Barrett

Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.

Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.

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Biomimetic Design Inspired through Macro-Ecological Photography

Description
This creative project explores how macro-ecological photography can serve as a community engagement tool for the field of biomimicry, meant to provoke interest in the subject. My photos, and the organisms pictured in them, were hand selected for this project to form one cohesive, aesthetic set. The appeal of the…

This creative project explores how macro-ecological photography can serve as a community engagement tool for the field of biomimicry, meant to provoke interest in the subject. My photos, and the organisms pictured in them, were hand selected for this project to form one cohesive, aesthetic set. The appeal of the colorful pictures captured the attention of audience members so they felt more inclined to learn about the informational content accompanying the art. Each picture is coupled with a scientific explanation as to how the pictured organism relates to the field of biomimicry, including concrete examples of its application. To maximize exposure of the project, I published my photos through a website and an e-book, and also presented them as a live photography exhibit on campus at Arizona State University.
ContributorsGerber, Haley Dawn (Author) / Jenik, Adriene (Thesis director) / Walters, Molina (Committee member) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05

Evaluating Whole-School Sustainability

Description
Circles of Sustainability is a self-evaluation tool designed to build educator capacity in K-12 schools seeking sustainability solutions. Based on the Sustainable Schools Challenge Handbook from Memphis, Tennessee, Circles of Sustainability considers environmental impact and efficiency, a healthy and safe school environment, sustainability and environmental education, and engagement and empowerment…

Circles of Sustainability is a self-evaluation tool designed to build educator capacity in K-12 schools seeking sustainability solutions. Based on the Sustainable Schools Challenge Handbook from Memphis, Tennessee, Circles of Sustainability considers environmental impact and efficiency, a healthy and safe school environment, sustainability and environmental education, and engagement and empowerment as four key pillars of whole-school sustainability. Each pillar is composed of elements and rubric items, which are reviewed, totaled, and colored in on the front page of the tool to help educators visualize and evaluate the current state of sustainability at their school. Since its first iteration completed in May 2017, the tool has been used by 300 educators throughout the United States during ASU's Sustainability Teachers' Academy (STA) workshops. Circles of Sustainability is completed as part of an activity called "Evaluating Your Community," where educators complete the tool and then brainstorm sustainability projects and solutions for their school and community. This paper is a review and discussion of the research, informal feedback and formal feedback used to create the second iteration of the tool. A second iteration of the tool was created to make the tool more user-friendly and ensure each pillar, element, and rubric item are based in research. The informal feedback was conducted during STA workshops in Tempe, Arizona; Abingdon, Virginia; Princeton, New Jersey; Chicago, Illinois; Los Angeles, California; Tucson, Arizona; and Charlotte, North Carolina. The formal feedback was conducted using a survey distributed to teachers who participated in the Tucson and Charlotte workshops. Overall, educators have responded positively to the tool, and the second iteration will continue to be used in future STA workshops throughout the United States.
ContributorsColbert, Julia (Author) / Schoon, Michael (Thesis director) / Merritt, Eileen (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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Emotion and learning in children attending summer science camp

Description
With the overall health of the environment rapidly declining \u2014 mostly due to human behaviors, solving the problem of nature deficit disorder and getting more children interested and aware of nature could be paramount to improving the environmental health of our planet. In this study, the relationship between children's learning…

With the overall health of the environment rapidly declining \u2014 mostly due to human behaviors, solving the problem of nature deficit disorder and getting more children interested and aware of nature could be paramount to improving the environmental health of our planet. In this study, the relationship between children's learning and emotion is explored. Pre- and post-tests were given to children attending a week-long summer freshwater ecology camp; their knowledge of and emotional connection to different ecological concepts were measured. Two separate ecosystems were tested \u2014 a freshwater ecosystem that was taught over the course of the week, and a marine ecosystem for comparison. Increases in knowledge and emotion were seen in every freshwater ecosystem concept. Additionally, the knowledge and emotion scores were correlated, suggesting a positive relationship between them. The marine ecosystem did not show improvements in concrete knowledge, but showed increases in abstract learning, indicating that the abstract concepts learned about the freshwater ecosystem were able to transfer to the marine. Overall results show the ability of a hands-on learning experience to foster an emotional connection between a child and the subject matter. However, long-term studies are needed to track the relationship between children and their knowledge of and emotional connection to the subject matter.
ContributorsMossler, Max Vaughn (Author) / Pearson, David (Thesis director) / Smith, Andrew (Committee member) / Berkowitz, Alan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2013-05

