Scholarship & Research
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Item Model-based inquiry in the high school chemistry classroom: how does model-based inquiry affect learning retention?(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2023) Carson, Christa Eleanor; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: C. John GravesModel-based inquiry is a style of pedagogy that involves the creation and analysis of physical, conceptual, and mathematical models as a means of teaching and learning science. This study aimed to ascertain the capacity of model-based inquiry (MBI) to impact learning retention in students of a 9th and 10th-grade chemistry course. Over the course of two introductory chemistry units, students used MBI-styled activities and unit storylines to uncover essential ideas. The fundamental concepts of each unit were assessed using a pre-test and post-test (Post I), with an additional post-test (Post II) administered several weeks after the culmination of that unit. Students were also prompted for their confidence level on these assessments. To analyze the interplay between MBI, attitudes about science, and comprehension, students were surveyed using the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey before and after the research period. Additionally, a sample of students was interviewed about their knowledge and experience using scientific models. Analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data from this study has revealed that a guided approach to MBI has some positive effect on learning retention. This study's use of MBI was found to have a moderate impact on student attitudes about learning chemistry, and a limited impact on student understanding of scientific modeling.Item Modeling in high school earth and space science(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2021) Wise, Emily Sarah; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisModeling is a key practice embedded in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and its purpose is to help students develop their ability to reason, explain, and apply their classroom learning to real world phenomena. Students often struggle to take their science content learning and use to explain complex scenarios. In this study, all teaching and learning was done via Zoom for the duration of the research period due the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to develop the skills required for modeling and to help promote engagement during synchronous class sessions, students participated in twelve weeks of virtual modeling-based instruction and synchronous classroom activities as well as two summative assessments that required them to model complex phenomena around Earth and space science. Students were asked to self-evaluate their ability to use and develop models at the beginning and the end of the research period. The data did not show that student confidence improved from the beginning to the end of the treatment, nor did student scores on the summative modeling assessments improve from the beginning to the end. Required remote learning was a new experience for all students and it proved to be a tremendous struggle for both engagement and assignment completion and submission.Item The effect of model-based inquiry teaching on student engagement, and the NGSS science practices in high school biology(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2017) Van Loo, Brennan J.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Walter WoolbaughThe Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have raised the bar of science education for teachers and students. The three stranded format of Disciplinary Core Ideas, Crosscutting Concepts, and Science Practices will require students to think and engage more deeply in the process of science. Achieving these rigorous standards for all students will require a greater level of motivation and engagement than I currently have in my classes. The purpose of this study is to investigate how model-based inquiry teaching, based on the framework of Ambitious Science Teaching, increases student motivation and engagement as well as how this framework improves student skills with the NGSS science practices. A model-based inquiry approach to science teaching emphasizes the skills and practices of scientists. During the treatment, students made an initial model to try to explain a scientific phenomenon. Classroom discourse and experiences formed the foundation of instruction, which was then used by students to revise their models. Data was collected through student surveys, and direct observations of student engagement and classroom discourse. Additionally, data was collected on students' ability to support a claim with evidence and reasoning. The results show that the treatment promoted engagement and that student skills in discourse and argumentation increased. However, students' perception of their motivation and engagement did not change with continued treatment. This study shows that model-based inquiry has significant value for students who have historic academic struggles as it moves science beyond the rote memorization that they struggle with, to explaining what is happening based on experimental evidence and personal experience.