Master of Science / Architecture / R. Todd Gabbard / The purpose of the research study was to explore the role that the physical classroom environment plays in fostering student creativity in the combined fourth and fifth grade USD 475 gifted program. The research focused on answering the primary research question: Does the proposed environmental modification of the physical classroom foster creative behaviors in students? Secondary research questions included: 1) How does function-based classroom design affect both students and the classroom teacher in terms of creative process? 2) How does adaptability of the designed classroom environment affect both students and the classroom teacher in terms of creative process? A review of the literature led to the development of the author’s Framework for the Modification of Creative Learning Community Physical Environments. The study utilized a two-phase, experimental embedded research design that assessed the effects of an environmental modification to the physical classroom. Quantitative data collection methods included an environmental assessment and student survey utilizing a Likert scale. Qualitative data collection methods included participation observation, video observation, expert interviews, and open-ended student survey questions. The study found that the environmental modification of the physical classroom produced precursory creative behaviors in students. The emergent themes from the data analysis included facilitative physical environment, increased environmental acuity, leadership and self-esteem development, and improved teacher classroom management – all attributes found to be conducive to creativity development. These findings suggest further development of similar in-depth studies across a greater diversity of classroom learning environments is needed to establish reliability of the Framework for the Modification of Creative Learning Community Physical Environments.

This study attempted to combine the benefits of multimedia learning, adaptive interfaces, and learning style theory by constructing a novel e-learning environment. The environment was designed to accommodate individual learning styles while students progressed through a computer programming course. Despite the benefits of individualised instruction and a growing worldwide e-learning market, there is a paucity of guidance on how to effectively accommodate learning styles in an online environment. Several existing learning-style adaptive environments base their behaviour on an initial assessment of the learner's profile, which is then assumed to remain stable. Consequently, these environments rarely offer the learner choices between different versions of content. However, these choices could cater for flexible learning styles, promote cognitive flexibility, and increase learner control. The first research question underlying the project asked how learning styles could be accommodated in an adaptive e-learning environment. The second question asked whether a dynamically adaptive environment that provides the learner with a choice of media experiences is more beneficial than a statically adapted environment. To answer these questions, an adaptive e-learning environment named iWeaver was created and experimentally evaluated. iWeaver was based on an introductory course in Java programming and offered learning content as style-specific media experiences, assisted by additional learning tools. These experiences and tools were based on the perceptual and information processing dimension of an adapted version of the Dunn and Dunn learning styles model. An experimental evaluation of iWeaver was conducted with 63 multimedia students. The analysis investigated the effect of having a choice of multiple media experiences (compared to having just one static media experience) on learning gain, enjoyment, perceived progress, and motivation. In addition to these quantitative measurements, learners provided qualitative feedback at the end of each lesson. Data from 27 participants were sufficiently complete to be analysed. For the data analysis, participants were divided into two groups of high and low interest in programming and Java, then into two groups of high and low experience with computers and the Internet. Both group comparisons revealed statistically significant differences for the effect of choice. Having a choice of media experiences proved beneficial for learners with low experience but detrimental for learners with high experience or interest. These findings suggest that the effect of choice appears to be strongly influenced by the learner's background. It is hypothesised that encouraging a more active learner role in educational systems would expand the positive influence of choice to a wider range of learners. The study has contributed some weight to the argument that for certain groups of learners, it is more beneficial to view learning style as a flexible, rather than a stable construct. As a practical implication, it seems advisable to collect data on prior experience, interest, and the initial learning style distribution of the target audience before developing environments comparable to iWeaver. [See http://www.adaptive-learning.net/research/media.htm for media files associated with this thesis.]