Progress 09/01/05 to 03/31/08
Outputs
In 2005, Montana State University received a USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant to develop a field-based, online graduate water quality course called Stream Side Science (SSS). This course was inspired by similar, non-web based curriculum developed by USDA-CSREES regional partners at Utah State University. In addition, input into the development of SSS was provided, in part, by USDA-CSREES partners in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. SSS was offered in 2006 and 2007 as a summer elective in the MSU Master of Science in Science Education program. In the fall of 2007, previous SSS students who participated in the Montana State University Master of Science in Science Education program were asked to complete an online survey to identify impacts the course may have had on classroom curriculum, teaching methods (pedagogy), and situations outside of the classroom. Sixteen of 23 (70%) students who enrolled and completed SSS responded to the survey; 44% from the 2006 class and 56% from the 2007 class. Half of the respondents had been teaching 5-10 years, with the majority of the remaining half (38%) having taught ten years or more. Currently a manuscript is being drafted summarizing the project outcomes and results which will be submitted to a natural resource education journal. In addition, SSS is a permanent offering in the MSU-MSSE catalogue and follow-up assessments of participants are planned for each offering. PRODUCTS: Montana State University Masters of Science in Science Education graduate course: LRES 580 Stream Side Sciences OUTCOMES: A 3 credit, graduate level Masters of Science in Science Education (MSSE) course has been developed for Montana State University. The MSSE program enrolls students from all over the United States and worldwide, which promotes SSS to educators worldwide. This course incorporates traditional online learning strategies with field-based science exploration. The course offers secondary educators an experiential learning opportunity by guiding them through a series of progressive stream monitoring and water quality characterization activities, thereby providing hands-on experience, while at the same time developing stream monitoring skills. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The online, graduate course Stream Side Science is offered each summer semester through the MSU-MSSE program. The MSSE catalogue of courses is promoted online through the MSU Burn Telecommunication Center and through the National Teachers Enhancement Network. Stream Side Science is also promoted through the MSU Extension Water Quality Program website. FUTURE INITIATIVES: Stream Side Science will continue to be part of the MSU-MSSE summer catalogue. In addition, follow-up surveys of 2008 course participants will be implemented during the summer of 2009, with subsequent follow-up assessments performed each summer.
Impacts
In the fall of 2007, previous SSS students (2006 and 2007) who participated in the Montana State University Master of Science in Science Education program were asked to complete an online survey to identify impacts the course may have had on classroom curriculum, teaching methods (pedagogy), and situations outside of the classroom. Sixteen of 23 (70%) students who enrolled and completed SSS responded to the survey; 44% from the 2006 class and 56% from the 2007 class. Half of the respondents had been teaching 5-10 years, with the majority of the remaining half (38%) having taught ten years or more. Results from this survey include: 1) 81% of respondents have incorporated knowledge, skills or activities from SSS into their classrooms; primarily (93%) in science curriculum; 2) thirteen teachers stated they taught SSS content in their classrooms, including one or a combination of the following: chemical and physical parameters (69%), stream monitoring (38%), and macroinvertebrate counts (31%); 3) eight respondents said they have exposed over fifty students to SSS content or concepts. Half of the respondents indicated their teaching methods had changed as a result of SSS. The primary change in pedagogy included incorporation of more hands-on lab activities inside and outside of the classroom; 4) 75% of respondents indicated they have used SSS content or principles outside of the school setting. Primary settings include one or a combination of the following: family activities (62%), community events (31%), and teaching conferences (23%).
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|
Progress 09/01/06 to 08/31/07
Outputs
Montana State University Extension Water Quality program instructors perceived a need to expand their current curriculum, as well as the reach of online education, by developing an online water resource field course that combined traditional online learning strategies with field-based science exploration. This course, titled Stream Side Science, offered secondary educators an experiential learning opportunity by guiding them through a series of progressive stream monitoring and water quality characterization activities, thereby providing hands-on experience, while at the same time developing stream monitoring skills. Course content was culminated with each student using real-time data collected during the course to determine a numerically-based water quality index. Independent evaluations were solicited from three different academic groups between the period of initial course development and conclusion of the first formal offering of the course during summer 2006.
