# CEGU

**Source**: https://cegu.uchicago.edu/research/inplace-lab/
**Parent**: https://cegu.uchicago.edu/research/

## [Platforms](https://cegu.uchicago.edu/research) [Faculty Research](https://cegu.uchicago.edu/research/faculty) [Doctoral Research](https://cegu.uchicago.edu/research/doctoral/) [Undergraduate Research](https://cegu.uchicago.edu/research/undergraduate)

### InPLACE Lab

#### Jessica Landau

Innovative Pedagogies for Learning with Art, Culture and Ecology (InPLACE) incubates high-quality, interdisciplinary, and community-aware research and teaching through place-based practices at the intersections of ecology and the environmental humanities and social sciences. Housed at UChicago’s Warren Woods Ecological Field Station, InPLACE has the following main objectives:

1. to create a model for pedagogically rich, hands-on experiential training in field-based and faculty- led environmental humanities, social science, and ecological science research;
2. to contribute to regional ecological knowledge and to deepen individual and collective “sense of place” and commitment to local environmental problem-solving through innovative, interdisciplinary methods;
3. to provide students, faculty, and staff with meaningful professional mentorship by experts in related fields through community partnerships, workshops, and lectures.

#### Object- and Place-Based Teaching and Learning Exploratory Teaching Group

The Object- and Place-based Teaching and Learning Exploratory Teaching Group (OPTL ETG) grew out of a previous working group to foster dialogue about the valuable common ground between object- and place-based learning, together with the opportunities afforded when we think pragmatically and theoretically across experiential methodologies

Object- and place-based teaching and learning (OPTL) centers objects and places as the main subjects of study, and aims to derive and build upon unique knowledge from the environment and the objects within it. Where possible, OPTL puts students in direct experience with physical objects and/or sites, to emphasize situated and embodied thinking, problem-solving, and interaction.  OPTL can complement theoretical and textual study in a number of academic areas, including interdisciplinary collaborations. OPTL has potential to create memorable interactions with course content through engaging multiple senses and a variety of learning styles. OPTL methods are versatile and scalable; they can form the core of a quarter-long course or advance learning objectives within the parameters of a single lesson plan.

#### Warren Woods Ecological Field Station Interpretative Master Plan

Led by InPLACE Lab co-PIs, Jessica Landau and Emily Bretl, students working with InPLACE Lab, will develop a new interpretative master for the Field Station, including plans to develop interpretative signage, future curricula, and foster research on site. This will help make the Field Station more accessible to the local community but also incorporate plans for UChicago faculty and students to engage with the Field Station in increasing capacities. Better and more integrated interpretation, both digitally and onsite, will help instructors connect the Field Station to their coursework and learning objectives, inspire continued undergraduate research at the Field Station about major interpretative frameworks, and make the Field Station more legible to the broader community.

#### Community Research and Ecological Stewardship Summer Internship

The Community Research and Ecological Stewardship Internship (CRESSI) was developed to support the University of Chicago undergraduate students ‘ personal and professional development through field-based research, community engagement, ecological experiences, and place-based learning. The internship is based at the Warren Woods Ecological Field Station, where interns live for nine weeks in on-site cabins. They conduct ecological surveys, participate in weekly professional development workshops, and conduct original research to support local community partners. Each intern also designs and implements a personal-professional project (PPP) that allows them to explore personal passions, deepen pertise in an ecological/environmental topic, and contribute to the Field Station’s natural and social ecology. The internship aims to provide students with an immersive, hands-on experience the strengthens their committment to environmental studies while deepening their sense of place. The summer internship experience is led by Emily Bretl, InPLACE co-PI and Managing Director of Warren Woods Ecological Field Station. It is supported by weekly expert visitors and guest lectures from around the Great Lakes Region and across the US, who share knowledge, skills, and love of place, community, and environmental learning with interns.