“Recognizing Campus Landscapes as Learning Spaces” is an article by Kathleen G Scholl and Gowri Betrabet Gulwadi published on 2015 on the UNC Greensboro Journal of Learning Spaces. The primary argument of the article is to increase the amount of “green spaces” in college campuses. The article formally starts with a brief introduction about the authors claims “…we propose that the natural landscape of a university campus is an attentional learning resource for its students…” (Scholl and Gulwadi).The main article is split into four pieces: Historical Context of the American College Campus, Concepts of Attention and its Impact on Student Learning, Holistic landscapes for holistic learning, and Conclusion.
The section titled “Historical Context of the American College Campus” provides a brief background on the eveoultion of college campuses. This section begins with the introduction of the word campus as “ …first associated with college grounds to describe Princeton University in the 1770’s…”(Scholl and Gulwadi). The authors then assert that “…Unlike the classic designs of America’s first institutions, the physical campus of the land grant university was designed to significantly contribute to student learning through its working farms, forests, arboretums, greenhouses, garden…” This situation was later changed by the increase in college enrollment which led to “… filling existing campus open space with large, stand-alone structures that typically did not cohere or unify with the existing campus style…”(Scholl and Gulwadi).
The second section of the article “Concepts of Attention and its Impact on Student Learning” gets into the main argument of the authors, that the structure and openness of college campuses have a direct impact on student attention and performance. The authors argue “…exposure to and interaction with nature has specific recovery effects on the human attentional system…”(Scholl and Gulwadi). To support their claim the authors first define nature as ““physical features and processes of nonhuman origin that people ordinarily can perceive, including the “living nature” of flora and fauna, together with still and running water, qualities of air and weather, and the landscapes that comprise these and show the influences of geological processes”(Scholl and Gulwadi).They then claim that “…interactions with nature can , in particular, can help to maintain or restore cognitive function such as direct attention..”(Scholl and Gulwadi). Direct attention is later defined as any mental activity that requires some form of conscious effort to carry out (Scholl and Gulwadi). Next the authors claim “…After a period of prolonged cognitive demands and mental saturation, difficulties in concentrating, reduced performance on tasks, higher rates of irritability and tension, and more impulsive and hostile behavior may arise…”(Scholl and Gulwadi). They further state that a period of involuntary attention serves as a reprieve for direct attention( Scholl and Gulwadi). They support the previous claim by defining involuntary attention, “Involuntary attention occurs when individuals are presented with stimuli that are “inherently intriguing”… Interaction with natural environments (especially green nature) employs faculties of concentration not normally used – involuntary ones – thus allowing the neural mechanisms underlying directed attention a chance to rest and replenish…”(Scholl and Gulwadi).
The third section of the article “Holistic landscapes for holistic learning” mainly provides evidence on the effects of nature, and a more detailed definition of nature. Contained in the first part of this section is a chart that classifies nature and student nature interactions. Next the authors state open spaces in college campuses “… can impact student learning because they provide multiple everyday opportunities for multi-sensorial, student-nature encounters– an important precursor to activating the attention restoration…”(Scholl and Gulwadi). They then identify ideal buildings which heighten the restoration of attention as buildings with few floors which are in close proximity to nature and have many windows. Next the matter of indoor classroom is discussed “…. Flexibility in seating and spatial configuration can begin to help diffuse this emphasis and begin to accommodate other auditory and kinesthetic learning modalities …”(Scholl and Guwaldi). The authors then restate their main argument “…We do suggest that regular cognitive breaks from direct attention in natural settings can help students regulate, replenish, and strengthen cognitive function and ability to prepare for either the next round of classes or improve the effectiveness and efficiency of an independent study period …”(Scholl and Guwaldi).
The Conclusion restates revisits most of the authors’ main points. They start by stating “… a student’s learning experience is not often balanced by unstructured or structured opportunities for drawing forth effortless …”(Scholl and Guwaldi). Followed by “…public areas and outdoor learning environments, including nature trails and ecological study areas, lend more opportunities for community interaction and social encounters that foster a sense of belonging, whereas quiet areas provide a place for students to refresh themselves…”(Scholl and Guwaldi). They wrap up the paper by stating “…In this paper, we focused on the cognitive benefit that a holistically designed campus can provide as a resource for learning, that is, the enhancement of “direct attention.” Thereby, we also addressed the importance of providing multi-dimensional access to student-nature campus interactions…”(Scholl and Guwaldi). The article concludes with the authors identifying potential next steps, such as “… adopting a whole-systems approach to campus design…that requires communication and collaboration among academic, administrative and facilities planning stakeholders.” and treating green spaces for their educational impacts instead of aesthetic value(Scholl and Guwaldi).
Citations:
Scholl, Kathleen G., and Gowri Betrabet Gulwadi. “Recognizing Campus Landscapes as Learning Spaces | Scholl | Journal of Learning Spaces.”Recognizing Campus Landscapes as Learning Spaces | Scholl | Journal of Learning Spaces. University of North Carolina Greensboro, 2015. Web. 03 Oct. 2016.
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