Education Commons^™

Building And Using A Hydrology Experiment For Place-Based Learning With Native American Students, Michaela Shallue

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Geoscience has a known diversity problem, specifically a participation gap of ethnic minority representation, and it is especially severe regarding Native American representation. To address this participation gap, an identity gap needs to be addressed first. Native students need to visualize themselves as geoscientists before they can commit to geoscience programs and careers. This project uses a hands-on, place-based learning activity as an opportunity for Native students to better see themselves as geoscientists.

A portable rainfall simulator was constructed, calibrated, and refined for use in teaching concepts about rainfall, runoff, and erosion. It was employed in place-based learning exercises with …

Using The History Of Statistics To Teach Introductory Statistics, Melissa Hansen

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

While often taught in high school and required as part of a college degree, statistics classes are sometimes viewed by students as an obstacle rather than a support for their overall goals. One way to increase student engagement in a statistics course is to use the history of statistics. Within the literature review, the advantages to using the history of statistics are discussed as well as the more extensive research on using the history of mathematics in mathematics courses. Included are instructional strategies for using the context around the development of mathematical ideas in math classrooms which can be extended …

Tasks For Learning Trigonometry, Sydnee Andreasen

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Many studies have been done using task-based learning within different mathematics courses. Within the field of trigonometry, task-based learning is lacking. The following research aimed to create engaging, mathematically rich tasks that meet the standards for the current trigonometry course at Utah State University and align with the State of Utah Core Standards for 7th through 12th grades. Four lessons were selected and developed based on the alignment of standards, the relevance to the remainder of the trigonometry course, and the relevance to courses beyond trigonometry. The four lessons that were chosen and developed were related to trigonometric ratios, graphing …

Using Gamification To Foster Student Resilience And Motivation To Learn, And Using Games To Teach Significance Testing Concepts In The Statistics Classroom, Todd Partridge

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Two studies are outlined in this dissertation.

In the first study, elements of Super Mario Bros. videos games were used to change the way college students in a beginners’ statistics course were graded on their work. This was part of an effort to help students remain optimistic in the face of challenging coursework and even failure on assignments and tests. The study shows that the changes made to the grading structure did help students to keep trying and to use the materials given to them by their professor until they achieved their desired grade in the course, and suggests ways …

Recognizing And Reducing Ambiguity In Mathematics Curriculum And Relations Of Θ-Functions In Genus One And Two: A Geometric Perspective, Shantel Spatig

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Anxiety and mathematics come hand in hand for many individuals. This is due, in
part, to the fact that the only experience they have with mathematics is what some
mathematics educators refer to as "schoolmath," which uses a somewhat different
language than real mathematics. The language of schoolmath can cause individu-
als to have confusion and develop misconceptions related to several mathematical
concepts. One such concept is a fraction. In chapter one of this report, one possible
reason for this is discussed and a possible solution is purposed.
In chapter three of this report, genus-two curves admitting an elliptic involution …

Power Of Near-Peers: Conceptualizing And Testing A Near-Peer Mentoring Model In Raising Youths' Self-Efficacy In Computer Programming, Chongning Sun

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Self-efficacy is seen as a barrier for youth, females in particular, to enter computer science (CS). In this study, I presented a near-peer mentoring model that focused on changing the mentee’s self-efficacy in CS. The present study had three objectives: (a) to design a near-peer mentoring model (i.e., a conceptual model) around the sources of information that influence self-efficacy, (b) to develop a mentor training model based on the conceptual model, and (c) to test the effectiveness of the training model in increasing mentees’ self-efficacy in the context of a summer App programming camp. The present study adopted a mixed-methods …

Social Justice Mathematical Modeling For Teacher Preparation, Patrick L. Seegmiller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Today's math teachers face significant social and political challenges for which they receive little preparation. Mathematics content courses can potentially provide additional preparation in this regard by providing future teachers with experiences to mathematically explore social justice issues. This provides them with opportunities to increase their awareness and sensitivity to social justice issues, develop greater empathy for their future students, and serve as examples for high quality instruction that they can emulate in their future careers. This dissertation recounts the development and revision of three social justice mathematical modeling projects, and shares evidence from student work samples of the ways …

