The idea behind place-based education is simple yet compelling: It uses the environment around you, and even the entire world, to learn. While place-based education may seem like a new concept, the idea of incorporating local issues and knowledge into an educational curriculum was the way children learned before formal schools were created. Most children were taught by their families and by the people in their communities, not from a teacher in a classroom.
One of the compelling aspects of place-based learning is that it helps students develop connections to their communities as well as to the world around them in a way they might not in a traditional classroom. Instead of simply learning concepts and rules, the student uses them in real-world situations.
This kind of learning can be performed at any time and in any location — in fact, sometimes it’s referred to as “anytime, anywhere learning.” It can help increase teacher engagement as well. This kind of learning can also create strong bonds between learners and their parents and the local environment and social organizations. The attached resource, The Power Of Place-Based Learning, describes more about this growing educational trend.