaires and interviews were again conducted to determine of students' perceptions of the app had changed, and to learn how students made use of the app. From the data gathered, students' perception of the app was positive to begin, and became slightly more positive over the course of the semester. Having a brief lesson on how to use the app, and exploring the tools available in the app made a significant difference in the students' comfort with the app. The flexibility of the app to be used when and where they wanted, and the ability to adapt the app to their current study practices were some of the app's greatest strengths according to the students. Complete Anatomy is a powerful, flexible 3D app that students perceive as useful, and in some cases even necessary. Having the ability to work at times and in ways they prefer makes it an app that benefits student learning.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 Designing, teaching, and assessing an innovative online science curriculum for effective student learning(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2021) Sussberg, David Alexander; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisMany educational institutions have transitioned to online learning, opening opportunities and demand for creative, innovative, effective, and engaging online environmental science curricula. Therefore, I designed and taught an online Brightspace (D2L) science course. Student and staff study population were affiliated with Blackfeet Community College in Browning, Montana. A mixed methods research design assessed the curriculum's effectiveness for student learning; results indicated that students were positively impacted, gaining a greater understanding of scientific theory and praxis. This study significantly empowered me as an educator and can serve as a resource to construct online science curricula.Item Reexamining the undergraduate introductory biology laboratory pedagogy(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2021) Camp, Laura Bernice-Flippo; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisIn response to COVID guidelines, a flipped laboratory learning model was implemented in an undergraduate biology laboratory curriculum. As a result, class size was decreased and the course pace was increased. Learning outcome data collected over three years compared the effects on student learning due to these changes (N=543). Owing to the decreased in-person laboratory time and increased pace of the course, student preparedness when arriving at the laboratory session was imperative to their success in learning the material and completing the laboratory exercise in the allotted time. To accomplish this goal, we improved some of the previous existing resources already in place and created a flipped laboratory method. Students came prepared for the laboratory exercise before they attended the laboratory class and were better able to achieve success possibly due to the required pre-laboratory assignments. Online video recordings of the laboratory procedures and a narrated PowerPoint that explained the concepts of the lab exercises, along with the laboratory manual and lecture material, were provided to the students before laboratory attendance and were used to complete pre-laboratory quizzes. The effectiveness of these resources and the flipped-learning pedagogy was determined using end-of-course student and faculty surveys, learning outcome data, and a teacher journal. The effect on learning outcomes using the flipped-learning model was compared to student learning outcomes in the same course in previous semesters. Faculty surveys compared observations of the students and the course pre- and post-COVID. This paper addresses how a flipped learning approach improved student preparedness by providing a flexible learning format that allowed students to become familiar with the material and the procedures before attending the laboratory class. Student preparedness using the flipped-learning model contributed to successfully increasing learning outcome scores along with the student and faculty perceptions of the class as a whole. Faculty and student surveys revealed that flipped learning and schedule changes resulted in both positive and negative student experiences, however, the majority of the findings were positive. Faculty surveys found the course design and challenges encountered to be useful in making further improvements to the course.Item Advanced engineering tutorials in college physics(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2016) Shaw, Christopher L.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy TaylorPhysics education research has shown that physics students fail to understand basic Newtonian mechanics after completing physics courses, irrespective of the proficiency of the teacher or reputation of the institution when using traditional lecture formats. Further research has shown that inquiry based tutorial methods result in greater conceptual understanding by students. Additionally, tutorial methods have been shown to also improve student attitudes and motivations about physics. Problem solving has long been notoriously difficult to teach. Through the use of tutorials, many students learn physics concepts more intuitively. Often referred to as interactive engagement, or inquiry methods, tutorials help the students teach themselves about the science involved in physical phenomena. Using engineering principles to teach physics promises to add to the efforts of physics education research. Symbolic problem solutions allow the students to understand the relationship between the variables in the physical system, and the affects they have. Graphical analysis helps the students visualize the problems, the interactions involved, and the solutions meaning. Optimization, either using calculus techniques, or qualitative analysis of advantages and disadvantages, allow the student to see the behavior of the system when tailored to fit design constraints. The tutorials used in this study were designed to incrementally build an intuitive understanding of engineering components such as capacitors, solenoids, achromatic lenses, structures, or dynamic systems. Each step was built on the previous problem to show a logical progression. Tutorials were developed symbolically. Study of the symbolic formula helped the student answer conceptual questions about the system. Solutions were finally solved quantitatively using realistic numbers to show true orders of magnitude. Symbolic equations were then analyzed for optimization through calculus or qualitative means. Sometimes multiple solutions were possible and creativity was necessary.Item Exploring the perceived beneftis of the flipped classroom in a community college medical terminolgy course(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2017) Shoemaker, Jeretta; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Walter WoolbaughStudents today are managing many aspects of life outside of school obligations, resulting in missed class time and less exposure to lecture material. Flipped classroom techniques have been said to influence students' flexibility of personal time for learning, as well as academic achievement and overall course enjoyment. The purpose of this study was to identify benefits associated with the utilization of flipped classroom techniques, for both the students' and the instructor, in a college level Medical Terminology course. Data collection tools were developed to identify trends in these focus areas. During a five-week time period, flipped classroom techniques (treatment) were employed alternately