Suggestions to improve Stream Side Science for the 2007 offering included editing of course content to lessen duplication of materials and combining some assignments to lessen work load. Between the 2006 and 2007, extensive revisions to the course were implemented to reduce duplication and provide a curriculum that was reasonable for students to manage, yet rigorous enough to provide graduate level instruction in the science of water monitoring. Students from the 2006 offering expressed the need for more in-depth feedback from the instructor on challenging science concepts not fully understood by students. For the 2007 offering this need was met by incorporating an "Ask the Instructor" discussion tool that facilitated online conversations between the instructor and students on challenging water quality concepts or interesting content not emphasized strongly in the course. End of course surveys completed by the 2007 class indicated 88% of the students felt that the instructor provided
good to exceptional feedback during the course. Students in the 2006 course also felt assessment rubrics for written homework assignments should be developed to help them understand expectations of the instructors. For the 2007 offering, more in-depth descriptions of homework and written assignment expectations were provided. In 2007, results from an end of the course survey indicated that prior to taking Stream Side Science, 88% of students had marginal to no comfort level in teaching water resource science in the secondary classroom. However, after completing Stream Side Science, 63% of students reported good to exceptional enhancement in comfort level to teach water resource science in the secondary classroom. This is an increase from 54% of students in the 2006 offering.
PRODUCTS: The second year of the project enhanced and improved a graduate level, asynchronous, instructor facilitated, distantly delivered water quality course, 07 M LRES 580-01. There were 12 students in the 2007 offering; secondary science teachers enrolled in Montana State University Master of Science in Science Education (MSSE) graduate degree program.
OUTCOMES: Stream Side Science will become a permanent, tuition-supported component of the MSSE program, as well as serve as a model for institutions developing similar courses. The primary project result is completion of a comprehensive suite of water quality education courses, including laboratory, field, and traditional academic components. Multi-faceted assessment strategies implemented during the first offering of Stream Side Science enabled instructors to enhance and improve the 2007 course which suited both the pedagogical and water-science curriculum needs of secondary educators. An enrolment of 12 secondary teachers in the second offering could result in each teacher passing skills and knowledge gained in the course on to 50 secondary students. This is roughly 600 students that could potentially be reached during the second year of the grant period. Additionally, USDA-CSREES Regional 8 Water Program will support a thorough impact assessment of all Stream Side Science
curriculum developed over the grant period. These assessments will evaluate whether or not students took the knowledge gained in the course and implemented water resource curriculum into their classrooms and evaluate changes in behavior and teaching practices with respect to field based, water resource science methods. The impact assessment will be completed January, 2008.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The MSU Water Quality Team's existing web page, which received approximately 93,000 visits in 2006, will serve as the primary means of information dissemination, providing interested parties with complete details of project protocol and results, as well as opportunity to contact MSU water quality personnel with further questions. In addition the MSU-MSSE program will continue to advertise the course in their catalog as part of their online summer offerings. MSU instructors will also present this project at the 2008 USDA-CSREES National Water conference in Reno, NV. An article will be submitted to a natural resource education journal or distance education journal detailing the need for comprehensive water quality education in secondary science classrooms and MSU's approach to meeting this need, as well as the technical aspects of designing, evaluating, teaching, and managing an online field-based course.
FUTURE INITIATIVES: Efforts for the remainder of the project include: 1. Impact assessment of 2006 and 2007 Stream Side Science students. 2. Present project and impact assessment results at the USDA-CSREES National Water conference in Reno, NV. 3. Disseminate final results in a peer-reviewed science or education journal. 4. Long term milestones include tenure of course within the MSU Masters of Science in Science Education program.
