Running Head: DEFENCE OF MY PRACTICE

Defence of my Place-Based Practice

Samantha Haines
11155923
University of Saskatchewan
EFDT 315
Chris Clark
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Introduction
Place-based education is something that has become more relevant in modern

education, yet it is still without its issues and drawbacks. With the push worldwide for a less

traditional form of education, the fact that many people still struggle with some forms of place-

based education is astounding. There are a lot of common misconceptions when it comes to

place within education that seem to deter many teachers from incorporating aspects of it

within their own classrooms. However, to me, using place in education is a natural part of

moving towards less traditional classrooms and more student-centred learning environments

that are vital in educating our students. There are certain aspects that have drawn to me that I

have full intentions of implementing in my own teaching career that I will explain in detail

through this defence paper. They include experiential education of place in general, project-

based learning, environmental justice, and formative assessment. Each of these are topics and

part of place-based education that I have developed a true passion for and would easily defend

their importance within the education system.

Place/Experiential Learning

One of the most obvious benefits to place-based education comes from place itself.

Leaving the physical classroom, no matter where the student’s go, allows for a direct

connection to the real world. Simply leaving the classroom to go to a park or some sort of

business offers students the chance to engage with society from an educational perspective

and take on a critical lens that wouldn’t necessarily occur outside of the school environment. As

Smith (2007) explained, place in education allows students to “deepen their affiliation with

human and natural environments” in such a way that would not always be possible. Place-
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based education is very non-traditional method that can explicitly be used to address

decolonization and reinhibition (Smith, 2007) which are key aspects in modern education. One

of the greatest benefits that arises from place and experiential learning in getting the student’s

involved directly with significant issues that pertain directly to their own communities. Smith

(2007) highlighted three different case studies of schools and teachers that fully incorporated

place into their classrooms and used their abilities and knowledge to make vital changes within

their community where it was greatly needed. If students simply are told about issues

surrounding them, they often go undealt with, but when they are given the chance to directly

get involved, they experience these issues first hand and are actually given the chance to make

positive changes. Scogin, Kruger, Jekkals & Steinfeldt (2017) described experiential education,

including situations like this, that lead to “concrete experiences and abstract conceptualization”

that can not be reached in a traditional classroom setting. They went on to describe research

that was conducted on STREAM schools that heavily focused on experience and real-world

applications. The findings of the research showed how much student engagement increased

when they had an increased control in their education process and more realistic experiences.

They were able to share quotes from students that expressed how much this program changed

their interest in school. Students were overall more engaged in their education and enjoyed the

learning that took place (Scogin, Kruger, Jekkals & Steinfeldt, 2017). Using place and

experiential learning in modern education has allowed for students to be directly exposed to

real-world situations and experiences that enhance learning.

Project-Based Learning
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A form of experiential education, project or inquiry-based learning provides students

the ability to take learning into their own hands and often focus upon topics that are of interest

to them. Bell (2010) described this form of education of students displaying a “transition from

passive observers to active learners” in which these students are in charge of their own learning

often through research and exploration. In using projects and inquiry, students are free to

explore topics to the extent in which they choose to. They are able to engage in the type of

learning that offers more options and choices rather than the more explicit requirements of

traditional teaching and learning. Projects and inquiry also permit students to develop more

skills that are more real-world applicable to the twenty-first century (Bell, 2010). These skills

are the kind that are not measurable through the common standardized tests that are used in

many educational establishments. As Bell (2010) further described, this form of learning has the

potential to teach students skills relating to collaboration, problem solving, communication,

knowledge acquisition and an improvement in technology usage. Each of these skills are vital to

a successful future in modern society but are not able to be measured on the common tests

that are presented in schools. Allowing students to conduct projects or inquiry will build upon

these skills that have a much more practical use moving forward in student’s lives. Project-

based learning can be used in any subject and in any age group and provides a consistent

benefit.

Ecological Justice

One of the benefits to getting students outside of the classroom comes from the ability

to engage them with large scale issues that pertain all of society, such as ecological justice

issues. Through my previous degree in biology with a focus ecology, I developed a passion for
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the environment and working towards sustainability. This is a topic that I have full intentions on

sharing with my own students, and using place is an easy and applicable way to do so. Students

are given the chance to experience and see the societal issues that are present and work

towards making a positive change where able. Hill (2013) stated that using place allows for

engagement into ecology and the issues involved while also “educating for a sustainable

future.” With students being exposed to the environment and its issues, rather than simply

seeing images, they are able to interact in unique ways and see the issues for themselves, with

the intention of engaging students to make their own changes.

Formative Assessment

The final aspect of place-based education that I will be using in my own teaching is

formative assessment. To be successful as a teacher, one must be able to learn from and adapt

to their students. Formative assessment allows teachers to do just that as they provide

feedback and ways of improvement to their students, while also learning how to be flexible and

make changes to their own teaching dependant on their student’s abilities. There are a variety

of ways to incorporate effective formative assessment into a classroom on a day-to-day basis.

