The Promise of Place-Based Education (PBE)
Based Education Place-Based education (PBE) is both as old as the hills and a relatively new addition to the current education landscape. In 1915, John Dewey stated, “Experience has its geographical aspect, its artistic and its literary, its scientific and its historical sides. All studies arise from aspects of the one earth and the one life lived upon it.” David Sobel (2013) provides the following definition of PBE in his book Place-Based Education: Connecting Classroom and Communities:
Place-based education is the process of using the local community and environment as a starting point to teach concepts in language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, and other subjects across the curriculum. Emphasizing on hands-on, real-world learning experiences, this approach to education increases academic achievement, helps students develop stronger ties to their community, enhances students’ appreciation for the natural world, and creates a heightened commitment to serving as active contributing citizens. Community validity and environmental quality are improved through the active engagement of local citizens, community organizations, and environmental resources in the life of the school (page 11.)
The promise of place-based education in our current education system is three fold:
1) To reduce over-dependence on mass-produced, decontextualized texts and tests
2) To develop 21st century skills and attitudes through real-world learning experiences
3) To connect students in meaningful ways to the places they live, thus enhancing sense of self, community pride, and civic engagement
Implementing place-based education does not necessitate the abandonment of our current education system (Smith, 2002.) In fact, the public school curriculum provides abundant opportunities to help students develop a sense of place. This is fundamental to providing high-quality education for all students, because as Wendell Berry (1987) so eloquently said, “If education is to be used well, it is obvious that it must be used some where; it must be used where one lives, where one intends to continue to live; it must be brought home.”
A Few Articles About PBE…
Putting Geography Education into Place: What Geography Educators Can Learn from Place-Based Education, and Vice Versa
https://senseofplacelearning.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/pbe-geography-2012.pdf
Using Place-based Inquiry to Inspire and Motivate Future Scientists
senseofplacelearning.files.wordpress.com/…/pbe-inspire-science-2014.pdf
Transforming Multicultural Classrooms through Creative Place-based Learning
senseofplacelearning.files.wordpress.com/…/pbe-multicultural-2013.pdfpbe-multicultural-2013
This page has the following sub pages.
Sense of Place Learning 