Courtney Latorre

"Yoga is an opportunity to know yourself better. Only you can become the world’s leading expert on your life—but first you must learn how to observe yourself and how you work. In yoga, you are the laboratory. Yoga Lab is a supportive environment where people can gather and share in the spirit of learning, self-discovery, and continued growth"  ( www.statecollegeyogalab.com/about-us/) Introduction: With the focus of schooling for this informal learning setting, I began to think about spaces in which I view to be scholarly spaces where learning takes place. Typically, in my experience, these spaces tend to be formal learning spaces. When I think about formal learning spaces, I immediately think of structure. I think of planned learning experiences with an objective or goal. In regards to formal learning spaces, Sackey, Nguyen, & Grabill state, "Regardless of whether the pedagogical strategies are student-centered or teacher-centered, the approach to lear...

Introduction: The Arboretum at Penn State is a communal space of which the main focus is appears to be the botanical garden, however, upon closer examination, its main draw is actually the spaces created for community and learning. The Arboretum can be seen as an "everyday aetherized social space" containing "embedded educationally meaningful opportunities of cultural, social, philosophical, and aesthetic significance" (Carpenter p. 5). Upon entering the Arboretum, I could barely find a parking spot.  There were an abundance of people in various sections of the space, whether it be taking pictures, studying the flowers, learning about the spaces, or simply reading in the grass.  While I spent most of my time in "Childhood's Gate", it was clear that the space as a whole offered an abundance of opportunities for learning and exploration of space, culture, and self. Strengths: The Arboretum at Penn State is full of communicable learning spaces and so ...