Impacts
Stream Side Science will become a permanent, tuition-supported component of the MSSE program, as well as serve as a model for institutions developing similar courses. Enrolment in years 1 and 2 included 23 secondary teachers. Assuming each teacher passes skills and knowledge gained in the course on to 50 secondary students, 1150 students could potentially be reached during the grant period. A thorough impact assessment implemented in the fall of 2007 will determine the actual, measurable impact on both teachers and students. The course is expected to have impacts far beyond the life of the grant, since it will be offered annually and because teachers will undoubtedly present water quality unit studies to their students for years to come. The course will also serve as a model for development and delivery of field-based, experiential learning on-line course development in other natural resource disciplines.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|
Progress 09/01/05 to 09/01/06
Outputs
Montana State University Extension Water Quality program instructor perceived a need to expand their current curriculum, as well as the reach of online education, by developing an online water resource field course that combined traditional online learning strategies with field-based science exploration. This course, titled Stream Side Science, offered secondary educators an experiential learning opportunity by guiding them through a series of progressive stream monitoring and water quality characterization activities, thereby providing hands-on experience, while at the same time developing stream monitoring skills. Course content was culminated with each student using real-time data collected during the course to determine a numerically-based water quality index. Independent evaluations were solicited from three different academic groups between the period of initial course development and conclusion of the first formal offering of the course. Twenty-seven
individuals from Colorado State University, Utah State University and Montana State University were broken into the following evaluation groups: natural resource science professionals, science education professionals, undergraduate natural resource students, undergraduate secondary education students, and students enrolled in Stream Side Science during the 2006 offering. Evaluation tools were developed for all evaluator groups. The multi-phased, multi-audience assessment approach resulted in the course continually evolving in terms of curriculum and teaching methodologies. Suggestions to improve Stream Side Science for future offerings include editing of course content to lessen duplication of materials and combining some assignments to lessen work load. Likewise, more in-depth feedback should be provided on challenging science concepts not fully understood by students. Assessment rubrics for written homework assignments should be developed to help students understand expectations of
the instructors. In the case of online instruction, with no one-on-one contact between instructors or students, in-depth assessments need to be designed and implemented to evaluate student knowledge and retention of course content. Strengths of Stream Side Science include the level of science-based content, the diversity of teaching resources used and/or introduced to teachers, which enhance pedagogical methodologies, and inclusion of science teaching standards to help guide secondary science teachers on content appropriate for the secondary classrooms. Prior to taking Stream Side Science, 54% of students had marginal to no comfort level in teaching water resource science in the secondary classroom. However, after completing Stream Side Science, 54% of students reported good to exceptional enhancement in comfort level to teach water resource science in the secondary classroom. The remainder, 46%, reported at least fair enhancement in comfort with teaching water resource science in the
secondary classroom.
PRODUCTS: The first year of the project produced a new graduate level, asynchronous, instructor facilitated, distantly delivered water quality course, 06 M LRES 580-01, designed for 11 secondary science teachers that complements existing LRES water quality courses within the Montana State University Master of Science in Science Education (MSSE) graduate degree program by offering extensive field experience in water quality monitoring. Likewise, MSU Department of Education faculty developed specific pedagogy evaluation and content assessment tools to gather feedback from students during the course offering and aid instructors in assessing discussion forums.
OUTCOMES: Stream Side Science will become a permanent, tuition-supported component of the MSSE program, as well as serve as a model for institutions developing similar courses. The primary project result is completion of a comprehensive suite of water quality education courses, including laboratory, field, and traditional academic components. Multi-faceted assessment strategies implemented during the first offering of Stream Side Science enabled instructors to design and implement a course which suited both the pedagogical and water-science curriculum needs of secondary educators. A modest enrolment of 11 secondary teachers in the first offering and assuming each teacher passes skills and knowledge gained in the course on to 50 secondary students, 550 students could potentially be reached during the first year of the grant period.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Project results will be distributed throughout the academic community, specifically those involved in the first year design and implementation of the course. Primary audience members include university faculty and staff in departments and fields related to water resources and education at Utah State University, Colorado State University, and Montana State University. Two media have been used to reach these audiences: web page publication and at least one peer reviewed journal article currently in review. The MSU Water Quality Team's existing web page, which received approximately 93,000 visits in 2006, will serve as the primary means of information dissemination, providing interested parties with complete details of project protocol and results, as well as opportunity to contact MSU water quality personnel with further questions. An article has been submitted to a natural resource education journal detailing the need for comprehensive water quality education
in secondary science classrooms and our approach to meeting this need, as well as the technical aspects of designing, evaluating, teaching, and managing an online field-based course.
FUTURE INITIATIVES: Year two of the project will result in the following milestones: 1. Second offering of Stream Side Science in summer of 2007 with at lease 16 enrollments. 2. Continued monitoring of student evaluations to ensure continual improvement of course. 3. Disseminate final results to academic community via web page updates, pamphlet distribution, reporting on the MSU National Teacher Enhancement Network web page, and in peer-reviewed science and education journals.. Long term milestones include tenure of course within the MSU Masters of Science in Science Education program and follow-up assessment of past students to evaluate changes in behavior and teaching practices with respect to field based, water resource science methods.
Impacts
Stream Side Science will become a permanent, tuition-supported component of the MSSE program, as well as serve as a model for institutions developing similar courses. Assuming a modest enrolment in years 1 and 2 being 27 secondary teachers in and assuming each teacher passes skills and knowledge gained in the course on to 50 secondary students, 1350 students could potentially be reached during the grant period. The course is expected to have impacts far beyond the life of the grant, since it will be offered annually and because teachers will undoubtedly present water quality unit studies to their students for years to come.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|
|