Education

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/25

Teacher education is situated within the unit of Curriculum & Instruction (C&I) of the Department of Education, which is resident in the College of Education, Health & Human Development. The pre-service and in-service teacher education programs in the Department of Education have been designed to provide a rich, balanced education, firmly grounded in the liberal arts and contextualized in professional preparation coursework based on current educational theory and praxis.

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The Role of Teacher Education in Improving Digital Literacy: A Pre-Service Teacher Case Study
(New Prairie Press, 2024-10) Taheri, Rana; Pennington, Sarah
Technology is crucial for teaching and learning in the 21st century. However, many pre-service teachers (PSTs) feel unprepared to utilize digital literacy (DL) in their future classes. This study explored PST’s perceptions of their DL knowledge and the perceived impact of their teacher education programs through a qualitative bounded case study method. Participants for this study were three PSTs engaged in a technology integration course at a land grant university in the northwestern US. Participants engaged in recorded one-on-one semi-structured interviews to learn about their perceptions and readiness for DL. The findings indicate that while PSTs were aware of DL, they lacked confidence in their ability to teach it. The study identified four critical themes related to the PSTs' perspectives on DL: concerns, challenges, advantages, and future decisions. The prioritization of DL training in teacher education programs and the reconsideration of engaging technology-related courses by universities and policymakers are recommended.
Quantum Under the Big Sky: An Education and Workforce Development Report
(Montana State University’s Applied Quantum CORE, 2024-07) Yager, Jason
This 12-page report outlines the state of the workforce in quantum and quantum-adjacent industries in Montana as of Summer 2024. It also offers an overview of the educational pathways that prepare Montanans for jobs in this emerging industry and includes an analysis of current gaps and opportunities for future growth.
Middle school educators’ experiences in a cross-institutional professional development model for enhancing writing instruction
(Emerald, 2024-03) Rogers, Leslie; Burke, Megan; Laud, Leslie; Herricks, Rebecca
Purpose. This paper explores a five-year case example of two educators engaged in practice-based professional development (PBPD) for the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model in a middle school. It examines the transformative effects and challenges of improving writing instruction, the activities involved and alternative PBPD delivery methods. Highlighting a collaborative effort between an institute of higher education (IHE), a middle school and ThinkSRSD, a PBPD for SRSD developer, the example underscores the long-term benefits and innovative insights into engaging with PBPD for SRSD over multiple years. Design/methodology/approach. The case involves analyzing survey data collected over five years. These surveys, which included specific SRSD-related queries and open-ended questions, were instrumental in assessing the evolution of the educators’ perceptions regarding SRSD and their engagement with PBPD. Additionally, the paper details PBPD activities as documented in a research journal, providing a comprehensive account of the developmental process. Findings. Through a cross-institutional partnership, two middle school general educators participated in PBPD for SRSD for 30 h across five years. Their engagement with PBPD progressed from initial introduction and implementation to facilitating PBPD for SRSD among peers and at the national level. Over time, the most consistently enacted SRSD action was “memorize it,” while actions such as “discuss it,” “support it” and “independent performance” showed greater variability. Both educators consistently praised SRSD and sought continued PBPD engagement over the five years. Originality/value. Our case example is the first five-year analysis of PBPD for SRSD among general middle school educators, highlighting the benefits and challenges of adopting evidence-based writing instruction. Our example emphasizes the need for continuous and focused professional development in areas crucial for student success, including self-regulation, prewriting strategies and techniques for fostering independent performance. Moreover, the two middle school educators’ critical feedback is invaluable for refining PBPD for SRSD. This work also enriches professional development schools (PDS) literature by offering effective strategies to support middle school teachers in developing a vibrant writing community, a cornerstone for student advancement in writing.
Montana STEM Summit 2023 Report: Growing STEM Learning Across the Big Sky
(Montana State University, 2023-11) Taylor, Suzanne; Jameson, Heather
On April 13, 2023, representatives from education, industry, non-profits and other institutions gathered in Helena, Montana to discuss how to better collaborate to advance STEM learning in the state (STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics). This report outlines the resources, barriers and ideas that were discussed at the Summit, and includes suggested next steps for growing STEM learning across the Big Sky State. The report can be used as a snapshot of the current state of STEM learning in Montana as well as a road map for prioritizing future STEM initiatives. Previous Montana STEM Summits were held in 2022, 2019 and 2017.
Sensing for Science: Exploring the World of Arduino and Sensors In the Classroom
(Montana State University, 2023-07) Williams, Kayce
This guide is for 5-12 science teachers. It introduces the use of Arduino and sensors in the classrooms. There are six levels containing steps, a list of materials, graphics, and code. The guide concludes with a Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) sensor. This sensor is for testing water quality at a local pond or stream. The final project reflects the work that the NSS EPSCoR CREWS is doing in Montana.
