Place-based Education

Catalog description

Drawing on children’s natural fascination with the world around them and their desire to make the world right, place-based education in the school setting offers an opportunity to develop a classroom into a living center of materials-based, community-related, cooperative learning, while fostering in children the attitudes, understandings and skills of environmentally literate citizens. This course will explore the potential roles of place-based education in an integrated curriculum examining both environmental education content areas and teaching strategies for the elementary years. Additional course focus will include approaches to dealing with environmental issues, both in the classroom as a school community; strategies for taking full advantage of a school’s outdoor site; and techniques for promoting a working interrelationship with the community.