Landscapes of Learning
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Item Open Access Landscapes of Learning | Annotated Bibliography(Kansas State University. Dept. of Landscape Architecture/Regional & Community, 2012-05-03) Kingery-Page, Katie; Addo-Atuah, Kweku; Fakhraldeen, Sukaina; Hao, Shuang; King, Chelsey; Knight, Jonathan; Melvin, Rebecca; Weatherholt, Laura; kkpSeven master's degree candidates in the K-State Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional & Community Planning participated in a collaborative studio process leading to completion of their individual master’s reports. These graduates chose to work under the topic Landscapes of Learning . The interests of the group were broad: biophilia, access to nature for children, childhood development and special needs, ecological interpretation, participatory design, public play spaces, and landform as art. The common conversation centered around big questions: How can all children have access to nature for learning through play? What creates a rich, outdoor environment for all kinds of children and young adults? The students' annotated bibliography begins with a literature map grouping references by sub-topic and showing interrelationship between texts. The diagram is followed by a complete list of references, then the annotated entries, arranged by sub-topic. This bibliography is not intended to be exhaustive; its strength lies in connecting literature on environments for children to related themes in child development, landscape architecture and planning.Item Open Access Floodplains on the prairie: an ecological schoolyard design(Kansas State University, 2012-05-01) Weatherholt, LauraMan has been learning in the outdoors since the beginning of humankind. Modern times have reduced the amount of time people spend learning and exploring outside. This causes humans to be disconnected from the natural environment. By making schoolyards more environmentally focused, conducive to outdoor education and play, formal education can return to the original classroom–nature– and inspire people to reconnect with their environment. Much literature supports the ideas of aligning the efforts of play and education, environmental interpretation and education, and outdoor education with formal education; by incorporating all of these elements in a schoolyard, the potential for enriched learning is greatly increased. This project explores nature interpretation strategies used by public botanic gardens and translates these strategies to an ecological schoolyard. At Northview Elementary School in Manhattan, Kansas, the students face a simple, sterile play-yard with flooding limiting site use after storm events. The design for Northview Elementary will integrate stormwater features with school needs into a new ecological master plan for campus. Interpreting this landscape using the strategies adapted from botanical gardens for educational approaches, methods, and interpretive displays, provides the school and community a resource to enhance their lives, education, and the environment.Item Open Access Site as playground: expanding the experience of play(Kansas State University, 2012-04-30) Melvin, RebeccaEncouraging creativity is an important part of a child’s education and often not adequately supported by outdoor school environments. Contemporary playgrounds are designed in response to perceptions of liability and a limited interpretation of child development. Prefabricated plastic constructions and expanses of asphalt are poor initiators of creative expression. This project proposes a more stimulating, artistically crafted alternative to the typical playground. Beginning with documented research of play, the project layers psychology, education and humanities to form an understanding of how formal space affects human experience. More specifically, poetry, land art, sculpture, narrative and character studies inform the design solution for a 6.4 acre site at Northview Elementary School in Manhattan, Kansas. Integrated design provides children a meaningful experience of space and direct contact with nature. This design encourages imaginative and creative play, expanding the experiential quality of a contemporary playground.Item Open Access Northview Elementary School: an iterative participatory process in schoolyard planning & design(Kansas State University, 2012-04-27) Addo-Atuah, KwekuThere is currently a dearth of planning literature concerning participatory processes relative to children, particularly in the planning and design of schoolyard or playground spaces. Through a local, place-based, participatory approach emphasizing local knowledge and active listening, this master's report seeks to confirm the value of children in the planning and design of a schoolyard space. The study took place at the Northview Elementary School in Manhattan, KS comprising students as primary stakeholders, teachers/administrative staff as secondary stakeholders and parents as tertiary stakeholders. Additionally, the study employed Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s childhood cognitive development theories and five operational play categories in guiding the development of a learning landscape design aimed at supporting and maximizing cognitive development, physical activity and recreation. The report concludes with a set of five (5) recommendations designed to equip prospective researchers in undertaking participatory processes within school settings. The implication of this study is that sustained stakeholder engagement during planning and design processes of schoolyards will result in spaces reflective of the target audience.Item Open Access The geography of nature access opportunities(Kansas State University, 2012-04-26) Knight, Jonathan E.Experiences in natural environments are perceived as a human necessity. Additionally, prior studies show that nature access has emotional, cognitive, and psychological benefits for children. Nature is defined as a space comprised mostly of vegetation that allows an individual to escape common surroundings. Access is defined as the ability to interact with high-quality nature by walking or biking in close proximity to one’s place of residence. This geospatial analysis employs Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology and site analysis to assess whether or not socioeconomic factors, and their relationship to housing choice, affect a child’s access to nature. The study includes measures of socioeconomic status and how these factors influence a child’s access to nature within parks and school facilities. The results show that including qualitative factors enhances the