Place-Based Education (PBE)
In Place-Based Education, students are immersed in local heritage, cultures, landscapes, opportunities, and experiences using these as foundation for the study of language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, and other subjects across the curriculum.
SOURCE: The Center for Place-Based Education at Antioch University
Design Principles of Place-Based Education:
FROM: The Power of Place: Authentic Learning Through Place-Based Education, Vander Ark et al.
1) Community as Classroom
Communities serve as learning ecosystems for school where local and regional experts, experiences, and places are part of the expanded definition of classroom.
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2) Learner-Centered
Learning is personally relevant to the students.
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3) Inquiry-Based
Learning is grounded in observing, asking relevant questions, making prediction, and collecting data to understand the economic, ecological, and sociopolitical world.
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4) Local to Global
Students find their footing within the world community by addressing a local challenge or opportunity.
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5) Design Thinking
This articulates a process for students to make a meaningful impact in communities by designing and building the recommended solutions.
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6) Interdisciplinary
The curriculum matches the real world, with the traditional subject area content, skills, and enrichments taught through an integrated, interdisciplinary, project-based approach in which all learners are accountable and challenged.