Recognizing Campus Landscapes as Learning Spaces

Education in today’s society is facing many challenges and changes in providing good learning spaces for the diverse needs of today’s college kids. As the years rise so do the number of students attending a college. In 2019 the amount of students registered in college will be around 9% higher than it is today. America expects a college to look like a place of learning inside and outside. A college needs more than just technological upgrades, class room additions, and new buildings. A college needs to feel like a learning space, a place where it always feels like a holistic learning space so it can provide a holistic learning experience. Learning is a constant goal that is always happening 24/7 all year long. Only around one-fifth of a student’s time is spent in a class room, which means that most of there time is spent around campus and not in class. A more adept learning space has more ability to provide learning outside of class, which might be an overlooked catalyst that can help students learn. The whole college experience is a very demanding time that requires a very high level of focus and concentration. This increases the chance of students falling into fatigued states and exhausting themselves out, and with all the technology in today’s society the students face a higher chance of being distracted. Although student’s cognitive abilities are highly over taxed and expected to always be working their best, universities do not provide any way to replenish or restore cognitive abilities.

The first American colleges were built to be self-sufficient in rural areas, having  dorm, dinning halls, and class rooms. Many of the people who wanted to make colleges back then wanted to make an ideal community that was isolated from the life of city but open who others to join. As time went on the lay out of college changed to be more open and less focus on many buildings together to block out the outside world’s temptations. Adding farms, gardens, and greenhouses started to provide student with more of a sense of community and a place to belong.

The layout of a campus has an impact of the learning behavior of a students, so a well designed campus is a crucial element into the learning of a student. Natural scenery refreshes the mind and helps it over come fatigue.  Though nature as proves to be hard to define. Nature could mean anything from just plants to gardens or even untouched woods. In most cases nature means anything that has to do with plants, fresh air or water. Without ways to restore ones cognitive abilities a individual may become angry or irritated.

Traditional campuses pride learning opportunities inside, but campus fail to provide a good learning environment that facilitates learning outside of class on campus.  Colleges need to pay attention to this mixture of indoor and outdoor spaces to help grow a community for their students. Nature trails provide an area for the growth of community and quiet area provide a student the ability to refresh one’s self. If colleges can mix their campuses in the right way they will provide a higher and more effective learning environment for their students.