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Pedagogy and Place in Science Education

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Book cover Interdisciplinary Approaches to Pedagogy and Place-Based Education

Abstract

Modern science includes a productive tension between investigations that are concrete and place-based, and those that are more abstract and non-place-based. Place-based pedagogies can facilitate integrative learning in science by providing local examples of global phenomena, allowing students to complete their own experiments from beginning to end, and crossing disciplinary boundaries. A student accustomed to investigating authentic problems in a place (i.e., a community or natural area) and then following those investigations back into a laboratory would be well prepared for the practice of modern science. As a case study, the establishment and educational use of Elon University Forest is described. Pedagogies utilizing the forest allow large numbers of students to experience authentic scientific investigations in an interdisciplinary context, leading to meaningful and transferrable learning.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Darwin, The Origin of Species.

  2. 2.

    Mouginot et al., “Fast Retreat of Zachariæ Isstrøm.”

  3. 3.

    Watson, The Double Helix.

  4. 4.

    Ni, “An Ultrathin Invisibility Skin Cloak for Visible Light.”

  5. 5.

    Bernard, An Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine, 15.

  6. 6.

    Ibid., 15.

  7. 7.

    Turing, “Computing Machinery and Intelligence.”

  8. 8.

    Handelsman, Miller, and Pfund, Scientific Teaching, 2.

  9. 9.

    Sobel, