Place-Based Education and Why and How Place Matters

Place-based education
Name
Institution
Place-based education
Place-based education and why and how place matters
Place-based education is defined as the process of utilizing the local community and the environment as the first point to teach concepts in subjects such as the language arts, mathematics, science, social studies and other subjects contained in the curriculum (Sobel, 2004).The idea of place has several meanings that vary from the psychological state, physical location, and social status. In this respect, the term “place” does not only refer to a geographic location; but rather, it also denotes to the opportunities for seclusion and silence, opportunities for exploring and opportunities to effect change. Place in children’s lives matter for various reasons; first, it emphasizes on the hands-on, real-world, learning experiences that increase the academic performance of children, enhances the attachment of students to the society, enables the learners to appreciate the natural world, and improves the commitment as active contributors to the society. Second, Sobel (2004) posts that the community vitality and the quality of the environment improves when the community organizations, local citizens, and the environmental resources around the school are actively engaged through place-based education. Third, place-based learning energizes teachers by placing them in an environment where they work hard to achieve the intended results; in this respect, they become innovative and offer alternatives to various situations that require their attention (Place-based Education Evaluation Collaborative, 2010). Fourth, “place” also transforms the culture of the school; for instance, the environment around the school is changed into outdoor extensions, and students have the opportunity to ask critical questions. Again, the learners can see themselves as observers and young scientists; “place” also improves the participation of the parents in the learning process of their children. Fifth, place connects the learners to the community by ensuring that the community, students, and parents derive benefits that are economical, socially and environmentally enriching. For instance, the students have the opportunity to interact with the government offices, non-profit organizations, and higher educational institutions to enhance the collaboration between the people, the environmental health, and well-being. Lastly, place matters because it makes the learners become the stewards of the environment. For instance, some of the students may decide to advance on what they do outside the classroom by forming the after-class groups that are aimed at conserving the environment.
Examples that demonstrate the “best place” for learning in connection to the classroom (indoor and outdoor), the community, technology and the land
A classroom is a place where teachers, librarians together with the learning or teaching specialists accomplish the requirements of the curriculum. Classroom learning is confined to the demands of the syllabus and teachers work hard to ensure that they comply with each and every aspect of teaching and assessment of students. According to the Western and Northern Canadian Protocol for Collaboration in Education (2006), classroom learning involves a predictable pattern where teachers teach, test the students’ acquired knowledge on the material, make judgments about students’ achievement based on the testing, and then move on to the next unit of work. Classroom-based learning, as depicted by Sitton (1980), ignores the local community; hence, denying the students to link what they are learning in the classroom to the real world. Again, the classroom-based, also called indoor, learning is dominated by print and electronic media that expose students to limited environmental events and interactions. Outdoor education offers the practical experiences that enable the students to develop the ethics of care; again, learners can explore and develop critical investigative skills such by interacting with nature and the communities. For instance, the project Foxfire was created to supplement the indoor learning by exposing the students to the community and providing them with opportunities to experience the real-world events. Sitton (1980) posts, that a community has massive resources that can be used to supplement the classroom-based learning across all the subjects. For instance, the students that study American History can employ the fieldwork methods of oral history in documenting individual testimonies about the American community in the 20th century. Technology is best placed to supplement the indoor and outdoor learning. For example, the textbook, films and other forms of teaching materials are availed through technology; again, technology is employed in the collection of information from the fieldwork for future use. Students can use cameras and sound, and video recorder machines to capture the images and voice for later usage.The students involved in Foxfire project utilized technology such as tape recorders and cameras to collect raw data from the fieldwork. Land-based education provides knowledge on culture, outward resurgence, contests with the settler colonial incursions and the struggles within the field of education, against the indigenous people, language, knowledge, and relationships that between them. Therefore, the best place for learning should incorporate all the sources of knowledge that include classroom (indoor and outdoor), the community, technology and the land because each has a unique experience that is significant to the students.
How the “place-based” learning is integrally connected to the relational ways of knowing of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples.
The “place-based” education is integrally connected to the relational ways of knowing of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples. The three groups of people live in different environments in Canada, and their stay into their cur...