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The development of literacy abilities in young children has been a major concern for authorities and teachers in the USA for the last two decades. Significant effort has been devoted to ensure that preschool settings allow and motivate children to engage in literacy activities before entering kindergarten. Research has found

The development of literacy abilities in young children has been a major concern for authorities and teachers in the USA for the last two decades. Significant effort has been devoted to ensure that preschool settings allow and motivate children to engage in literacy activities before entering kindergarten. Research has found that a rich classroom environment in preschool settings enables teachers to encourage literacy interest in children at a young age. While a large amount of research has concentrated in testing the effect of prescriptive modifications in the classroom environment, few have focused on studying the design process and tools that teachers follow to design their classrooms. Public policy and research studies in the United States, mention the design of the classroom environment among teacher's responsibilities, but they do not include practical or methodological guides for them to use. The purpose of this research was to study the design process and tools that teachers use to design literacy rich classrooms in preschool settings. A case study was conducted at the ASU Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Preschool at Arizona State University. This setting provides a unique opportunity for an exploratory study of this nature because it is a private child development laboratory with a flexible curriculum. Participant observation sessions and in depth semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the design process used and experienced by the teachers. Findings revealed an iterative and cyclic design process that is repeated over time adjusting to the influence of numerous factors. Results also suggest that teacher's knowledge and beliefs highly influence the organization of their classrooms. Considering these factors as a standpoint allows for further exploration to determine a design process suitable for teachers when designing their learning environments. The use of a structured yet flexible design process, can be a potential tool for educators to design their classrooms, collaborate, document and transmit their knowledge. Although the findings correspond to a specific site studied, the implications are wide reaching as problems and opportunities expressed by the staff are common to other educational settings with similar characteristics.
ContributorsCortes, Catalina (Author) / Patel, Mookesh (Thesis advisor) / Heywood, William (Committee member) / Christie, James (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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The Luminosity Lab, located at Arizona State University, is a prototype for a novel model of interdisciplinary, student-led innovation. The model’s design was informed by the following desired outcomes: i) the model would be well-suited for the 21st century, ii) it would attract, motivate, and retain the university’s strongest student

The Luminosity Lab, located at Arizona State University, is a prototype for a novel model of interdisciplinary, student-led innovation. The model’s design was informed by the following desired outcomes: i) the model would be well-suited for the 21st century, ii) it would attract, motivate, and retain the university’s strongest student talent, iii) it would operate without the oversight of faculty, and iv) it would work towards the conceptualization, design, development, and deployment of solutions that would positively impact society. This model of interdisciplinary research was tested at Arizona State University across four academic years with participation of over 200 students, who represented more than 20 academic disciplines. The results have shown successful integration of interdisciplinary expertise to identify unmet needs, design innovative concepts, and develop research-informed solutions. This dissertation analyzes Luminosity’s model to determine the following: i) Can a collegiate, student-driven interdisciplinary model of innovation designed for the 21st century perform without faculty management? ii) What are the motivators and culture that enable student success within this model? and iii) How does Luminosity differ from traditional research opportunities and learning experiences?
Through a qualitative, grounded theory analysis, this dissertation examines the phenomena of the students engaging in Luminosity’s model, who have demonstrated their ability to serve as the principal investigators and innovators in conducting substantial discovery, research, and innovation work through full project life cycles. This study supports a theory that highly talented students often feel limited by the pace and scope of their college educations, and yearn for experiences that motivate them with agency, achievement, mastery, affinity for colleagues, and a desire to impact society. Through the cumulative effect of these motivators and an organizational design that facilitates a bottom-up approach to student-driven innovation, Luminosity has established itself as a novel model of research and development in the collegiate space.
ContributorsNaufel, Mark Naufel (Author) / Becker, David V (Thesis advisor) / Cooke, Nancy J. (Committee member) / Anderson, Derrick (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020