Questioning is a way that can increase some students thinking ability and knowledge as it

incorporates and promotes conversation and extended inquisition (Wiliam, 2007). Effective

feedback also provides the potential for improvement using explicit instruction instead of just

handing out grades (Wiliam, 2007). When students are given a grade, many focus on that grade

rather than the feedback and therefore do not make any improvements in their overall work.

Finally, there is an importance of peer and self-assessment in improving student’s marks.

Through this form of assessment, students are able to “assess their own performance
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objectively” (Wiliam, 2007) and improve upon their own work and assist their peers in

improving their work as well. These three forms of formative assessment are easily

implemented in the every day classroom and used to make improvements to teaching and

learning based directly off of the abilities of the students within the class. Formative

assessment involves students “thinking more often than they are trying to remember

something” (Wiliam, 2007) and in turn doing more actual learning.

My Classroom

In my future classroom, each of the four previously described aspects of place-based will

be used regularly. I want students to engage in as much of the real-world and community as

possible. I plan on spending as much time as possible outside or in a variety of locations that

can allow for experiential education in a multitude of ways. I want my future students to learn

as much as possible outside of the classroom so giving them the opportunity to be a part of

society is vital to me. Even just being outside will also allow the students to gain knowledge

about the environment and its issues, therefore leading to ecological justice education. Project

based learning and inquiry will be used whenever possible and applicable. To me, providing

students with the chance to take control of their own learning through projects is a way to

allow them to be more engaged in their learning and focus on what is of interest to them.

Project-based learning can be used in any subject for any topic and with any age, so it is

something that I will be using as often as possible within my classroom. Finally, formative

assessment is something that I have found to be extremely vital in both student and teacher

success. In my day to day teaching, I want to incorporate formative assessment continuously to

allow my own students to grow while also allowing me to improve upon my own teaching.
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Questioning, feedback and peer and self-assessment will be used with every lesson to ensure

positive change.

Conclusion

A reformed classroom is one that is becoming more applicable and used in our school

systems. Place-based education has created a way to incorporate a more student-centred form

of education that increases engagement and learning. Through place-based learning, students

are given more control of their own education which in turn leads to more knowledge

inquisition and higher achievement. There are certain aspects of place-based education that I

have chosen to defend and will be using in my own teaching practice. Firstly, place and

experiential education lead to an increase in community experience and engagement. Project-

based learning is a form of experiential learning that gives the student’s control of their own

education in the form of inquiry. Formative assessment also gives learners the ability to engage

and perform ecological justice based on the knowledge they receive. Finally, place-based

education involves the heavy usage of formative assessment throughout day to day lessons.

This can take many forms, but I have focused on the use of questioning, feedback, and peer and

self-assessment to allow for improvement in a student’s abilities and skills. Each of these parts

of place-based education are something that I have developed an interest in and plan on using

within my own teaching. Each create possibilities in education that a traditional style classroom

often lacks and give students the chance to expand upon their knowledge in more engaging and

applicable ways.
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References

Bell, S. (2010). Project-Based Learning for the 21st Century: Skills for the Future. The Clearing

House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 83(2).

Hill, A. (2013). The Place of Experience and the Experience of Place: Intersections Between

Sustainability Education and Outdoor Learning. Australian Journal of Environmental

Education, 29(1), 18-32.

Scogin, S., Kruger, C., Jekkals, R., & Steinfeldt, C. (2017). Learning by Experience in a

Standardized Testing Culture. Journal of Experiential Education, 0(0), 39-57.

Smith, G. (2007). Place-based education: breaking through the constraining regularities of

public school. Environmental Education Research, 13(2).

Wiliam, D. (2007). Keeping learning on track: Formative assessment and the regulation of

learning. Nature, 1, 20.

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Criteria Specifics

Instructor
Assessment Codes:
M = met the expectation
I = some improvement needed in the future
DN = did not meet the expectation

Self
NA = not applicable
E = exceeded the expectation
Formatting Ideas are organized M
and Thoughts are expressed fluently and coherently M
Language Grammar and language mechanics are correct M
Use APA format is used properly for all citations and quotes M
Student name and number is clear and easy to read on a front title M
page
Information Clear explanation of why and how you feel that place matters in M
education
Research is identified and used effectively to support your M
explanation of why and how place matters.
Clear identification of which teaching pedagogies you intend to use M
in your teaching practice.
Clear and brief description of how you are going to use these M
pedagogies in your practice.
Clear and detailed explanation of why you are going to use the M
pedagogies including:
1. Clear description of the positive outcomes for students that M
result from the identified pedagogies
2. Clear description of what things in the pedagogy facilitate M
those positive outcomes
3. Research is identified and used effectively to support your M
explanation of why you are going to use those pedagogies.
WORD copy A copy of the paper saved in Word is emailed to the instructor M
The Word copy is named using the student’s last name at the M
beginning followed by the paper’s name
Length The paper is a minimum of 1500 words M
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