SAVE THE DATE
The 2025 University Teaching & Learning Symposium
Informal Campus Learning Spaces: Participatory Action Research Based Community Visions
Wednesday, January 8, 2025 at the Bone Student Center
While universities have long recognized that iconic and residential spaces influence prospective students’ college choices, the transformation of existing outdoor spaces into outdoor learning spaces has been understudied. Schools that integrate indoor and outdoor instruction have been shown to have positive effects on student health, academic engagement, and motivation (Manca, 2020). However, the experience of campus spaces remains an underappreciated dimension of college students’ sense of belonging (Ahn & Davis, 2019). ISU’s most popular outdoor space, the Quad, currently functions as a central “open space” where “students can spend their free time, play sports, and hang out with friends”—while the path between Milner Library and West Campus remains underutilized. Supported by an ARCS grant, the interdisciplinary team identified a number of underutilized spaces. The team sought to understand how spaces impact the daily experiences of our diverse campus community. During the participatory workshop, a diverse range of campus community members assessed outdoor spaces. We will share ISU’s priority advances as outlined in recent and current strategic and campus master plans, connecting strategic directions with insights from community members’ campus experiences gained through photovoice strategies. This presentation highlights key opportunities for outdoor spaces to foster belonging and serve as learning resources.
Our speakers: Elke Altenburger, Reem Bagais, Amy Bardwell, LukeRussell, Chang Su-Russell
PAST EVENTS
Mid-Atlantic Intergenerational Conference
July 10-12th, Lancaster, PA at the Holiday Inn
In collaboration with organizations and agencies throughout the Mid-Atlantic region working to create and sustain meaningful connections across generations, Penn State University and the 30+ organizational members of the Pennsylvania Intergenerational Network held the Mid Atlantic Intergenerational Conference in Lancaster, PA at the Holiday Inn on July 10-12, 2024.
This 2½ day conference included 20 workshops, several keynote presentations, posters and exhibits, group activities, interest group meetings, pre-conference symposia (on “Intergenerational community planning & placemaking” and “Support for Kinship Care Families: Issues and Initiatives”) and a post-conference “intergenerational mini-festival” at the adjacent Lancaster Public Library. It was a major event, showcasing innovative, impactful, intergenerational initiatives in the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond.
About our guest speaker
Dr. Matt Kaplan is a Professor of Intergenerational Programs and Aging at Penn State University. In this position, he conducts research, develops curricular resources, and provides leadership in the development and evaluation of intergenerational programs. He has a Ph.D. in Environmental Psychology (from CUNY Graduate Center, 1991) and was a Visiting fellow at the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing (2015) and a Senior Fulbright Scholar (1994-95), studying intergenerational initiatives in Japan. He has published several books highlighting intergenerational strategies for community planning and development, including Intergenerational Pathways to a Sustainable Society (with Sanchez and Hoffman, 2017) and Intergenerational Contact Zones: Place-based Strategies for Promoting Social Inclusion and Belonging (with Thang, Sanchez and Hoffman, 2020). Dr. Kaplan is an affiliate member of the Penn State Center for Healthy Aging and core faculty member of the Comparative and International Education Dual-Title Graduate Degree Program at Penn State.
Intergenerational Living, Learning, and Community Building
April 12th, Milner Library Second floor (Speaker’s Corner)
The focus of this presentation is on the role of the physical environment (natural, built, and virtual) on intergenerational program planning, processes, and outcomes. This will be done through introducing the Intergenerational Contact Zones (ICZ) conceptual framework and its potential for stimulating new ways of thinking, planning, and practice regarding the design, sustainability, and evolution of intergenerationally enriched environments.
ICZs are spatial focal points for different generations to meet, interact, build relationships (e.g., trust and friendships), and, if desired, work together to address issues of local concern. Examples will be provided for how this conceptual framework can be used to broaden the range of intergenerational activity possibilities in diverse community settings, including parks and playgrounds, retirement communities, schools, multi-service community centers, even bus stops.
About our guest speaker
Dr. Matt Kaplan is a Professor of Intergenerational Programs and Aging at Penn State University. In this position, he conducts research, develops curricular resources, and provides leadership in the development and evaluation of intergenerational programs. He has a Ph.D. in Environmental Psychology (from CUNY Graduate Center, 1991) and was a Visiting fellow at the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing (2015) and a Senior Fulbright Scholar (1994-95), studying intergenerational initiatives in Japan. He has published several books highlighting intergenerational strategies for community planning and development, including Intergenerational Pathways to a Sustainable Society (with Sanchez and Hoffman, 2017) and Intergenerational Contact Zones: Place-based Strategies for Promoting Social Inclusion and Belonging (with Thang, Sanchez and Hoffman, 2020). Dr. Kaplan is an affiliate member of the Penn State Center for Healthy Aging and core faculty member of the Comparative and International Education Dual-Title Graduate Degree Program at Penn State.
