Module 4 – Place and Community-based Education in Schools

Place and Community-based Education in Schools (2010) is a book by Gregory A. Smith and David Sobel. Their discussion about an approach to teaching and learning that starts with the local, addresses two critical gaps in the experience of many children now growing up in North America: contact with the natural world and contact with community. The book offers a way to extend young people’s attention beyond the classroom to the world as it actually is, and to engage them in the process of devising solutions to the social and environmental problems they will confront as adults. This approach can increase students’ engagement with learning and enhance their academic achievement.

The book also explains the purpose and nature of place and community-based education and provides multiple examples of its practice. Through the book, the detailed descriptions of learning experiences set both within and beyond the classroom help me and other readers understand the process of advocating for or incorporating local content and experiences into schools.