Scholarship & Research
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Item Mindfulness-based social emotional learning in the science classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2021) Cochrum, Caleb Denver; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisThis study evaluated the impact of implementing daily mindfulness and biweekly social emotional learning lessons into a sophomore level Physical Science classroom. Qualitative and quantitative data collected through student surveys, attendance data, content-based assessments, was analyzed to assess the overall impact on student learning, classroom culture, and student self-efficacy. Results indicate that the use of mindfulness and social emotional learning curricula significantly improves classroom culture, while also having a marginally positive impact on academic performance and student self-efficacy.Item The impact of mindfulness on the integrated science classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Fox, Kevin R.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisThis study was conducted over the winter and spring in a predominantly ninth grade Integrated Science Class. The goal was to find out if practicing mindfulness had any impact on the classroom environment and student learning. Students first took pre and post- summative tests in a non-treatment unit that focused on the study of waves. During the treatment unit, which focused on the study of astronomy, students participated in mindfulness three days a week, for two to five minutes, at the beginning of the class. Students took pre-and post- summative tests for this unit as well. They took a Likert survey, both before and after the treatment unit, to gauge their impressions of a variety of classroom factors. Additionally, students submitted short answer responses to questions related to the mindfulness treatment unit. Finally, during the treatment unit, the instructor kept a daily journal. There was no statistical difference in the students' summative test scores when the treatment and non-treatment units were compared. There were also no statistical differences pre-and post-treatment in student answers to any of the thirteen items on the Likert survey. Student responses to the free response questions, and the instructor journal showed a positive correlation between the treatment and the classroom environment. Based largely on the qualitative data, from the student responses and the instructor journal, mindfulness practice was shown to have a positive impact on the classroom. Students said that they were able to focus better, they were calmer, and had reduced levels of stress and anxiety. The instructor journal also showed that the students maintained better focus and were less restless on days where mindfulness was practiced.Item The effect of meditation on mindfulness in the science classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Brandon, Meredith Marie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisHow does having mindfulness during classroom instruction contribute to student self-awareness and understanding of content? In this study, students participated in teacher-facilitated meditation as a means to focus and become more mindful in the classroom. Pre and post-treatment surveys, one-on-one interviews and assessment data was collected across one unit to measure the effectiveness of the meditation on student self-awareness and performance. Results showed improved self-awareness of distractors during class and a slight increase of scores on assessments.Item Test anxiety interventions implemented before summative science assessments(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) Bakken, Randi Martin; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisThis investigation examined the effectiveness of tools to mitigate test anxiety on student performance and students' perceptions of anxiety. Additionally, this study explored whether or not students were impacted differently based on their age level. Participants included 3 classes of 9th-graders with 14, 15 and 16 students, and 1 class of 13 11th and 12th-graders. The investigation introduced students to three different anxiety-reducing techniques at the onset of three quizzes. At the semester final exam, students chose one strategy to implement. Quiz scores, final exam scores, surveys, and interviews were used as data collection instruments. The results suggested that students had an improved experience with the test anxiety intervention though there was not an impact on their performance. Students in 9th-grade and 11th or 12th-grade had similar levels of test anxiety. Students show a willingness to utilize test anxiety interventions in the future.Item The effect of literacy strategies in science content areas on redirections and assignment completion(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) Holcomb, Shaunna; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Walter WoolbaughLiteracy is essential to learning. Students with lower literacy skills, such as those in the process of learning English, need to be intentionally taught specific strategies in content areas, such as science. Such strategies can then be employed by the students to better learn content presented in the classroom. Students who struggle with literacy skills often mask their academic weaknesses with off-task behaviors. This study compared the use of critical reading strategies to the number of student redirections and on-time assignment completion occurrences. This study also looked at how the use of these strategies affected English Learners, if and how the literacy strategies affected student attitudes toward learning science, and whether there were correlations between attitude and assignment completion. Results indicate that the use of critical reading strategies in science decreases the number of necessary student redirections and increases the likelihood of students turning in assignments that are both complete and submitted on time.