This dissertation will address the questions: In what ways can MBR theory be applied to design training that will improve the capacity of Citizen scientists to collect and analyze high quality scientific data?; To what degree does this training impact their ability to formulate complex understandings of environmental problems in their Citizen? The…

Despite the continued research into Career and Technical Education (CTE) program expansion in public schools and the relationships surrounding student success, educational leaders are in growing need of empirical evidence to justify the continued funding of such programs and to support reform movements associated with educational policies. The…

To deliver successful integration of virtual reality (VR) technology into chemistry education, it is essential that students have clear and positive perceptions about the purpose and the value of such integration. An important part of establishing a plan for integrating virtual reality technology into chemistry education is to explore the current…

Using Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) and reflexive Thematic Analysis (TA) methods, the purpose of this case study was to construct theory about equity for students studying chemistry at public universities in Colorado. Interviews with students (N=12), chemistry instructors (N=9), and equity practitioners (N=9) as well as observations of…

Reports of ecological disturbances - wildfires, loss of biodiversity, drought, contaminated drinking water, extreme temperatures - fill the news. People have to navigate and manage these challenges. To do so effectively, requires that people are environmentally literate (EL), demonstrating an understanding of the problems, so they are motivated to…

Part I of this dissertation focuses on investigations of nitrogen oxide plasma systems. With increasing concerns over the environmental presence of NxOy species, there is growing interest in utilizing plasma-assisted conversion techniques. Advances, however, have been limited because of the lack of knowledge regarding the fundamental chemistry of…

Recruitment and retention concerns for teachers, particularly in rural school districts and in science, fill the daily news and research literature. The shortage of STEM workers is also another concern as well. Then why do nationally recognized secondary science teachers remain in rural schools with lower salaries, increased responsibilities…

The Colorado Learning Assistant (LA) Model has demonstrated that it is successful in helping to meet multiple goals including enhancing student learning in LA-supported courses, increasing conceptual understanding of physics among LAs, and improving the teaching practices of former LAs in K-12 schools. The research reported here investigated the…

Introductory physics courses often serve as gatekeepers for many scientific and engineering programs and, increasingly, colleges are relying on large, lecture formats for these courses. Many students, however, leave having learned very little physics and with poor views of the subject. In interactive engagement (IE), classroom activities encourage…

The timing and processes of development of the high topography and high relief of the southern Rocky Mountains of Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico has been controversial for over a hundred years. This study applies several different methodologies towards understanding the timing and relative importance of the events that uplifted and shaped the…

A common learning goal for modern physics instructors is for students to recognize a difference between the experimental uncertainty of classical physics and the fundamental uncertainty of quantum mechanics. Our studies suggest this notoriously difficult task may be frustrated by the intuitively "realist" perspectives of introductory…

The current study sought to examine how the cultural settings of Colorado, United States, and Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany, influenced perspectives, understandings, and acceptance of college students who want to become teachers (i.e., prospective teachers) in regard to the theory of evolution, creationism, and intelligent design with both…

On a national level, data indicate that about 40 percent of students in calculus courses finish with a grade of D or F, drop the course, or withdraw (Reinholz, 2009). This high failure rate has led to research studies investigating the teaching of calculus at the national level (House, 1995). Calculus courses have a history of high failure rates,…

Political science offers rich explanations for how different types of organizations that are focused on public policy decisions (e.g., boundary organizations, interest groups, policy networks (or communities), and think tanks) influence public policy processes (Cash, Clark, Alcock, Dickson, Eckley, Guston, Jager, and Mitchell 2003; Guston 2001;…

The United States Air Force Academy develops commissionable officers of character through an intense 4-year program that includes academic, athletic, and military education and training. The literature was silent on whether the Academy effectively develops character or, if so, how the development takes place. This was a phenomenological case study…