Black in Bleu

Description

"Black in Bleu" is a reflection on my life as a young, Black woman in America told through poetry, and music in conjunction with feminist activists' work as well as results from a survey amongst other young, black students. This paper is a window into Blackness reflecting my experiences as…

"Black in Bleu" is a reflection on my life as a young, Black woman in America told through poetry, and music in conjunction with feminist activists' work as well as results from a survey amongst other young, black students. This paper is a window into Blackness reflecting my experiences as well as many others in a way to find love in that reflection. There is a playlist that goes along with the paper meant to be listened to simultaneously with the reading.
ContributorsDowning, Ciarra (Author) / Acierto, Alejandro (Thesis director) / Reyes, Ernesto (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2023-05

Environmental Education for Children: Creating an Online Repository of Books and Lesson Plans for Elementary Education

Description
The existing educational system is failing to provide adequate environmental education to future generations so that they will have the knowledge, skills, and capability to address the environmental concerns that society is facing. The system must encompass environmental education through adoption of an eco-pedagogical system that either contributes to traditional…

The existing educational system is failing to provide adequate environmental education to future generations so that they will have the knowledge, skills, and capability to address the environmental concerns that society is facing. The system must encompass environmental education through adoption of an eco-pedagogical system that either contributes to traditional education or is utilized on its own. The eco-pedagogical system produces education from a social and ecological point of view. As a result of the approach, students would develop and form a connection to nature as well as environmental hope. Each of these components will contribute to the student’s motivation, pathway thinking, agency thinking, and social trust. Leading to the development of the student's aptitude and capability to establish a goal and a plan to achieve it, as well as the identification of potential barriers and strategies for overcoming them. Ultimately, environmental education will equip future generations with the knowledge and skills necessary to create a social system that is capable of sustaining life while also caring for the environment and addressing environmental concerns produced by anthropocentric consequences. Keywords: Environmental education, eco-pedagogy, connection to nature, environmental hope Website Link: https://kvidean43.wixsite.com/environmentaled
ContributorsVidean, Kira (Author) / Bowman, Diana (Thesis director) / Serafini, Frank (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor)
Created2022-05
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Trash to Treasure: Turning Food Waste from Food Banks into Garden Compost

Description
Food waste is a significant problem in many developed nations, especially the United States. Each year millions of pounds of uneaten or partially eaten food scraps are thrown into landfill, where it degrades anaerobically, producing methane gas emissions, contributing to foul odors, and contributing to an unsustainable food system. This…

Food waste is a significant problem in many developed nations, especially the United States. Each year millions of pounds of uneaten or partially eaten food scraps are thrown into landfill, where it degrades anaerobically, producing methane gas emissions, contributing to foul odors, and contributing to an unsustainable food system. This thesis project set out to conduct a small-scale composting system that diverted would-be food waste from a local food bank to a community garden, where food scraps would decompose into compost to then be turned into a valuable, nutrient-rich amendment in that local garden. Engaging with this food bank and community garden allowed us to leverage the existing relationship between the two, and experiment and develop a framework that would demonstrate the feasibility of a long-term composting system in this community. By conducting this project throughout 2021, we saw where strategies worked well, what challenges remained, and where future opportunities could be expanded on. In the end, we diverted over 2000 lbs of uneaten food away from the food bank and into our composting system. We concluded our project report by providing a set of actionable recommendations and future framework guidelines that could be used by the local community garden in the future or be referenced to by other interested parties.
ContributorsBardon, Lee (Author) / Marshall, Meghan (Co-author) / Nelson, Melissa (Thesis director) / Winburn, Morgan (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-12
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Trash to Treasure: Turning Food Waste from Food Banks into Garden Compost

