The Power of Place

The Power of Place
Author: Tom Vander Ark
Publisher: ASCD
Total Pages: 178
Release: 2020-03-09
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1416628762

"Place: it's where we're from; it's where we're going. . . . It asks for our attention and care. If we pay attention, place has much to teach us." With this belief as a foundation, The Power of Place offers a comprehensive and compelling case for making communities the locus of learning for students of all ages and backgrounds. Dispelling the notion that place-based education is an approach limited to those who can afford it, the authors describe how schools in diverse contexts—urban and rural, public and private—have adopted place-based programs as a way to better engage students and attain three important goals of education: student agency, equity, and community. This book identifies six defining principles of place-based education. Namely, it 1. Embeds learning everywhere and views the community as a classroom. 2. Is centered on individual learners. 3. Is inquiry based to help students develop an understanding of their place in the world. 4. Incorporates local and global thinking and investigations. 5. Requires design thinking to find solutions to authentic problems. 6. Is interdisciplinary. For each principle, the authors share stories of students whose lives were transformed by their experiences in place-based programs, elaborate on what the principle means, demonstrate what it looks like in practice by presenting case studies from schools throughout the United States, and offer action steps for implementation. Aimed at educators from preK through high school, The Power of Place is a definitive guide to developing programs that will lead to successful outcomes for students, more fulfilling careers for teachers, and lasting benefits for communities.

Place-Based Science Teaching and Learning

Place-Based Science Teaching and Learning
Author: Cory A. Buxton
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 249
Release: 2011-05-05
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1452238065

Forty classroom-ready science teaching and learning activities for elementary and middle school teachers Grounded in theory and best-practices research, this practical text provides elementary and middle school teachers with 40 place-based activities that will help them to make science learning relevant to their students. This text provides teachers with both a rationale and a set of strategies and activities for teaching science in a local context to help students engage with science learning and come to understand the importance of science in their everyday lives.

Place-and Community-Based Education in Schools

Place-and Community-Based Education in Schools
Author: Gregory A. Smith
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2014-04-08
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1134999925

Place- and community-based education – an approach to teaching and learning that starts with the local – addresses two critical gaps in the experience of many children now growing up in the United States: contact with the natural world and contact with community. It offers a way to extend young people’s attention beyond the classroom to the world as it actually is, and to engage them in the process of devising solutions to the social and environmental problems they will confront as adults. This approach can increase students’ engagement with learning and enhance their academic achievement. Envisioned as a primer and guide for educators and members of the public interested in incorporating the local into schools in their own communities, this book explains the purpose and nature of place- and community-based education and provides multiple examples of its practice. The detailed descriptions of learning experiences set both within and beyond the classroom will help readers begin the process of advocating for or incorporating local content and experiences into their schools.

Place-Based Education

Place-Based Education
Author: David Sobel
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017-01-19
Genre: Environmental education
ISBN: 9781935713050

The author details and celebrates an approach to teaching that emphasizes connections among school, community, and environment.

Bringing School to Life

Bringing School to Life
Author: Sarah K. Anderson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 201
Release: 2017-11-08
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1475830629

Place-based education is on the rise. Tired of “teaching to the test,” educators are looking for authentic ways to connect their curriculum to real life. The place-based approach brings students into their communities to learn necessary content and skills by working to meet the needs of local agencies and organizations. Students are more engaged because they know they are doing real work, teachers are reinvigorated by creating exciting learning opportunities, and the school takes on a more active role in the community. At the heart of this process is the place itself: the land, the history, and the culture. Bringing School to Life: Place-Based Education across the Curriculum by Sarah Anderson offers insights into how to build a program across the K-8 grades. Anderson addresses key elements such as mapping, local history, citizen science, integrated curricula, and more. Additionally, Anderson suggests strategies for building community partnerships and implementation for primary grades. This book goes beyond theory to give concrete examples and advice in how to make place-based education a real educational option in any school.

Place-based Curriculum Design

Place-based Curriculum Design
Author: Amy B. Demarest
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 219
Release: 2014-10-30
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1317746775

Place-based Curriculum Design provides pre-service and practicing teachers both the rationale and tools to create and integrate meaningful, place-based learning experiences for students. Practical, classroom-based curricular examples illustrate how teachers can engage the local and still be accountable to the existing demands of federal, state, and district mandates. Coverage includes connecting the curriculum to students’ outside-of-school lives; using local phenomena or issues to enhance students’ understanding of discipline-based questions; engaging in in-depth explorations of local issues and events to create cross-disciplinary learning experiences, and creating units or sustained learning experiences aimed at engendering social and environmental renewal. An on-line resource (www.routledge.com/9781138013469) provides supplementary materials, including curricular templates, tools for reflective practice, and additional materials for instructors and students.

Getting Smart

Getting Smart
Author: Tom Vander Ark
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2011-09-20
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1118115872

A comprehensive look at the promise and potential of online learning In our digital age, students have dramatically new learning needs and must be prepared for the idea economy of the future. In Getting Smart, well-known global education expert Tom Vander Ark examines the facets of educational innovation in the United States and abroad. Vander Ark makes a convincing case for a blend of online and onsite learning, shares inspiring stories of schools and programs that effectively offer "personal digital learning" opportunities, and discusses what we need to do to remake our schools into "smart schools." Examines the innovation-driven world, discusses how to combine online and onsite learning, and reviews "smart tools" for learning Investigates the lives of learning professionals, outlines the new employment bargain, examines online universities and "smart schools" Makes the case for smart capital, advocates for policies that create better learning, studies smart cultures

Childhood and Nature

Childhood and Nature
Author: David Sobel
Publisher: Stenhouse Publishers
Total Pages: 181
Release: 2008
Genre: Education
ISBN: 157110741X

Presents a collection of essays combining anecdotal and theoretical insights into environmental ethics and human ecology to help foster environmentally responsible students.

Participatory Literacy Practices for P-12 Classrooms in the Digital Age

Participatory Literacy Practices for P-12 Classrooms in the Digital Age
Author: Mitchell, Jessica S.
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2019-10-11
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1799800024

The ability to effectively communicate in a globalized world shapes the economic, social, and democratic implications for the future of P-12 students. Digitally mediated communication in an inclusive classroom increases a student’s familiarity and comfortability with multiple types of media used in a wider technological culture. However, there is a need for research that explores the larger context and methodologies of participatory literacy in a digital educational space. Participatory Literacy Practices for P-12 Classrooms in the Digital Age is an essential collection of innovative research on the methods and applications of integrating digital content into a learning environment to support inclusive classroom designs. While highlighting topics such as game-based learning, coding education, and multimodal narratives, this book is ideally designed for practicing instructors, pre-service teachers, professional development coordinators, instructional facilitators, curriculum designers, academicians, and researchers seeking interdisciplinary coverage on how participatory literacies enhance a student’s ability to both contribute to the class and engage in opportunities beyond the classroom.