The Marshmallow Lab: A Project-Based Approach To Understanding Functional Responses, Melissa Pulley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper presents a three-part lesson plan to improve student’s understanding of Holling’s type II functional response model. This model describes the interaction between a predator and how much it is able to consume given a constant number of prey. According to the model, while increased availability of prey allows predators to consume portionately more prey for low values, after some number of prey, predators will only be able to capture a limited number of prey even as the prey continues to increase. This phenomenon is known as saturation. Holling first develop this important ecological theory through his “disc experiment” …

Examining Teacher Perceptions When Utilizing Volunteers In School-Based Agricultural Education Programs, Ashley B. Cromer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

There has been little research conducted related to how school-based agricultural (SBAE) teachers perceive the utilization of volunteers in the classroom. The United States is facing a shortage of SBAE teachers, and with turnover rates that are not sustainable, solutions for support and reduction of the SBAE teachers’ workload must be sought with diligence. There is potential for volunteers to reduce some of the responsibilities that the SBAE teacher is faced with. The purposes of this study are to determine the demographic characteristics of the volunteers being utilized and of the SBAE teachers, determine the perceived benefits, barriers and beliefs …

Learning Logic: A Mixed Methods Study To Examine The Effects Of Context Ordering On Reasoning About Conditionals, Christina W. Lommatsch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Logical statements are prevalent in mathematics, the sciences, law, and many areas of everyday life. The most common logical statements are conditionals, which have the form “If H..., then C...,” where “H” is a hypothesis (or condition) to be satisfied and “C” is a conclusion to follow. Reasoning about conditionals is a skill that is only superficially understood by most individuals and depends on four main conditional contexts (e.g., intuitive, abstract, symbolic, or counterintuitive). The purpose of this study was to test a theory about the effects of context ordering on reasoning about conditionals. To test the theory, the researcher …

An Exploratory Study Of Fifth-Grade Students’ Reasoning About The Relationship Between Fractions And Decimals When Using Number Line-Based Virtual Manipulatives, Scott Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Understanding the relationship between fractions and decimals is an important step in developing an overall understanding of rational numbers. Research has demonstrated the feasibility of technology in the form of virtual manipulatives for facilitating students’ meaningful understanding of rational number concepts. This exploratory dissertation study was conducted for the two closely related purposes: first, to investigate a sample of fifth-grade students’ reasoning regarding the relationship between fractions and decimals for fractions with terminating decimal representations while using virtual manipulative incorporating parallel number lines; second, to investigate the affordances of the virtual manipulatives for supporting the students’ reasoning about the decimal-fraction …

High Cognitive Test Item Development And Implementation, Ashley Salisbury

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

In secondary math classrooms there has been a movement toward discovery and problem solving based instruction. This type of instruction requires teachers to teach on what is often considered a higher level of cognition and allows students to discover more ideas and concepts on their own as opposed to traditional lecture style. Teachers with well thought-out examples, questions, and activities provide students with tools to solve problems on their own requiring students to make mathematical discoveries and connections. These skills not only benefit students in their math class but are analytical skills students can use throughout their lives.

With this …

Critical Issues In Middle And Secondary Mathematics Placement: A Case Study, Morgan E. Summers

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This qualitative research project focuses on the issues facing middle and secondary mathematics placement through an extensive literature review as well as a case study of a local school district. As students move from elementary school to middle and secondary schools, they are placed into classes that appear to be based on ability. One of the driving questions of this project is how is this ability level determined? Through an in-­‐depth look at one school district, it is found that a primary source of information is both norm-­‐referenced and criterion-­‐referenced assessments given to students in fifth and eighth grades. In …

