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- All Subjects: Education
- Creators: Walters, Molina
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Kolbe ATM is an index developed by Kathy Kolbe to measure the conative traits on an individual. The index assigns each individual a value in four categories, or Action Modes, that indicates their level of insistence on a scale of 1 to 10 in that Action Mode (Kolbe, 2004). The four Action Modes are:
• Fact Finder – handling of information or facts
• Follow Thru – need to pattern or organize
• Quick Start – management of risk or uncertainty
• Implementor – interaction with space or tangibles
The Kolbe A (TM) index assigns each individual a value that indicates their level of insistence with 1-3 representing resistant, preventing problems in a particular Action Mode; 4-6 indicating accommodation, flexibility in a particular Action Mode; and 7-10 indicating insistence in an Action Mode, initiating solutions in that Action Mode (Kolbe, 2004).
To promote retention of conative diversity, this study examines conative diversity in two engineering student populations, a predominately freshmen population at Chandler Gilbert Community College and a predominately junior population at Arizona State University. Students in both population took a survey that asked them to self-report their GPA, satisfaction with required courses in their major, Kolbe ATM conative index, and how much their conative traits help them in each of the classes on the survey. The classes in the survey included two junior level classes at ASU, Engineering Business Practices and Structural Analysis; as well as four freshmen engineering classes, Physics Lecture, Physics Lab, English Composition, and Calculus I.
This study finds that student satisfaction has no meaningful correlation with student GPA.
The study also finds that engineering programs have a dearth of resistant Fact Finders from the freshmen level on and losses resistant Follow Thrus and insistent Quick Starts as time progresses. Students whose conative indices align well with the structure of the engineering program tend to consider their conative traits helpful to them in their engineering studies. Students whose conative indices misalign with the structure of the program report that they consider their strengths less helpful to them in their engineering studies.
This study recommends further research into the relationship between satisfaction with major and conation and into perceived helpfulness of conative traits by students. Educators should continue to use Kolbe A (TM) in the classroom and perform further research on the impacts of conation on diversity in engineering programs.
As we count down the years remaining before a global climate catastrophe, ever increases the importance of teaching environmental history and fostering environmental stewardship from a young age. In the age of globalization, nothing exists in a vacuum, yet our traditional education system often fails to reflect the abundant connections between content areas that are prevalent outside of schools. In fact, many of the flaws of the field of education have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and a forced transition to online schooling, with many educators reverting to outdated practices in a desperate attempt to get students through the year. The aim of this project was to design a unit curriculum with these issues in mind. This month-long environmental history unit engages students through the use of hands-on activities and promotes interdisciplinary connections. The unit can be taught in a physical, online, or hybrid American history class, and will hopefully inspire and motivate students to become environmental stewards as they look toward their futures on this planet.
Standards call for a change from teaching facts to teaching students to construct explanations of phenomena by engaging in science and engineering practices. Through a blend of science and engineering practices, core ideas, and crosscutting concepts, the performance expectations form standards that address applying ideas to explanation of phenomena, problem solving, and decision making. The ideas conveyed in the standards need to be developed over time through multiple lessons. Rather than simply present information to students, the Arizona Science Standards require teachers to support students in constructing explanations of phenomena and developing solutions to problems. The integration of the Arizona Science Standards in the science curriculum through the Five E model has the potential to provide students with inquiry- based learning that will help develop their science literacy skills. The 5E inquiry model consists of five phases: Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation. Each phase contributes to the learning process as students are encouraged to actively build their knowledge. The learning experiences in science education become richer and more meaningful to students when the science literacy skills are successfully integrated into the 5E inquiry model. Not only will the students learn the skills of science, but also, they will be actively engaged with science content. Active engagements with science will likely foster interest and positive attitudes towards science. This thesis project developed a way to implement inquiry-based learning through an electricity and magnetism unit that uses the 5E model and aligns with the Arizona State Science Standards. The goal of this project was to develop a science unit that can be implemented in future classrooms.