"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.
This postbis really interesting. I did not know this kind of teaching had a name and that was implemented as an approach to different subjects' teaching.
ResponderBorrarBearing in mind that language teaching has been recently focused on the experiential aspect and the relation that students can create between they and the environment where they are in, this methodology would be very useful. Besides, several strategies might be applied in order to get student recognize their location, their city, their community through the guidance of a teacher and the interaction throughout a foreign language.
What I see as a difficulty is the lack of spaces in school where students can go to explore and to rename the world with a new language.
However, the bicitours that are very popular nowadays in Bogotá, can be visible examples of the way that these kind of classes work: by moving around the city and interacting along the path.
Nice posting. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for your comment Jeison.
BorrarI agree with your idea of the difficulties at implementing PBE. However, despite the lack of natural spaces in urban schools, PBE in an Urban context can be possible with ideas like yours, referring to the 'bicitours'. On the other hand, fortunately in Bogotá we have many other natural spaces such as wetlands, quebradas, parks, or mountains that surround the city. The challenge is in obtaining permissions and transportation to take students to these places.
In the place I am implementing PBE I obtained these permissions and support. Hopefully, my students and I will go to the Mirador de los Nevados Park with a guided visit of the Environment Secretariat.
Hi Carlos. First I should say that I had never heard about this type of teaching. I think it is a grat idea to make the students have a sense of belonging for the different oportunities they could find in the country, they can travel and know at lot of things at the same time that they learn because learning stop being an isolated purpose for them. When students start talking about what they know, they can make a meaningful process of learning and it will secure better understanding.
ResponderBorrarLet us know how the process is going on in the place where you are using this method.
Thanks Carlos.
Thanks for your comment Angie.
BorrarFor sure PBE is a possibility for students to discover their place (neighborhood, town, city or country). Answering your question, in the place I have been implementing this approach I have found many things. First of all, it is a whole challenge since PBE is used mostly in rural areas and the connection with nature and environment is more direct. However, and secondly, it has been a process of discovering; discovering students' knowledge about Bogotá, discovering students' origins and how they identify themselves with this city. I have implemented PBE through the knowledge of natural spaces and how important they are for the development of the city. Spaces such as wetlands (humedales), paramos and parks which provide the city and its people with historical background and culture consciousness.
Actually, there is a term for this idea: Sense of place. This terme refers to the idea that students should first have a grounding in the history, culture and ecology of their surrounding environment before moving on to broader subjects, and this could be developed through PBE.
I recently read a project that implemented Place-Based Education in a rural village located in the periphery of the south part of Bogotá. These researchers used PBE as a way of teaching EFL, but also as a mean of creating awareness towards students' environment. I found really interesting how they created activities as going outside to pick up garbage or walking around the village to relate the foreign language to students daily lives and context. By implementing this approach, a meaningful relation between students and the environment was created. This is one example of how this strategy can be implemented in our country. However, how can we use it in an urban context? I have noticed that this approach is mostly used in rural contexts. However, I think that we can use it in an urban context to work on cultural aspects, history, society, and economy, we can also work on sustainable development as it is so relevant now to start taking care of our environment.
ResponderBorrarHere is the link of the project I mentioned, in case you haven's check it before: http://repositorio.pedagogica.edu.co/bitstream/handle/20.500.12209/3178/TE-20592.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Thanks for your comment and for sharing the link, María Paula.
BorrarI already have checked the project you mention some time ago. It is one of the theoretical supports I have found to develop the implementation of this approach in my practice. Additionally, having in mind that this approach has been widely implemented in rural areas, I decided to explore and find a way to implement it in urban areas. So far, I have found that despite the rythm of life and the noice in the city, students show interest on knowing how their place became a city. In this way, I completely agree with the fact that it should be used to work on aspects like culture and history of the place where learning happens. One of the fundations of PBE is to allow students to discover their context, where they are learning and growing up. This, to enhance awarness of the place they are, so they can take care of it and work for their communities.
First, I would like to mention that this post is absolutely interesting due to the importance of learning in a contextualize way. Also, I think that PBE is not only about learning in a rural context but also has a relation with inquiry -based learning which is a form of active learning that starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios in an specific field that involves a situated learning practices.
ResponderBorrarI truly believe that this is possible in Colombia, indeed there are schools that use this kind of approach for example : La escual pedagogica experimental: http://www.epe.edu.co/
Thanks for yout post and your share
I'm surprised, I really didn't know that this type of methodology was presented as a specific approach, which is really interesting and motivates me to do so, to generate that students can interact with some elements in real time, as part of
ResponderBorrarmeaningful language.
However, this in Colombia or to not go so far, in Bogotá is quite difficult, it is necessary to take into account the resources, the school, the grade, etc. For example, I think about my personal practice and I see it full of obstacles. Firstly, they are first grade children, so they need a lot of care and secondly the school's methodology. Imagine, sometimes it's a problem to do a class in the school yard because the teachers prefer to have them in a classroom.
I am quite intrigued about your practices, maybe in the future it could be implemented.