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Item Open Access Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Business Needs Assessment and Opportunities(Jay Kemmerer WORTH Institute, Founded Outdoors, 2026-05-29)This report is the first comprehensive outdoor business needs assessment ever conducted for Wyoming. The report was developed through a partnership between the University of Wyoming Jay Kemmerer WORTH Institute and Founded Outdoors, with research contributions from students in the UW Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Management degree capstone class. Findings draw on a survey of 111 Wyoming outdoor businesses and in-depth interviews with 19 owners across 18 counties. Outdoor recreation’s share of Wyoming’s total GDP was 4.5% in 2024 the 5th highest in the country, generating $2.3 billion and employing 16,545 or 5.5% of total wage and salary employment (the fourth highest percentage in the US). However, Wyoming’s growth in GDP contribution and employment consistently ranks close to last nationally. Wyoming's outdoor business landscape is dominated by experienced operators - nearly three-quarters have been in business for more than a decade - underscoring the need to support new business formation, entrepreneurship pipelines, and succession planning for veterans nearing the end of their careers. Business health is mixed. Seasonality, weather and climate disruptions, and marketing were the most cited operational challenges. Other common challenges were workforce shortages driven by housing costs and seasonal employment patterns and work life balance or burnout. Retail businesses face additional pressure from e-commerce competition, tariffs, and big-box retailers. Two-thirds of business owners were either unaware of existing support resources, did not use them, or found them to have limited impact. 46% didn’t use any outside capital in build their businesses. Greater outdoor-specific programming and stronger promotion of organizations such as WYORBA could substantially improve participation and value delivered to Wyoming's outdoor businesses. Business needs vary meaningfully by region: Gateway businesses are stretched thin by demand, West-region businesses report greater financial stress, and East-region businesses are often less connected to support networks. Across interviews, a consistent theme was outdoor recreation's undervalued economic role in Wyoming's policy landscape, with the industry frequently deprioritized in permitting, land use, and economic development decisions.Item Open Access Learner Agency in Mathematics When Classroom Instruction Incorporates Voice, Choice, and Opportunity in Demonstrating Understandings(University of Wyoming Libraries, 2026-05-06)This action research study grew out of my desire to rethink what mathematics learning looked like in my seventh-grade classroom. Over time, I began to question how often students were being asked to simply follow directions rather than actively participate in their learning in meaningful ways. This study focused on how voice, choice, and opportunity shaped students’ experiences in mathematics and how intentional changes in my teaching influenced student engagement, classroom interactions, and my own growth as a teacher. The study took place in my advanced seventh-grade mathematics classroom and centered on my shift away from a more traditional, teacher-directed approach toward one that gave students more flexibility in how they demonstrated understanding. Rather than collecting formal student interviews or surveys, I relied on ongoing teacher reflection, classroom observation, and classroom artifacts to examine what changed as I implemented more choice-based learning experiences. Through this reflective process, I noticed important shifts in both my students and myself. Students appeared more engaged, more willing to share their thinking, and more open to taking risks when they were given meaningful opportunities to make decisions about their learning. I also saw changes in my own role as I moved from being the primary director of learning to more of a facilitator. Overall, this study suggests that creating space for voice, choice, and opportunity can support learner agency and contribute to a more engaging middle grades mathematics classroom.Item Open Access Using Manipulatives to Enhance Students’ Comprehension and Engagement(University of Wyoming Libraries, 2026-04-27)Mathematics is a subject in both primary and secondary education that plays a critical role in developing foundational academic skills. Because of this, mathematics instruction should actively engage students in constructing their own understanding, helping them develop conceptual knowledge through hands-on, interactive lessons that promote self-discovery of concepts. Fractions are the building blocks for conceptual understanding in later subject areas such as algebra and proportional reasoning. The purpose of this study was to examine how manipulatives, taught through the Concrete–Representational–Abstract (CRA) model, could support students’ conceptual understanding and achievement when learning to divide fractions while keeping them engaged. The study design used was a mixed-methods