Giving Compass' Take:

• Andrew Miller, writing for Getting Smart, outlines the principles of place-based learning that ultimately support student advancement.

• How can place-based learning enhance student engagement? What are the challenges?

• Read more about the importance of place-based education.

We all know experiential learning can be powerful. We learn by doing, immersing ourselves in long-term projects, tasks, adventures and more. Place-based Learning is a framework that effectively delivers experiential learning and supports teachers in amplifying learning from place and context.

Place-Based Learning “places students in local heritage, cultures, landscapes, opportunities and experiences, using these as a foundation for the study of language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and other subjects across the curriculum” (Center for Place-Based Learning and Community Engagement). While this may seem broad, it allows for different levels of implementation while still ensuring quality.

Shanghai American School, where I currently serve as an Instructional Coach, has had this learning part of its history for quite some.Craig Tafel is our director of Ménwài (门外) – translated as “outside the gates” – at Shanghai American School, and his job is to coordinate all the facets of learning outside the walls.

Tafel and his team have worked towards the revision and created a framework to ensure high-quality place-based learning at Shanghai American School. The goal was to create a simple set of “pillars” that would serve as a filter to inform the design process and support student learning. They are as follows:

  • Expanding intercultural understanding by connecting with members of local communities and their surroundings;
  • Working through challenges while engaging in authentic activities that require students to depend on themselves, their peers, and outside experts;
  • Personal growth resulting from leaving comfort zones, challenging assumptions, expanding boundaries, taking reasonable risks, and making thoughtful choices; and
  • Awareness of impact on the places we visit and the people who live there through shared experience, responsible action, and sensitivity to the environment.

Read the full article about place-based learning by Andrew Miller at Getting Smart.