with the standard lecture style, while covering four units of material. During the treatment students' watched short videos via the colleges' learning management system on their own time prior to class. This freed up class time for interactive learning with the use of engaging peer-to-peer activities, and completion of what would typically be considered homework materials. On alternate units, lecture was delivered with the standard didactic method previously employed, and homework assignments completed on their own time. If, after lecture was completed and time allowed, interactive activities were implemented during class. Results indicate no difference in student academic success between the two teaching methods. Student enjoyment of the course was markedly improved (28%), as well as increased flexibility of personal time (22%) with the treatment. Instructor benefits included an increased enjoyment of teaching, increased curriculum flexibility, and improved instructor-student relations. The instructor preparation time associated with the initial use of the treatment initially felt prohibitive, but the resulting benefits for all study subjects involved negated this.Item Preparing students for science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and healthcare fields - a two year college approach(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2017) Shell, Michael John; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Walter WoolbaughThe Becoming a Successful Student course offered at the Great Falls College Montana State University is designed to prepare students for future coursework by providing foundational study skills, time management, and goal setting. This study correlated the effectiveness of the Becoming a Successful Student Class with students interested in health science career and computer science tracks as well as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) field transfer programs by assessing student perception of effectiveness and then correlating that effectiveness with first semester Grade Point Average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale, along with credits attempted vs. credits successfully completed and then second semester mid-term GPA along with credits attempted. Face to face interviews with competitive entry health science program directors and division directors also gave a look at the anticipated competencies that students should have prior to acceptance into a program or transfer to a STEM school. The foundational framework of the Becoming a Successful Student applies to students that are new to the world of higher academics in order to reinforce and enhance previously learned skills in order to achieve success in future coursework. This also supports the mission of student retention by making the skills and knowledge to be successful able to be accessed by all new students. Although, initially it appears that the course had little effect on the future preparedness of students, it is important to note that at mid-term many students still have an opportunity to drop or withdraw from courses that they will not be successful in. Also, the students with grades less than 'B-' show the greatest increase in semester GPA at mid-term, suggesting that students who would not have been successful initially, obtained skills that they built on and reinforced their future success.Item The impact of online discussion on capstone quality of STEM educators(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2016) Duncan, Audrey Elizabeth; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Walter WoolbaughDue to the advent of online education and professional credentialing, this action research study investigates the impact of online discussion on capstone quality produced by twenty graduated students of the Montana State University MSSE program in Fall 2015. Individuals' online posts and capstones were assessed and analyzed for correlation. Student attitudes and factors influencing online discussion were also investigated via online surveys and personal interviews. Quantitative results show there is correlation between online discussion post quality and capstone quality. Common factors influencing online discussion behavior surround lack of a mobile D2L platform, ability to do topical searches, social network features, Internet connectivity and perception of low-quality conversation of peers. The knowledge gained in this project illuminates the path through which better online learning and discussion platforms may be crafted and utilized in K-12, post-secondary and professional institutions.Item Classroom debates : a tool to enhance critical thinking in science(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2016) Tawil, Martin A.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of debating on the perception of students' critical thinking disposition. The participants were members in one of my Cornerstone Classes at Florida SouthWestern State College that was randomly selected. The data collected during this study were student surveys, student interviews, researcher observations, and pre and post of the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory. The researcher provided explicit instruction, conducted a pre-post California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory, and facilitated two debates. The data collected included pre and post California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) test, observations, course evaluation, survey, and interviews. The overall results of the study showed that students benefited from the exercise of debating particularly when debating opposing points of view. Students' disposition to be critical thinkers improved as a result of debating. Debating, regardless of the topic, help enhance students' overall open-mindedness, inquisitiveness, analyticity, systematicity, and confidence of reasoning.Item The effect of group created lab designs on students' understanding of content and science practices(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2016) Merriman, Steven M.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.Community college health and engineering students often have difficulty understanding physics on a conceptual level, as well as general science practices used in experimentation and data analysis. This often leads to low levels of confidence in both, which effects classroom moral. For my intervention, I have students design their own physics labs as a means of having them think deeply about content and lab analysis, and measure the outcomes on both their understanding of each, as well as confidence. To measure student understanding of course content, each lab will have an associated pre and post-test to compare. I will also make use of their first exam to compare to past semesters, and the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) to compare nationally. Growth in confidence makes use of pre-intervention and post-intervention surveys, as well as student interviews. Growth in data analysis and science practices use pre- and post-tests, given before and after the intervention. Through the intervention I have observed increases in content understanding, as evident by increases in average pre-posttests scores for each lab. Students also showed growth in the normalized gains on the FCI (higher then past semesters and the national average). Student confidence also increased in terms of both their understanding of physics, science and data analysis. Student understanding of analyzing data was also greatly increased, and is what I consider the most successful part of the intervention.