approach, incorporating pre- and post-tests, surveys, and focus group interviews; the pre- and post-test data, in conjunction with the survey, supported quantitative analysis, while the survey and focus groups contributed to qualitative insights. The findings showed that manipulative use when teaching fraction division enhances conceptual understanding and achievement while keeping students actively engaged in the lessons. The researcher concluded that using manipulatives when teaching dividing fractions not only improved academic achievement and strengthened conceptual understanding, but that increased engagement also contributed to these outcomes. These findings suggest that teachers should incorporate manipulatives more consistently within instruction to support both understanding and engagement, particularly when teaching abstract mathematical concepts. Future research should examine the effectiveness of manipulative use across different grade levels and mathematical topics.Item Open Access The Role of Routines, Norms, and Instructional Structures in Supporting Collaborative Learning in a Secondary Mathematics Classroom(University of Wyoming Libraries, 2026-04-28)This action research study examined how the consistent implementation of classroom routines, norms, and instructional structures influenced the organization, participation, and facilitation of collaborative learning in a secondary mathematics classroom. Grounded in sociocultural learning theory and reflective practice, this study addressed the gap between the intention to implement collaborative, student-centered learning and the challenge of sustaining it in daily practice. Using a qualitative, teacher-driven action research design, data were collected across six consecutive lessons through video recordings, reflective journals, and lesson transcripts. Analysis revealed three key findings. First, consistent collaborative routines improved classroom organization and instructional flow by creating a predictable environment that reduced uncertainty and allowed greater focus on mathematical thinking. Second, explicitly taught norms and accountability structures increased equitable participation and expanded access to mathematical discourse. Third, as these structures became internalized, the teacher’s role shifted from managing behavior to facilitating student thinking and supporting the co-construction of knowledge. These findings suggest that collaborative learning is most effective when supported by intentional, consistently implemented structures. This study highlights the role of instructional design and reflective practice in creating classroom environments where collaboration, equitable participation, and meaningful mathematical discourse can be sustained.Item Open Access Understanding Before Executing: A Literature Review of Conceptual Fraction Instruction and Its Implications for Upper Elementary Students and Teachers(University of Wyoming Libraries, 2026-04-28)Fractions remain one of the most persistently challenging topics in upper elementary mathematics despite decades of curricular reform. This extended literature review examines the long-term benefits of teaching fractions conceptually before procedurally in upper elementary classrooms, with fraction division serving as the primary focal concept through which this argument is examined, synthesizing research from the 1990s through contemporary systematic reviews. Three interconnected theoretical frameworks guide this analysis: the Conceptual vs. Procedural Knowledge Framework, the Mathematics Achievement Prediction Framework, and the Proficiency Development Framework. Together, these frameworks demonstrate that conceptual-first instruction provides the cognitive foundation for meaningful fraction learning and fraction division understanding specifically, predicts sustained mathematical achievement, and supports knowledge transfer to ratios, proportional reasoning, and algebra. The review also addresses significant counterpoints, including the persistence of whole number bias, which is particularly consequential for fraction division where whole number intuitions about division are most directly contradicted, individual variation in development pathways, and limitations of traditional part-whole instructional approaches. These counterpoints refine rather than undermine the central argument, pointing toward a more nuanced position: procedural instruction alone is demonstrably insufficient, conceptual understanding must come first to initiate meaningful learning, and teachers must remain responsive to individual students as conceptual and procedural knowledge develop in tandem. A consistent finding across the literature is that effective conceptual instruction depends fundamentally on teachers' own conceptual understanding, as many elementary teachers lack the mathematical depth necessary to teach fractions meaningfully. The evidence affirms that improving fraction instruction requires not merely resequencing content, but transforming mathematical experiences through investment in teacher preparation and instructional practices that prioritize conceptual depth over procedural coverage.
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