In 1995, Huffman and Heller used exploratory factor analysis to draw into question the factors of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI). Since then several papers have been published examining the factors of the FCI on larger sets of student responses and understandable factors were extracted as a result. However, none of these proposed factor models…

This study examined the following question: What is the relationship, if any, between COMPASS placement scores and the student success in the first online course during the students first semester? Discriminant function analysis was used to examine the relationship. This study used existing data from new students, who took the COMPASS placement…

Nationally, and within Montana, Native American college student retention and graduation rates are significantly lower than those of their majority counterparts. Native American high school students have the highest dropout rates, lowest college enrollment rates, and lowest percentage distribution of degrees conferred of any minority population in…

The Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance (NARA) is examining the feasibility of a woody biomass-to-biofuels supply chain in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. A part of the ongoing feasibility study involved conducting a survey of informed stakeholders on the use of woody biomass from forest residuals in producing sustainable bioenergy.…

Published children's literature in the United States overrepresents some identities while underrepresenting others, such as people of color, LGBT people, people with disabilities, people who live below the poverty line (Crisp et al., 2016), and more. Thus, some children may not encounter text representative of their identities. As literature can…

Two-year college transfer education has been promoted as a cost-effective path for achieving the baccalaureate, but increased time-to-degree could nullify this assumption. The Montana University System (MUS) recently expanded the mission for its two-year college system by adding the transfer function. This non-experimental quantitative research…

The purpose of this research study was to examine the difference between three levels of nursing students (sophomore, junior, senior) and their assessed emotional intelligence (EI) scores. A quantitative, quasi-experimental study was conducted with a population of nursing students from five separate campuses at Montana State University, and a…

This study examines the transferability of results from previous studies of simulation-based curriculum in introductory statistics using data from 3,500 students enrolled in an introductory statistics course at Montana State University from fall 2013 through spring 2016. During this time, four different curricula, a traditional curriculum and…

We developed and validated the Conceptual Assessment of Natural Selection (CANS), a multiple-choice test designed to assess how well college students understand the central principles of natural selection. The expert panel that reviewed the CANS concluded its questions were relevant to natural selection and generally did a good job sampling the…

In this content analysis of state U.S. History and Civics standards, we compared the treatment of immigration across three types of states with differing immigration demographics. Analyzing standards from 18 states from a critical race methodology perspective, our findings indicated three sets of tensions: a unified American story versus local…

This report examines common strategies used by six Montana schools that had high student passing rates in online credit recovery courses offered by the Montana Digital Academy (MTDA) in the 2013/14 school year. The study is based on analysis of interviews conducted with school-based facilitators who oversee the implementation of the online MTDA…

Most U.S. school districts (88 percent) offer credit recovery courses or programs for students. In rural states such as Montana, online credit recovery options are especially popular because they allow schools to serve students in remote areas throughout the year, across a range of subjects, and with few additional resources (Carver & Lewis,…

Purpose/Objectives: To meet new school meal guidelines, create meals that appeal to students, and promote positive food choices and health status among students, school nutrition programs are increasingly moving towards scratch cooking. This pilot research aimed to evaluate the outcomes of the Montana Cook Fresh Workshop, a culinary skills class…

Students are accessing graduate study online in ever-increasing numbers with interactive experiences differing from those who traditionally enroll in corresponding face-to-face (F2F) classes. Soft skills such as collaboration/teamwork, communication and presentation are important to learning but difficult to practice outside the F2F environment.…

"Air Toxics Under the Big Sky" is an environmental science outreach/education program that incorporates the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) 8 Practices with the goal of promoting knowledge and understanding of authentic scientific research in high school classrooms through air quality research. This research explored: (1)…