A kind of example

In this post I will show you a lesson plan I designed to start the implementation of PBE with an ecotourist approach. This lesson was focused on learning the definitions of Tourism and Ecotourism and learning the basics of the Ecotourism practices

PERIOD: August 16^th – August 20^th  (Two sessions)

SUBJECT: English

TOPIC:  What is Ecotourism?

GRADE: 6^th

STUDENTS: 38 (10-13 years old students)

TEACHER: Carlos Mario Morales

TIME: 120 minutes (2 sessions of 60 minutes each)

OBJECTIVE: To approach students to the definition, main traits and principles of Ecotourism.

FIRST SESSION (60 MINUTES)

NAME: “From Tourism to Ecotourism 1”

MATERIALS:

-          Board

-          Videobeam or TV with sound

-          Videos 

-     Coded alphabet

PROCEDURE	DESCRIPTION	MATERIAL
WARM UP (10 minutes)	Teacher will start the class with a simple hangman game. The word to find will be TOURISM. Teacher will ask students to guess the word by saying a letter of the alphabet. If the letter said is in the word, teacher will write it; if no, teacher will draw the hangman.	A board
TRANSITION (5 minutes)	Once the word is found, the teacher will ask students for the meaning of the word TOURISM.
STAGE 1 (15 minutes)	Teacher will show in the screen the definition of TOURISM. One student will read aloud the definition. If it is necessary, it could be translated. Having in mind the definition, the teacher will ask students for touristic places they know and have visited in Bogotá. These places will be written in the board. Then teacher will present the YouTube video: “One Week in Colombia: Best of Bogota & Cartagena!” until the minute 3:08 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGfVodEYGHc Teacher will ask for the places they watched in the video.	Video Beam Board Video “One Week in Colombia: Best of Bogota & Cartagena!”
STAGE 2 (15 minutes)	Teacher will present a number coded alphabet (See Annex 1) in order to solve with students and find the hidden word. The word is ECOTOURISM. Once the word is found, teacher will ask students to reflect and think on the definition of ECOTOURISM. Students must write it or take notes of what they think the definition is. This task will not take more than 5 minutes. Teacher will show a video that presents some Ecotourism traits. Video: “Ecoturismo Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia (subtítulos en inglés)” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SVcW5hQPgE	Video Beam Board Video “Ecoturismo Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia (subtítulos en inglés)”
CLOSURE (15 minutes)	Teacher will ask students to tell the differences found in both videos in terms of places, people, actions and environment. These differences can be written on the board. Homework: For next class students must bring pictures and images that represent Tourism and Ecotourism	Board

Class Annexes 

________       ________          ________           ________        

25-20   100-97   (7x2)+1    80/4  
________            ________

45-30        7x3        

_______         ________             ________         ________

9+9     2+2+6-1  (9x2)+1    6+7

A = 1 B = 2 C = 3 D = 4 E = 5 F = 6 G = 7

H = 8 I = 9 J = 10 K = 11 L = 12 M = 13 N = 14

O = 15 P = 16 Q = 17 R = 18 S = 19 T = 20 U = 21

V = 22 W = 23 X = 24 Y = 25 Z = 26

Videos:

Implementing PBE in a Colombian context

In this post I would like to share with you all how I am implementing PBE approach in the school where I carry out my pedagogical practice, a brief description.

This implementation process has been held in the Prado Veraniego School Branch A, a public school in Bogotá situated in the north part of the city (Suba Locality). This Branch is the home of secondary levels of colombian education, hence, I am working with 38 sixth graders during the morning shift. Additionally, the school works based on three emphasis: communication, values and (here comes the interesting part) tourism.

In this way, the observing process and the data collected along the first semester of 2018 showed some situations very common in public schools in Colombia and a special one:
- the English classes were not taught in the target language,
- Language was taught as isolated vocabulary,
- students did not produce language in any form of skill,
- and the school syllabus for English proposed a focus on ecotourism as part of the formation of the emphasis, and this was not present.

Now, my intervention proposal took Place-Based Education approach as solution to the disconnection between the tourism emphasis and the English class because it will allow to link the students to their immediate ecological context searched by the English area. Thus, it will permit me to guide students towards an appreciation and learning of their ecological and natural surroundings; I also considered it as a meaningful tool to initiate an immersion process in the English language learning enhancing the development of communicative and  integrated language skills due to the significative experiences it could offer at the moment of taking action. It is important to mention that the school teachers and coordinator were highly interested in seeing how this research project will be carried out and they announced a strong support with school facilities and resources for field trips.

In the next post I will share with you a couple of activities that I used to start the implementation of PBE with the class I mentioned.

What are the goals of PBE?

Rural schools can take avantage of natural spaces and students have a more direct contact. On the other hand, urban schools are surrounded by a concrete-built setting and there are more difficulties to have contact with nature at its best. Thus, Place-Based Education can be a light to guide teachers and students to understand and go deeper into historical and cultural matters of the place where learning happens.

Having the former in mind, implementing Place-Based Education (PBE) can be a challenge for us as teachers in a country where schools and learning seem to be a decontextualized process. However, it becomes relevant to show some of the goals that you should pursue when using this approach in your classes. These goals aim to reach the multiple benefits of PBE that your students would profit and take advantage of.

Having in mind that PBE is an approach that searches to connect students with their setting,  to Impacting communities is the objective stated to promote students compromise with environmental, political or social issues in their current place (Neighborhood, city, town, country.) As PBE is a more personalized way of teaching and it is learner-centered, this approaches searches to Increase student and teacher engagement; additionally, not only teachers become more committed with students' learning, but students become more committed with their learning due to the inquiry-based aspect that PBE demands.

Finally, another objective in PBE is Boosting academic outcomes as the educational goal and fulfilling the school requirements in terms of knowledge.

How would you achieve the goals previously presented? Do you think these goals are reachable in Colombian schools? Especially those in urban settings. Leave your comments below. 


Source: http://www.gettingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/What-is-Place-Based-Education-and-Why-Does-it-Matter-3.pdf

What is Place-Based Education?

Teaching based on the place you live is possible, without any doubt. Students can learn more from the interaction with their context and their surroundings; that is what we call Place-Based Education. Hence, a first review of the definition proposed by David Sobel (2004) in his book Place-based education: Connecting classroom and community states that,

"Place-based education is the process of using the local community and environment as a starting point to teach concepts in language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and other subjects across the curriculum. Emphasizing hands-on, real-world learning experiences, this approach to education increases academic achievement, helps students develop stronger ties to their community, enhances studentsappreciation for the natural world, and creates a heightened commitment to serving as active, contributing citizens. Community vitality and environmental quality are improved through the active engagement of local citizens, community organizations, and environmental resources in the life of the school. (Sobel 2005, 7)"

Thus, PBE is implemented as a model that not only integrates content among curricula but also integrates what surrounds students and an actual application of the knowledge acquired in order to contribute to society. Now, it becomes relevant to state that learning must be a situated practice. Why a situated practice? Well, in my experience as a teacher and mostly as a student, your learning process shows better results when you experience something and not only hear it from the teacher. That learning becomes more significant and, in most cases, it does not happen inside a four-wall classroom but outside those walls.

Check a video about what it is mentioned above:

Although PBE is a growing model, it has been implemented in rural schools around the world showing with great results that classes under the PBE model enhance students' creativity and consciousness about their immediate context. Consequently, students develop an interest in offering solutions to local problems. However Place-Based Education is being used in other subjects such as Social Studies, Biology and Environmental Education. Now, how do you consider PBE can be implemented in English Language teaching? And equally important, how would it be implemented in a Colombian context?

Leave your comments and answers below.