traditional model of measuring “distance as access.” There was no inequality in access found in the study area when qualitative factors are included. The project implication is that communities can focus public resources and planning efforts in areas lacking access to nature for children. This leads to geographically less segregated neighborhoods and improved equity in nature access across a community.Item Open Access Play [bi-directional arrows] learn: Susan B. Anthony Middle School site as a neighborhood park design(Kansas State University, 2012-04-25) Hao, ShuangNeighborhood parks can provide a place for children and teens to satisfy their curiosity and learn about nature. Without an open-space policy or regulation from the city, no park was proposed during the development of the neighborhood adjacent to Susan B. Anthony Middle School in Manhattan, Kansas. People have to cross Highway 113 (Sethchild Road) or Kimball Avenue to the closest parks: Marlatt and Cico. However, neither of them is within walking distance for children and teens in this neighborhood. As a result, families have to build private playgrounds in their own backyards. In addition, technological development makes children and teens prefer staying inside playing video games. Neither private playgrounds nor video games provide interaction with nature or social interaction around nature. This project considers how the middle school site, which sits on approximately 40 acres, can be designed as a neighborhood park to allow children and teens to have close nature access and experiential learning opportunities. To better understand what users really need, interviews with teachers and questionnaires for students determined their current and preferred future use of the school site. In addition, neighborhood children, who are not in the middle school, were interviewed about their play preferences. Observations of the school site usage during school time and after were recorded for design purposes. Six precedents were examined to compare and understand what works to connect children and young teens to nature. After analyzing user needs and physical conditions of the site, a neighborhood park design for the site of Susan B. Anthony Middle School was proposed. The proposed design meets both students’ experiential learning needs and the need of neighborhood children and young teens to connect to nature. Because the 40-acre schoolyard is a nationally recommended size for middle schools, this joint-use schoolyard and park concept can be applied cross the country where needed.Item Open Access Therapeutic schoolyard: design for children with autism(Kansas State University, 2012-04-25) King, ChelseyIt is estimated by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that approximately 1 in every 88 children are diagnosed with some level of autism or various degrees of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (2012). Pervasive Developmental Disorders are commonly referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorders (and hereafter referred to as autism). Many children with autism have difficulty communicating, must cope with their disorder, and may need special considerations in the classroom. Needs of children with autism vary from child to child, but they all can benefit from environments that are designed with awareness of challenges and characteristics associated with autism. Schoolyards commonly contain asphalt, turf, and traditional play structures that do not take into consideration the needs of children with mental or physical disabilities. However, schoolyards can be designed to provide therapeutic benefits on these children without segregating them from the larger school community. In order to understand how a schoolyard might be designed as a therapeutic environment for children with autism the challenges, needs, and common therapies for children with autism must be understood. The characteristics of therapeutic landscapes for children must be considered in addition. After examining both therapeutic landscapes and the many facets of autism, the researcher applied lessons learned to the design of a schoolyard master plan for Amanda Arnold Elementary School in Manhattan, Kansas.Item Open Access Redefining (interior)scapes: integrating the natural and built environment(Kansas State University, 2012-04-25) Fakhraldeen, SukainaIn the temperate Midwest, interiorscapes are seldom a feature of public schools. The interior spaces of school environments tend to be dull, uninspiring, and do very little to nurture the wellbeing and needs of students. Interiorscapes can greatly influence the overall productivity of users by creating healthy, pleasant environments. Schools fail to create richer indoor environments for a number of reasons, such as lack of resources as well as knowledge about the design, implementation and benefits of interiorscapes. In addition students today “are not the outdoor-living [children] they were 100 years ago, and as much as 90% of [their] time may be spent indoors” (Manaker, 2). Healthy and stimulating school environments have the potential to enhance students’ productivity and creativity. Therefore the question at hand is: how can a Manhattan Kansas’ high school integrate the natural and built environment to create richer interior spaces? In this Master’s report, I explore the potential benefits of designing an interiorscape that integrates the natural and built environments within a school setting. Using Manhattan High School West Campus as the project site, I analyzed the effect and design of existing interiors on students through passive observation. Numerous research precedents identified valuable information on design processes and methodologies for designing interiorscapes and evaluating user interaction with existing places. Following a thorough analysis of the typology and characteristics of each precedent, I considered unique facets that were directly applicable to my project site. I then went to test the aspects selected from these precedents by incorporating them into the design for the selected project site; north courtyard and adjacent interior dining space. Based upon the precedent research and literature review, design goals and objectives evolved. The end product is a schematic design for Manhattan’s High School cafeteria area and north courtyard. The plan encompasses desired characteristics of an interiorscape and needs of its potential users. Ultimately, this proposal presents ideas for ways of implementing interiorscapes to enhance the overall productivity of users, while simultaneously strengthening the relationship between the natural and built environments.
