Place-Based Education
Place-Based Education Anchors Learning in the Community
David Ross explains how in Place-Based Education the nature of a place determines the culture of the classroom to an extraordinary degree.
Building Student Civic Engagement through Sustainability Education
By: Anisa Heming. The need for student-centered sustainability education is becoming clearer by the day. Young people who understand and can respond to changes in our natural environment and the stresses they place on our communities will be leaders now and in the future.
Learning Gardens Provide Equity, Access and Great Food
Caroline Vander Ark has long appreciated community and school gardens but worried that they often didn’t connect to student learning and create a lasting impact. However, when she heard about the work of Big Green she was intrigued and reached out to Kate Waller, who manages their national growth to learn more.
Why Experiential Education?
To contribute now and in the future, young people deserve experiential learning--community connected challenges that build agency and collaboration, that cross disciplines and result in public products that make real contributions. Here's why experiential learning matters and five primary benefits.
Network of Place-Based Community-Connected Rural Schools Receive Grant to Expand
Small community-connected schools sharing resources in networks & leveraging local learning opportunities may be the solution to the rural education decline.
Amber Chandler Named 2018 National Educator of the Year
Amber Chandler, an English language arts teacher at Frontier Middle School & Getting Smart teacher blogger, was named the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) 2018 Educator of the Year.
Get Kids in the Community and Change the World
It has become apparent that basic literacies are no longer enough. Students must find ways to apply, own, and direct how literacy and problem-solving skills are used. A look at place-based education and how it's doing just that while also building capacity for citizenship.
School Design that Combats Nature Deficit Disorder
By: Ashley Flores & Lida Lewis. There can be a healthy balance struck between media intake and real-world engagement. This balance is much more likely to happen through intentional design. The good news is that there’s a simple design prescription for what ails: nature. “Biophilic design” focuses on bringing elements of nature—from literal plant and water features to more analogous and referential approaches—into our built environments.
Learning Leadership Skills Outdoors: Place-Based Ed in the Puget Sound
By: Roberta McFarland. Students in the Waskowitz Environmental Leadership & Service program participate in place-based learning experiences that help them develop leadership skills as well as choose their next steps for college and career.
Place-Based Professional Development in the Water Systems of California
By: Stacey Rafalowski. Whether it’s a student excursion or an educator expedition, bringing the excitement of discovery and the thrill of first-hand experiences to learners helps to engage, inform, and expand the classroom into the real world in a deeply empowering way.