physical environments
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Physical Environments:What role does it play in Student Behavior?
Celeste Demby & Patrick Monaco
November 4, 2010
Presentation Goals:
How the physical environment of a campus
can:•Promote Safety and Inclusion•Encourage Involvement •Build Community
Physical Environment
(Komives &Woodard, 2003)
All campuses contain physical features, both natural and synthetic; natural features might include geographic location, terrain, climate, and weather; synthetic features entail architectural design, spatial arrangements, amenities, and layouts
•Architectural Determinism: suggests that there is a rather direct link between the built environment and behavior within it.
•Architectural Possibilism: Views the physical environment as a source of opportunities that may set limits on, but not restrict, behavior.
•Architectural Probabilism: emerged to capture the probabilistic relationship between physical environment and behavior
The Physical Environment Influence
(Strange & Banning, 2001)
Influence of the physical environment has three distinct
positions:
The Campus Tour
(Sturner, 1973; Thelin & Yankovich, 1987)
Physical features are often amongst the most important factors in creating
a critical first impression of an institution
Safety and inclusion are related being that they are both
impacted by campus conditions considered to be requisites for learning and
development
Promoting Safety and Inclusion
(Strange & Banning, 2001)
Both the location of a building and room within the building have an impact of crime and
vandalism on campus.
Promoting Safety and Inclusion
Behavioral zoning is critical in the design of a building. Spaces with in the building need to have specific functions that meet students
needs.
-Recreation rooms
-Cafeterias
-Study lounges
-Lounges
(Strange & Banning, 2001)
Before involvement and community building can occur
students must feel safe. Without this all advanced
learning goals will most likely fail.
Promoting Safety and Inclusion
(Strange, 2003)
Physical Dimensions of InvolvementKey Concepts:•Campus Location
• Small rural campus vs. Large Urban campus•Human Scale design
•Human scale environments are not over-crowded, blend in with the natural surroundings, and accommodate small numbers of people in structures usually no more than three stories above the ground.
•Layout and Flexibility•Spaces that encourage individuals to spend time interacting with others are described as “sociopetal” or “socially catalytic” spaces. Kuh et al.(1991)
Encouraging Involvement
Encouraging Involvement
Strange and Banning (2003)
The physical environment can contribute to college
student learning and development in two
important ways:
The actual features of the physical
environment can encourage or
discourage the process of learning
and development
Encouraging Involvement
Strange and Banning (2003)
The process of designing campus
physical environments can also
promote the acquisition of skills
important to the process of
learning and developing.
Encouraging Involvement
Strange and Banning (2003)
Ex) George Mason University’s Johnson Center Fairfax, VA
“It’s where the action is. Students flock there for the food, the library, the bookstore, the multimedia facilities, special events,
or just for social interaction”
Encouraging Involvement
(Misenick, O’Connor, and Young, 2005)
The physical artifact message of support or non support can take many forms, signaling a sense of belonging and a feeling of being welcomed, a sense of safety, and a sense of role, worth, and
value (Banning & Bartels, 1993)
Encouraging Involvement
GMU’s Johnson Center
Built to encourage learning through spatial design
Building Community
(Pascarella, Terenzini, and Bliming 1994).
Students living on campus are more likely to have increased social
interactions with peers and faculty as well as become more involved on
campus
Building Community
(Strange and Banning, 2004)
By nature communities tend to be territorial. Students want to
create a sense of community and the feeling of being at home.
Building Community
(Evans & McCoy, 1998)
Buildings with a design that includes varying levels of stimulus isolation will
allow the individual to have more control over their socialization. The design of the
building should include spaces that promote solitude or intimacy, small group
interaction, and promote contact with others.
Building Community
(Evans and McCoy 1998)
The arrangement of the furniture within a physical space can have an impact on the potential of social
interaction. Furniture that is easily movable, provides a level of comfortable personal space, promotes eye contact, and has a comfortable design contributes to
the overall social experience.
Building Community
(Evans & McCoy, 1998)
Buildings with a design that includes varying levels of stimulus isolation will
allow the individual to have more control over their socialization. The design of the
building should include spaces that promote solitude or intimacy, small group
interaction, and promote contact with others.
A Hierarchy of Learning Environment Purposes
Strange and Banning (2001)
Safety and Inclusion(Sense of belonging and Security)
Involvement(Participation, Engagement, Role-Taking)
Community (Full Membership)
Conclusion
Questions?
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