The University of Montana's Research Education on Air and Cardiovascular Health (REACH) Program works with teachers to engage high school juniors and seniors in rudimentary real-world scientific research with the goals of improving their understanding of and interest in science, and to increase their interest in science careers. To evaluate the…

Peer review exercises are an essential part of many educational pedagogy models and have been shown to successfully provide undergraduate students with requisite active learning and critical reflection skills. Teaching the peer review process in an interdisciplinary honors research methods course, however, presents its own set of challenges. As…

Objective: This phenomenology explored the experiences of those involved in a campus-based Ambassador program that enforced a tobacco-free policy at a public university in Montana. Participants: During the program's initial implementation (spring 2014), researchers observed and interviewed 21 Ambassadors and 19 policy violators. Methods:…

American Indian students who have attended tribal colleges have expressed gratitude, appreciation and pride in their educational and cultural experiences at these institutions. Most of the 37 tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) in the US and Canada currently offer two-year degree and certificate programs. Many American Indian students who wish…

The Air Toxics under the Big Sky program developed at the University of Montana is a regional outreach and education initiative that offers a yearlong exploration of air quality and its relation to respiratory health. The program was designed to connect university staff and resources with rural schools enabling students to learn and apply science…

The current study, which focuses on mentored research experiences of freshmen and sophomores at the tribal college of the Northern Cheyenne Nation, responds to the call by Ovink and Veazey (2011) for additional study of effective strategies for providing both mentoring and research experiences for minority undergraduates. We use qualitative…

The excitement was palpable as the day had finally come -- Research Day! Introduction to Psychology students in a community college who were earning vocational and transfer degrees had become fledging researchers, exuberant to share their knowledge with peers, instructors, their families and community members. Students presented their research…

This article presents findings from a qualitative study examining the similarities and differences between American Indian/Alaska Native student perceptions and the perceptions of state representatives, university presidents, and faculty about persistence factors and barriers to degree completion specific to American Indian/Alaska Native students…

This first document in a three-volume summative evaluation report presents a portion of the internal evaluation conducted by the Mountain-Plains program, a residential, family-based education program developed to improve the economic potential and lifestyle of selected student families in a six-state region. (The three-volume report presents both…

Examines feelings of alienation, attitudes toward college and teachers, academic achievement, and expectations of graduation among 87 American Indian and 508 White students at a predominantly White college. Concludes that alienation is common among American Indian students and affects grade point average more than other factors studied. Contains…

A study was designed to determine the strengths and weaknesses of Supervised Occupational Experience (SOE) in Montana and the extent to which vocational agriculture teachers were using it to enhance their students' education. The student population consisted of 144 vocational agriculture students who had submitted records on SOE projects. All…

Data obtained in a survey made to determine some of the problems in the relationship between high schools and post-secondary institutions and to identify some ways of improving cooperation are presented. Participating in the survey were high school principals, college and university presidents, vocational/technical center directors, proprietary…

A study was made of 20 rural high schools with enrollments of less than 110 and with an educable mentally handicapped student currently enrolled. Administrators, counselors, and educable students, and their parents were interviewed to determine provisions made for these students. In addition, the interviewers were concerned with what these people…

These proceedings contain 48 presentations and 15 poster abstracts. Papers include "Computer Tasks Required in Selected Undergraduate Agriculture Courses" (Johnson, Ferguson, Vokinnns, Lester); "College of Agriculture Faculty Perceptions of Electronic Technologies in Teaching" (Dooley, Murphy); "Steering Through Turbulent…