Scholarship & Research
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Item Multiple intelligences : the effects of using activities that incorporate multiple intelligences in a college anatomy and physiology class on student understanding of concepts(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2015) Temple, Jennifer; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.The students in Anatomy and Physiology II at Dawson Community College in Glendive, Montana are exposed to a lot of information in a short amount of time. The goal of this research was to see if there was an impact of incorporating multiple intelligences on student learning. Data was collected from pretests, posttests, delayed tests, surveys, written interviews, journaling, and colleague observations to determine if there was an effect on student understanding, long-term memory, attitude and motivation as well as teacher attitude and motivation. The results indicated that there was no effect between the non-treatment and treatment units on student learning, however there was an effect on long-term memory. Students and instructor evidence showed an effect on attitude and motivation throughout the research study.Item The effects of participating in plant-people activities on general biology college students(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2015) Williams, Lisa Davis; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.Student interest in plants and botany generally declines around the fifth grade and continues to decrease throughout the middle and high school years. New lectures and lab exercises for a mixed-majors general biology course that focused on plant-people relationships were developed. These activities were hypothesized to improve student attitude and awareness of plants and to increase their motivation to learn more about them. Students were surveyed regarding their interest in plants and regarding their knowledge of local woody plant species both pretreatment and post-treatment. During the non-treatment unit, students were instructed using the traditional lecture method and participated in lab exercises on plant structure. At the end of the unit, a standard exam was used to assess their knowledge. Topics examined during the treatment unit were medicinal plants and teas and relationships amongst plants, soil, water and people. For an introduction to ecology, plant examples were used to illustrate ecological principles wherever possible. The lecture method combined with two short assessments and two out-of-class assignments focusing on these topics. In lab, students completed a drawing exercise, created a woody plant portfolio, and participated in exercises on medicinal properties of plants, and tea brewing and tasting. There was no change in student interest in plant-related topics over the course of this project. Student ability to identify common woody plants and vines significantly improved after developing a plant portfolio. Grades for post-treatment assessment were higher than non-treatment assessment. Instructor motivation to teach botanical topics was low-to-medium at the beginning but was high at the end of this project. A new botany course intended for non-science majors has been proposed using many of the materials and tools from this project.Item Integrating laboratory experience with lecture content through the use of cognitive and cooperative learning strategies in a community college introduction to chemistry course(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2015) Gassner, Suzanne Shifra; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.This study investigated the effects of cooperative learning groups in conjunction with cognitive learning strategies for the understanding of chemistry concepts for 23 Introduction to General Chemistry students at the community college level. Students trained in cooperative learning groups. These groups served as the traditional lab group in the laboratory and small discussion groups in the lecture. Various data collection instruments, including a survey, interviews, observations, student self-reflections, formative assessments, and summative assessments were used to determine the effect of the treatment of on student understanding of chemistry concepts, motivation and attitude, and metacognitive abilities.Item What are the effects of using interactive online assignments prior to class or clinic experience on medical assistant students' understanding of their roles in assisting various types of physicians?(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2015) Christianson, Pamela Beth; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.Two-year college level Medical Assistant students participated in an online interactive podcast lecture based learning to assess the effectiveness of student motivation and learning of the material prior to Clinical Procedures I course. Participation of the students decreased with the online interactive podcast compared to that of the tradition lecture base. The online interactive podcast did not show a greater learning of the material as compared to lecture format, although students reported having more motivation and learning while viewing the online interactive podcast prior to class.Item The impact of integrated telescope use on attitudes and conceptual understanding of introductory astronomy students(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2015) Delain, Kisha Marie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.This paper discusses a pilot program using real data from our university telescope in laboratory exercises with our students at the University of St. Thomas. In this paper, I evaluate the effectiveness of these labs and their impact on student attitudes using standardized learning assessments combined with student interviews and surveys. One hundred and sixteen undergraduate students enrolled our fall introductory astronomy course completed our newly developed exercises as a normal part of the laboratory portion of the introductory astronomy course, with comparison groups utilizing "canned" or simulated data. Student attitudes improved in the treatment group more than in the comparison group in both questions of interest: how students feel about science, and whether or not students feel they can do science. In addition, student content knowledge gains are about 10% higher in treatment groups than in comparison groups.Item The effects of explicitly teaching metacognitive techniques in a college level human biology class(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2014) Lords, Quincie R.