Understanding Teacher Users Of A Digital Library Service: A Clustering Approach, Beijie Xu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research examined teachers' online behaviors while using a digital library service—the Instructional Architect (IA)—through three consecutive studies. In the first two studies, a statistical model called latent class analysis (LCA) was applied to cluster different groups of IA teachers according to their diverse online behaviors. The third study further examined relationships between teachers' demographic characteristics and their usage patterns. Several user clusters emerged from the LCA results of Study I. These clusters were named isolated islanders, lukewarm teachers, goal-oriented brokers, window shoppers, key brokers, beneficiaries, classroom practitioners, and dedicated sticky users. …

Psychometric Properties Of Postsecondary Students' Course Evaluations, Michael J. Drysdale

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Several experts in the area of postsecondary student evaluations of courses have concluded that they are stable or reliable measures as well as being measures that provide ways of making valid inferences regarding teacher effectiveness. Often these experts have offered these conclusions without supporting evidence. Surprisingly, a thorough review of the literature revealed very few reported test-retest reliability studies of course evaluations and the results from these studies are contradictory. In the area of validity, the conclusions offered by scholars who conducted meta-analyses of mutlisection course studies are inconsistent. This leads to the following two research questions:

1. What is …

Virtual Manipulatives In The Classroom And Resulting Articles And Lesson Plans, Cheryl Juliana

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Upon coming across mathematical manipulatives generated and produced by Utah State University, as a math teacher, I conducted a classroom teaching experiment in three pre-algebra classes with students of various achievement levels. After teaching the entire year using no manipulatives in the classroom, I tested my students with a general, end-of-year, core criterion, or cumulative test. Their scores were noted. The students in the study group were then given opportunities to try several manipulatives offered on the "National Library of Virtual Manipulatives," both as a class, and alone, and then retested. The following paper gives the parameters of the study, …

Factors Affecting Reading Outcomes Across Time In Bureau Of Indian Education Reading First Schools, Heather J. Chapman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Regardless of age, background, or socioeconomic status, children must learn to read in order to be successful in school and in their future careers. Reading is an essential skill necessary to be successful in all other academic content areas. Despite the importance of this skill, American Indian children consistently score below the national average on tests of reading ability and reading comprehension. During recent years, many schools in the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) system requested funding through the Reading First initiative. Schools used the funding and support provided by the BIE Reading First grant to attempt system-wide change at …

Expanding The Horizons Of Educational Pair Programming: A Methodological Review Of Pair Programming In Computer Science Education Research, Keith B. Rimington

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Educators and researchers continue to explore the benefits, real or imagined, of implementing pair programming as part of the computer science pedagogy. Current reviews of computer science educational research practices do not focus on educational pair programming. This thesis presents a review of the research methods used in recent educational pair programming research. The primary purpose of this review is to inform the ongoing dialogue about and to provide evidence-based recommendations for improving educational pair programming research.

Replicating the design of a previous computer science education methodological review, this study inspected a sample of 108 articles from a population of …

The Effect Of Explicit Timing On Math Performance Using Interspersal Assignments With Students With Mild/Moderate Disabilities, Fangjuan Hou

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Explicit timing and interspersal assignments have been validated as effective methods to facilitate students' math practice. However, no researchers have explored the combinative effect of these two methods. In Study 1, we extended the literature by comparing the effect of explicit timing with interspersal assignments, and interspersal assignments without timing. Generally, participants' rate of digits correct on easy and hard addition problems was higher during the explicit timing condition than during the untimed condition. However, the participants' rate of digits correct decreased after initial implementation of the explicit timing condition.

Motivation plays a crucial role in maintaining performance levels and …

The Process Of Tracking In Mathematics In Box Elder School District, Megan Haramoto Bushnell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Educational policymakers have used tracking to instruct students in a variety of subjects, including mathematics. Tracking, which has also been called ability grouping, is a process by which students in the same grade are placed into different classes based on academic ability. Few educators and sociologists have looked at the process by which students are placed in different mathematics tracks. The research design of this study focused on accumulating, evaluating, and reporting the understanding and observations of 12 teachers and 4 counselors as they discussed their knowledge and involvement in the mathematics placement procedures from the intermediate and middle school …