Place-based education
Encyclopedia
Place-based education, sometimes called pedagogy of place, place-based learning, experiential education
, community-based education, education for sustainability
, environmental education
or more rarely, service learning, is an educational philosophy developed initially by The Orion Society, a Massachusetts based nonprofit organization, as well as Professor David Sobel
, Project Director at Antioch University New England
though educators have used its principles for decades. The term was coined in the early 1990s by Laurie Lane-Zucker of The Orion Society and Dr. John Elder of Middlebury College. Orion's early work in the area of place-based education was funded by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
Place-based education seeks to help communities through employing students and school staff in solving community problems. Place-based education differs from conventional text and classroom-based education in that it understands students' local community as one of the primary resources for learning. Thus, place-based education promotes learning that is rooted in what is local—the unique history, environment, culture, economy, literature, and art of a particular place--that is, in students’ own “place
” or immediate schoolyard, neighborhood, town or community. According to this pedagogy, grade school students often lose what place-based educators call their “sense of place
” through focusing too quickly or exclusively on national or global issues. This is not to say that international and domestic issues are peripheral to place-based education, but that students should first have a grounding in the history, culture and ecology
of their surrounding environment before moving on to broader subjects.
Place-based education is often hands-on, project-based and always related to something in the real world. Thus students embarking upon a unit about the Vietnam War
might interview veterans of that war, collecting their stories for a radio-spot, newspaper article or educational brochure. In this case, the use of local people to support students’ learning would not only lead to greater comprehension of the Vietnam War, but also to understanding more about the history of their community and the people in it.
Christchurch School
in Virginia and Northwest Community College in Terrace, British Columbia are examples of schools that incorporate place-based curriculum. Wintergreen Studios
is a year-round wilderness education and retreat centre in Southeastern Ontario offering workshops and meeting facilities. Wintergreen's environment and architecture have been designed to enable people to engage in mindful living and return to their homes and workplaces inspired and refreshed.
Byron Fellowship is a place-based learning experience built around sustainable community development
Experiential education
Experiential education is a philosophy of education that describes the process that occurs between a teacher and student that infuses direct experience with the learning environment and content. The term is mistakenly used interchangeably with experiential learning...
, community-based education, education for sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
, environmental education
Environmental education
Environmental education refers to organized efforts to teach about how natural environments function and, particularly, how human beings can manage their behavior and ecosystems in order to live sustainably. The term is often used to imply education within the school system, from primary to...
or more rarely, service learning, is an educational philosophy developed initially by The Orion Society, a Massachusetts based nonprofit organization, as well as Professor David Sobel
David Sobel
David Sobel is an education writer who has helped in developing the philosophy of place-based education. He has written extensively on the topic in books and numerous articles. He is currently a Core Faculty member and Director of Certificate Programs at Antioch University New England.-...
, Project Director at Antioch University New England
Antioch University New England
Antioch University New England is a private graduate school located in Keene, New Hampshire. It is part of the Antioch University system that includes campuses in Seattle, Washington; Los Angeles, California; Santa Barbara, California; and Yellow Springs, Ohio.- History :In 1964, Antioch College...
though educators have used its principles for decades. The term was coined in the early 1990s by Laurie Lane-Zucker of The Orion Society and Dr. John Elder of Middlebury College. Orion's early work in the area of place-based education was funded by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
Place-based education seeks to help communities through employing students and school staff in solving community problems. Place-based education differs from conventional text and classroom-based education in that it understands students' local community as one of the primary resources for learning. Thus, place-based education promotes learning that is rooted in what is local—the unique history, environment, culture, economy, literature, and art of a particular place--that is, in students’ own “place
Location (geography)
The terms location and place in geography are used to identify a point or an area on the Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term 'location' generally implies a higher degree of can certainty than "place" which often has an ambiguous boundary relying more on human/social attributes of place identity...
” or immediate schoolyard, neighborhood, town or community. According to this pedagogy, grade school students often lose what place-based educators call their “sense of place
Sense of place
The term sense of place has been defined and used in many different ways by many different people. To some, it is a characteristic that some geographic places have and some do not, while to others it is a feeling or perception held by people...
” through focusing too quickly or exclusively on national or global issues. This is not to say that international and domestic issues are peripheral to place-based education, but that students should first have a grounding in the history, culture and ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
of their surrounding environment before moving on to broader subjects.
Place-based education is often hands-on, project-based and always related to something in the real world. Thus students embarking upon a unit about the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
might interview veterans of that war, collecting their stories for a radio-spot, newspaper article or educational brochure. In this case, the use of local people to support students’ learning would not only lead to greater comprehension of the Vietnam War, but also to understanding more about the history of their community and the people in it.
Christchurch School
Christchurch School
Christchurch School is a college-preparatory boarding school in Christchurch, Virginia, founded in 1921 by the Episcopal Church Diocese of Virginia and highly regarded for its dynamic, place-based Great Journeys Begin at the River program. The school enrolls slightly more than 200 students,...
in Virginia and Northwest Community College in Terrace, British Columbia are examples of schools that incorporate place-based curriculum. Wintergreen Studios
Wintergreen Studios
Wintergreen Studios is a wilderness education and retreat center in southeastern Ontario, Canada. Year round facilities at Wintergreen are off-the-grid, and use straw-bale construction and cordwood construction. Wintergreen hosts gardening and wilderness programs for youth, workshops on a local and...
is a year-round wilderness education and retreat centre in Southeastern Ontario offering workshops and meeting facilities. Wintergreen's environment and architecture have been designed to enable people to engage in mindful living and return to their homes and workplaces inspired and refreshed.
Byron Fellowship is a place-based learning experience built around sustainable community development