Scholarship & Research
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Item Putting the "A" in AP: the effect of advanced course access on AP participation and performance(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2022) Callen, Ian Andrew; Co-chairs, Graduate Committee: Christiana Stoddard and Andrew HillThis paper investigates the effect of state-level policy regarding access to advanced course curriculum on participation and performance within the Advanced Placement (AP) program. From the early 2000's through 2019, participation in the Advanced Placement (AP) program, the most popular college-preparatory course in the United States, has nearly tripled in size. Today, nearly 20% of all high school students taking at least one AP exam per year. The AP program provides an opportunity for students to potentially earn college credit while still in high school which, at least in theory, reduces the cost of a college education. While the AP program provides many benefits to students, it also presents two major barriers - the ability to access advanced-level courses, and the monetary cost associated with taking the AP exam. We find that when states require schools to offer AP courses and when states fund AP exams, participation within the program increases drastically. For Black and Hispanic students, our estimates indicate a large increase in the number of exams that receive a passing score. These findings indicate that when states reduce the financial burden associated with taking an AP exam, students have the ability to participate and succeed in the program at higher rates than their peers in states without AP curriculum and exam funding.Item Developing self-efficacy toward writing research methods and classroom practices through awareness of writing experiences for high school students(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2020) Frieling, Nicole Pamela; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Sarah PenningtonSelf-efficacy research of students' participation with the writing process considers the factors of ideation, convention, and self-management, or rather, the research depends on the skills and techniques of the student writer. While there is much research dedicated to exploring variables of experience within these factors, such as gender, age, demographics, etc., there is very little research which considers the factor of experience as a whole dimension of each unique students' writing process. This study investigated the writing self-efficacy beliefs held by junior and senior high school students in relation to their associations with writing conception, and how writing experiences might contribute to how self-efficacy and conception are established. Scores of self-efficacy and ratios of writing conception were gathered using surveys. Then, using an ANOVA hypothesis test for significance, self-efficacy scores were analyzed based on conception of writing. Further, open-ended questions were also administered through the survey gathering responses to understand student writing experiences. In conjunction with these responses, student participants created storyboards of their lifelong writing experiences. These artifacts were coded using Krippendorff (2013) coding techniques. The results show a relationship between how students' self-efficacy scores differ based on their conception of writing. Further, the results of this study imply there is a relationship between writing experiences, conception, and self-efficacy. In particular, this sample revealed themes associated with collaboration in writing. However, the results of this particular sample are not the end goal or purpose of this study. Rather, it is to demonstrate the necessity for considering students' experiences with writing in each unique sample of self-efficacy toward writing research. Educational implications and further research are discussed.Item Taking creative risks in the high school writing center: how secondary writing centers foster the development of risk taking that ultimately leads to creative agency in high school student writers(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2018) Juedeman, Elaina Renée; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Michelle MileyThis thesis explores how high school writing centers foster the development of risk taking that ultimately leads to creative agency in high school students, which, I argue, works in opposition to the current neoliberal educational agenda. To explore this topic, I used a mixed-methods approach for data collection. Working with the frameworks of both teacher research and ethnography, I gathered data through observations, interviews, and surveys. The results of this research show that particular methods of writing centers grounded in sociocultural theory do foster the development of risk taking that ultimately leads to creative agency in high school students. The results also show that some of these methods transfer to other educational settings as well. This project concludes with a discussion of the value of research that explores educational environments that oppose the neoliberal agenda.Item Secondary social studies teachers' perspectives on primary source planning(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2016) Johnson, Spencer Theadore; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Christine Rogers StantonHow are 21st Century teachers incorporating primary sources into their history lessons, and what challenges do they face in doing so? The social studies classroom is changing from pedagogy driven by textbook memorization to one that embraces a more authentic understanding of how history works. This change is accelerating due to new technologies and available primary sources on the Internet. This qualitative study questioned professionals in the field and resulted in four themes: Criteria for Effective Sources, Points of Access for Appropriate Source Material, Challenges Encountered in Finding Appropriate Sources, and Planning Lessons Using Sources. 'Criteria for Effective Sources' centers on what makes primary sources useful in the classroom. The 'Points of Access for Appropriate Source Material' theme describes how accessible primary sources are. The 'Challenges Encountered in Finding Appropriate Sources' theme describes why planning is time consuming. Finally, the 'Planning Lessons Using Sources' theme describes how teachers use sources in their lesson planning process. In essence, primary sources are available, but teachers need time to find and modify those sources to fit their instruction. Better website designs that look at efficiently presenting material on websites, as well as more focused professional development concerning the implementation of sources, could solve some of the challenges social studies teachers face.Item Current grading practices in girls' physical education at the high school level in Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 1971) Wood, Sandra LoisItem Ninth and twelfth grade students' and parents' attitudes toward the teaching of family life and sex education in Simms High School(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 1980) LaRocque, Pamela RuthItem Evaluating the adaptability of selected methods of teaching high school family life classes(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 1975) Allen, Ann SteffeckItem Educational achievement in rural Montana high schools /:(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1974) Kimble, John WesleyItem Spatial cognition among Montana eleventh and twelfth grade agricultural education students(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2004) Price, Danielle Nicole; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: C. Van Shelhamer.The purpose of this study was to determine high school studentαs spatial cognition abilities to identify features and attributes in agriculture production images, projected in two-dimension (2D) or three-dimension (3D). The effects of selected demographics on spatial cognition were examined. The population consisted of 101 high school students from selected secondary agricultural education programs during the Fall Semester of 2003. Criteria for participation were that the class size be 10-15 students enrolled in 11th or 12th grade. The agricultural classes were randomly assigned as either participating in the 2D or 3D study. When viewing 2D and 3D images of production agriculture students were able to correctly identify features and attributes about 50 percent of the time. Based on the 17 multiple-choice questions of the 23 questions used, there was no significant difference in studentsα spatial cognitive abilities when viewing 2D and 3D production agriculture images. When viewing production agriculture images in 3D, containing features and attributes relative to elevation, spatial cognition was enhanced. Age, grade level, semesters enrolled in agricultural education, gender, place of residence and prior GIS experience did not enhance spatial cognition.