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.The success rate for Basic Human Biology at Great Falls College - MSU has been declining the last three years. While reflecting on possible reasons for the decline, I narrowed it down to the three most common reasons students seek my help during office hours. These were difficulty with note taking, poor time management and failure to learn from errors. This project evaluated the effect of teaching metacognitive strategies on academic performance, self-efficacy, and ability of students to select appropriate metacognitive strategies. Students were taught time management and study strategies along with reflection activities. Data collection for this project included surveys, interviews, field notes, and exam scores. The results indicated that note taking, study skills and time management improved. Self-efficacy remained the same while academic performance results were inconclusive. The positive outcomes from this project have encouraged me to continue implementing these strategies.Item The effects of documented problem solutions on problem solving skills for introductory college physics courses(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2014) Davis, John Henry; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.My students struggle to solve physics word problems when the solution is not explicitly given to them. They can understand abstract concepts and repeat a problem that is solved correctly for them but cannot solve word problems that are new. The ability to solve problems should be a skill that a student acquires or improves at as a result of taking a college physics course. Over the past several years of teaching I have noticed that despite my best efforts, I have not observed any measurable improvement in my students' abilities to solve physics problems. As a physics teacher, I needed to find some way to help my students become more comfortable and learn to enjoy solving physics problems. This capstone projects investigates the use of formative assessments on determining what changes can be implemented in teaching that might help students become more proficient at solving physics problems.Item What are the effects of visualization tools on the conceptual understanding of basic chemical processes and changes?(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2013) Taylor, Kenneth A.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.This paper explored the effects of university students' understanding of fundamental concepts as various tools were used to help see ideas from a different perspective. Changes in student attitudes toward types of problem solving along with a growth in knowledge base were also explored. The results indicated that these tools help more in the long term vs. short term and attitudes and knowledge base are difficult to change.Item How does the use of case studies, as an instructional strategy, affect the perception of relevance of science in a high school conceptual science class?(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2013) Morris, Julie Ann; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.Students in junior level Conceptual Science at Manteno High School consider science irrelevant and are not motivated to learn the content. The goal of this research project was to incorporate a learning strategy that would increase student perception of the relevance of science to their lives and thereby increase their learning of the content. Case studies were incorporated into the two sections of Conceptual Science at Manteno High School for two units during the spring semester of 2013. Pre- and post- assessments were given to the students to measure their understanding of the content. An online survey was given to the students before and after the intervention to see how it affected their perception of relevance. Student interviews were conducted following the treatment as well. Evidence collected during the study showed that while student learning increased during units when case studies were used, the perception of relevance of science was virtually unchanged. Students expressed in the survey and in the interviews that they like using the case studies in class because they feel it connects science to the real world even though no measurable difference in their perception of relevance of science was observed through the Likert style survey. Using case studies in a class like Conceptual Science increases student interest enough that it increased their learning. Even though student perception of relevance of science is unaffected, incorporating additional case studies in science courses should be considered because of the increase in learning.Item What effect does advanced lab preperation have on student achievement in a high school accelerated chemistry class?(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2013) Kozak, Amanda Lee; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.The purpose of this action research-based classroom project was to study the effects of planning and preparing for lab compared to not preparing for lab and how that affected student achievement. Students took part in four labs where they prepared ahead of time, and four labs where they were given the lab procedures the day of the investigation and asked to complete their work. Student achievement and success were measured using questionnaires, surveys, and teacher observations during labs. There were eighteen Bellevue High School students in the accelerated chemistry class who participated in this study. During both treatments, the students were engaged in labs and indicated that they felt comfortable with the material that they were learning in class and how it compared to the lab experiment. When students prepared on their own for lab they consulted books, YouTube, the internet, and peers more than they did when they didn't have to prepare on their own. The results indicated that students were more successful, comfortable, and prepared for lab when they prepared on their own vs. when they were given the lab procedures the day of class. Although the students were more successful and comfortable when they prepared, this study also indicated that students enjoyed the hands-on experience during all labs.