Mitigating Rural Adolescent Trauma: Remote Delivery of a Trauma-Informed Yoga Intervention During COVID-19
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2022-12) Davis, Lauren; Aylward, Alexandra
Given the prevalence of childhood trauma in rural Montana, this project is intended to help mitigate stressors that may contribute to poor behavioral and mental health in high school-aged children, which may be exacerbated by the collective trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic. The immediate goal was to measure physical and mental health outcomes in adolescents resulting from a remotely delivered trauma-informed yoga intervention designed to foster positive youth development. Our study builds on the successes from an initial feasibility pilot study one year prior in order to evaluate a more robust intervention comparing experimental and control group outcomes. Students at a small, rural high school in Montana volunteered to participate in a 6-week, twice-weekly trauma-informed yoga intervention in their physical education class. Validated survey measures, including the PHQ-A, GAD-7, and ACE-Q instruments, were utilized to measure mental health outcomes pre- vs. post-intervention. Salivary cortisol levels were also measured pre-, mid-, and post-intervention. Statistically significant declines in cortisol levels and improvements in sleep duration were noted when comparing experimental vs. control groups. Noteworthy declines in depression and anxiety levels were also seen when comparing the treatment to control groups. Descriptive differences between the control and experimental groups illustrate the mental health benefits of reduced anxiety and depressive symptoms in rural adolescents resulting from a remotely delivered trauma-informed yoga intervention. Our study holds the potential for a long-term public health impact in reducing adolescent rates of anxiety and depression while mitigating trauma in geographically isolated settings.
“Following the Breath”: A Trauma-Informed Intervention for Educator Wellness in Rural Montana
(MDPI AG, 2022-12) Davis, Lauren; Aylward, Alexandra; Scott, Brandon G.; Jacobs, Jonathan
Given the prevalence of mental health issues for both educators and adolescents in rural Montana, this project is designed to help mitigate the impact of stressors by providing coping strategies linked to improvements in overall mental health outcomes for teachers, which may ultimately lead to improved co-regulation of students and classroom climate. The immediate goal of this pilot study was to measure physical and mental health outcomes of educators resulting from a remotely-delivered trauma-informed yoga intervention. Findings suggest improvements in participants’ depression and anxiety levels, trauma symptoms, sleep quality, and non-significant changes in heart rate variability and cortisol levels.
Building Primary Preservice Teachers’ Identity as Engineering Educators
(MDPI AG, 2022-09) Lux, Nicholas; Hammack, Rebekah; Wiehe, Blake; Gannon, Paul
The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate how two primary preservice teachers built their engineering education identities during a clinical field experience that emphasized engineering education. More specifically, we explored the development of their engineering education identities while facing unforeseen circumstances and unfamiliar engineering content. We used a nested qualitative case study approach that was bounded by a university practicum field experience that took place at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data sources included preservice teacher interviews and reflective field notes. We found that the preservice teachers faced a series of contextual factors in the clinical experience that both afforded and constrained professional learning opportunities that influenced their identity development. The affordances made professional learning opportunities possible, while the constraints limited professional growth. We also found that it was the negotiation of the factors, where the preservice teachers worked to mitigate the effect of the constraints while maximizing the advantages of the affordances, that had the greatest influence on their engineering pedagogical knowledge and engineering teaching self-efficacy. Findings from this study could provide teacher educators with insight into preparing primary teachers for unexpected challenges when teaching engineering, as well as how to best prepare engineering-efficacious teachers.
Sense of Accomplishment: A Global Experience in Student Affairs and Services
(Taylor & Francis, 2022-06) Seifert, Tricia A.; Perozzi, Brett; Li, Wincy
This empirical article presents student affairs and services practitioners’ perceptions regarding the sense of accomplishment they feel in their job. Results show helping students, collaborating among colleagues, contributing positively to a broader community, and the autonomous and engaging nature of the work itself provided SAS staff across countries and regions with a sense of accomplishment. Authors discuss findings in terms of supporting SAS practitioners in light of changes globally in higher education’s expectations and culture.
The Long‑Term Role of Undergraduate Experiences: Predicting Intellectual and Civic Outcomes
(Springer Nature, 2022-07) Bowman, Nicholas A.; Wolniak, Gregory C.; Seifert, Tricia A.; Wise, Kathleen; Blaich, Charles
Scholars and the public alike have questioned the benefits of obtaining an undergraduate education. Although research has extensively examined short-term outcomes associated with college experiences, relatively few studies have investigated non-economic outcomes beyond graduation. This paper explored the link between college experiences and post-college outcomes among 21,716 bachelor’s degree recipients from 68 private institutions. Although some variation across demographics was observed, good teaching, academic challenge, and diversity experiences were consistently—and often strongly—related to alumni’s perceptions of intellectual and civic growth.

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