Description
Food waste is a significant problem in many developed nations, especially the United States. Each year millions of pounds of uneaten or partially eaten food scraps are thrown into landfill, where it degrades anaerobically, producing methane gas emissions, contributing to foul odors, and contributing to an unsustainable food system. This…

Food waste is a significant problem in many developed nations, especially the United States. Each year millions of pounds of uneaten or partially eaten food scraps are thrown into landfill, where it degrades anaerobically, producing methane gas emissions, contributing to foul odors, and contributing to an unsustainable food system. This thesis project set out to conduct a small-scale composting system that diverted would-be food waste from a local food bank to a community garden, where food scraps would decompose into compost to then be turned into a valuable, nutrient-rich amendment in that local garden. Engaging with this food bank and community garden allowed us to leverage the existing relationship between the two, and experiment and develop a framework that would demonstrate the feasibility of a long-term composting system in this community. By conducting this project throughout 2021, we saw where strategies worked well, what challenges remained, and where future opportunities could be expanded on. In the end, we diverted over 2000 lbs of uneaten food away from the food bank and into our composting system. We concluded our project report by providing a set of actionable recommendations and future framework guidelines that could be used by the local community garden in the future or be referenced to by other interested parties.
ContributorsMarshall, Meghan (Author) / Bardon, Lee (Co-author) / Nelson, Melissa (Thesis director) / Winburn, Morgan (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2012-12
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Videan Final Project (Spring 2022)

Description

The existing educational system is failing to provide adequate environmental education to future generations so that they will have the knowledge, skills, and capability to address the environmental concerns that society is facing. The system must encompass environmental education through adoption of an eco-pedagogical system that either contributes to traditional…

The existing educational system is failing to provide adequate environmental education to future generations so that they will have the knowledge, skills, and capability to address the environmental concerns that society is facing. The system must encompass environmental education through adoption of an eco-pedagogical system that either contributes to traditional education or is utilized on its own. The eco-pedagogical system produces education from a social and ecological point of view. As a result of the approach, students would develop and form a connection to nature as well as environmental hope. Each of these components will contribute to the student’s motivation, pathway thinking, agency thinking, and social trust. Leading to the development of the student's aptitude and capability to establish a goal and a plan to achieve it, as well as the identification of potential barriers and strategies for overcoming them. Ultimately, environmental education will equip future generations with the knowledge and skills necessary to create a social system that is capable of sustaining life while also caring for the environment and addressing environmental concerns produced by anthropocentric consequences. Keywords: Environmental education, eco-pedagogy, connection to nature, environmental hope Website Link: https://kvidean43.wixsite.com/environmentaled
ContributorsVidean, Kira (Author) / Bowman, Diana (Thesis director) / Serafini, Frank (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2022-05
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Videan Creative Portion (Spring 2022)

Description

The existing educational system is failing to provide adequate environmental education to future generations so that they will have the knowledge, skills, and capability to address the environmental concerns that society is facing. The system must encompass environmental education through adoption of an eco-pedagogical system that either contributes to traditional…

The existing educational system is failing to provide adequate environmental education to future generations so that they will have the knowledge, skills, and capability to address the environmental concerns that society is facing. The system must encompass environmental education through adoption of an eco-pedagogical system that either contributes to traditional education or is utilized on its own. The eco-pedagogical system produces education from a social and ecological point of view. As a result of the approach, students would develop and form a connection to nature as well as environmental hope. Each of these components will contribute to the student’s motivation, pathway thinking, agency thinking, and social trust. Leading to the development of the student's aptitude and capability to establish a goal and a plan to achieve it, as well as the identification of potential barriers and strategies for overcoming them. Ultimately, environmental education will equip future generations with the knowledge and skills necessary to create a social system that is capable of sustaining life while also caring for the environment and addressing environmental concerns produced by anthropocentric consequences. Keywords: Environmental education, eco-pedagogy, connection to nature, environmental hope Website Link: https://kvidean43.wixsite.com/environmentaled
ContributorsVidean, Kira (Author) / Bowman, Diana (Thesis director) / Serafini, Frank (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2022-05