All of us learn by moving from the known to the unknown. Children learn first from their parents, then the home, the neighbourhood and then school. We learn through interactions with the environment and other people. Somewhere along the line learning often becomes something that occurs in the classroom divorced from home, neighbourhood and place.
Place Based Learning seeks to correct that. Place Based Learning uses the local community as a primary resource for learning. The environment, culture, economy, literature, geography, history and art of the students' own place is used to make curriculum content meaningful. Each of us must understand how our community works in order to become an informed citizen.
Place Based Learning seeks to correct that. Place Based Learning uses the local community as a primary resource for learning. The environment, culture, economy, literature, geography, history and art of the students' own place is used to make curriculum content meaningful. Each of us must understand how our community works in order to become an informed citizen.
“If you don’t know where you are, you don’t know who you are.”
Wallace Stegner
Wallace Stegner
Anchoring curriculum in real-life locations makes content meaningful and mentally and physically engaging. Students learn better when they experience those concepts in their real world contexts. Even the most engaging multimedia experience only uses our sight, hearing and possibly kinaesthetic senses. Participation in real life experiences activates many of our 20 senses, which in turn creates physical changes in the brain and greater connections when studying the material. What is more with local locations then students, teachers and families can revisit and revise frequently.
Once they understand concepts in one location they can generalise them to other locations by looking at similarities and differences. From acting locally we can move to thinking globally.
Once they understand concepts in one location they can generalise them to other locations by looking at similarities and differences. From acting locally we can move to thinking globally.
Teaching the Hudson Valley is an example of Place Based Learning in action. It helps educators discover, appreciate, and share the region’s natural, historic, and cultural treasures with children and youth. THV fosters collaboration among schools, museums, parks, historic sites, art galleries, libraries, and other groups. This is where I would like to see Classroom Macleay head. It is easier if you have a large number of educational organisations in an area however with collaboration it should be possible to do this with any area.
Place Based Learning is supported by the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (2008)
Partnerships between students, parents, carers and families, the broader community, business, schools and other education and training providers bring mutual benefits and maximise student engagement and achievement.
The Framework of Professional Teaching Standards Element 7
TEACHERS ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED MEMBERS OF THEIR PROFESSION AND THE WIDER COMMUNITY
7.3.4 Provide opportunities for the development of quality relationships between students, colleagues and the community.
NSW Quality Teaching Framework
Significance refers to the pedagogy that helps make learning meaningful and important to students. Such pedagogy draws clear connections with students’ prior knowledge and identities, with contexts out of the classroom, and with multiple ways of knowing or cultural perspectives
Further Reading
Place-based Education Evaluation Collaborative ( 2010). The Benefits of Place-based Education: A Report from the Place-based Education Evaluation Collaborative (Second Edition). Retrieved March 1st, 2014 from http://www.litzsinger.org/PEEC2010_web.pdf
Kovalik S., Olsen K., (2010) Kids Eye View of Science: A Conceptual integrated Approach to Teaching Science K-6 . Moorabbin Victoria , Hawker Brownlow Education
Louv R. (2008) Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder ,New York, Workman Publishing Company
Partnerships between students, parents, carers and families, the broader community, business, schools and other education and training providers bring mutual benefits and maximise student engagement and achievement.
The Framework of Professional Teaching Standards Element 7
TEACHERS ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED MEMBERS OF THEIR PROFESSION AND THE WIDER COMMUNITY
7.3.4 Provide opportunities for the development of quality relationships between students, colleagues and the community.
NSW Quality Teaching Framework
Significance refers to the pedagogy that helps make learning meaningful and important to students. Such pedagogy draws clear connections with students’ prior knowledge and identities, with contexts out of the classroom, and with multiple ways of knowing or cultural perspectives
Further Reading
Place-based Education Evaluation Collaborative ( 2010). The Benefits of Place-based Education: A Report from the Place-based Education Evaluation Collaborative (Second Edition). Retrieved March 1st, 2014 from http://www.litzsinger.org/PEEC2010_web.pdf
Kovalik S., Olsen K., (2010) Kids Eye View of Science: A Conceptual integrated Approach to Teaching Science K-6 . Moorabbin Victoria , Hawker Brownlow Education
Louv R. (2008) Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder ,New York, Workman Publishing Company