Summary of Recognizing campus landscapes as learning spaces 

Recognizing campus landscapes as learning spaces by Kathleen Scholl and Gowri Gulwadi talks about campus life in past, present, and future tenses. Starting with a brief introduction Scholl and Gulwadi state that colleges have seen a major increase in enrollment in the last 6 years and that should progress into the future. Currently students spend only “one-fifth of their time in a classroom.” (53) Since such little time is spent in a classroom, other features of the campus must serve some purpose to assist in the learning environment. An increasing trend in technology puts students at a higher risk of failing in an academic sense and campus life should have some way to combat this. Scholl and Gulwadi say that in the future, campuses will be designed to capture the attention of students both directly and indirectly.

Historically campuses have been in rural areas with limited interaction with other people outside of the college. Most colleges are built in a way that they are self sufficient and can provide a location for scholars and professors to further their quest for knowledge with minimal interference. After the second world war, colleges had to expand tremendously to accommodate to the massive influx of people who benefited from the GI bill. Then when cars became accessible to almost every American who was able to drive one, colleges had to build huge parking decks. The introduction of the extra buildings and parking decks took away from the nature of a traditional campuses. Recently there have been efforts to reintroduce the nature back into a college campus. “Grummon (2009) found that 13.5% of incoming students surveyed selected a university based on sustainability concerns. A historic perspective shows that campuses are evolving in response to the prevailing philosophy of education – older campus plans emphasized disciplinary boundaries and newer campus designs are more amorphous and integrative.” (54)

A major concept of the article is describing how direct and involuntary attention. Direct attention refers to the attention a person gives to something intentionally. The article says that direct attention requires a brain to exert more effort to focus and prevent distractions. Direct attention is more of what is required in a classroom setting. The mind must focus and keep relevant information sorted out from irrelevant information.

Involuntary attention refers to something that grabs your attention without effort. The article refers to the involuntary attention as something that is “inherently intriguing.” (55) Examples of involuntary attention grabbing things are sunsets, natural wonders of the world, and waterfalls. The article shows a table that compares the different environments from the indoor environment to the wilderness. It gives an example that could be found on a camous for each example.

The article winds down by explaining how nature can benefit students in their quest for knowledge. In a time where most campuses are expanding at the expense of nature, Cornell University ,which is one of the more prestigious universities in the country, has purposefully made their university comprised of “more than two-thirds open space”. (57) The article claims that students are more in-tuned to the effects of global climate change and being in a more natural environment raises morale.

In conclusion, the article reinforces the notion that campuses should be designed in a way that incorporates nature to benefit students and combat global climate change