Place Based Education
Place-Based Education (PBE) is anytime, anywhere learning that leverages the power of place, and learning space – not just the power of technology – to personalize learning. We’ve recently released a new book, The Power of Place: Authentic Learning Through Place-Based Education, which focuses on how PBE is an immersive learning experience that “places students in local heritage, cultures, landscapes, opportunities and experiences, using these as a foundation for the study of language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and other subjects across the curriculum.” PBE is also a natural complement to Personalized and Project-Based Learning, providing a way to connect these efforts to students’ local environment for engaging learning that leads to more engaged citizens.
Place-Based Learning: Wherever You Are, Whenever You Go
By: Gary Gruber. There is an entire world outside of the formal classroom full of rich learning experiences for students. Here are ideas and resources to help you connect them to it.
Four Ways Students Learn from School Gardens
By: Liz Wimmer. I recently discovered that students actually eat more vegetables at school if they help grow them in the school garden, and that school gardens are powerful places that deepen student learning in these four ways.
Cultivating Cross-Cultural Competence in Costa Rica
By: Abel McClennen. Learn more about La Paz Community School: a rural, ecologically and ethnically diverse PreK-12 school in Costa Rica where all cultures, ethnicities and socioeconomic levels are openly embraced and celebrated.
3 Ideas for Using Virtual Reality with Place Based Ed
With the help of virtual reality, place-based education can extend beyond when students are outdoors or visiting a particular location, as well as create equitable opportunities for all students to experience different places.
America’s Best Idea and America’s Best Classroom
By: Mike Mahalik. Not only are our National Parks "America's Best Idea" but they might just be our best classrooms as well, offering a wide variety of content areas to teach today's students.
Teaching Empathy Through Place-Based Education
By: Jenny Pieratt. While searching for a way to teach my students both empathy and content, I discovered the solution through place-based learning as we interacted, engaged and connected with our community.
6 Reasons You Should Work in America’s Parks and Forests
We both personally benefited from formative experiences working summer jobs on public lands, and invite you to imagine how our society might be improved if every person in America had an opportunity to work and learn in a national park.
Parenting, Learning and The Power of Place
My husband and I recently decided to put the “4 I’s” of Smart Parents into practice during this year's family vacation. Here’s what we learned about parenting and the power of place while exploring and adventuring with our daughters.
Expanding & Enriching Relationships in Place-Based Education
By: Gillian Judson. In place-based education, the importance of relationships in education is taken to a whole new level. Here are three guiding principles for maximizing the creation of all relationships and, by extension, the learning of all students.
Five Tips for Testing the Place-Based Education Waters
By: Jennifer Pieratt. The open-endedness of planning Place-Based Education can quickly go from exhilarating to overwhelming, so here are five tips to help teachers just dip their toe in the deeper learning pool.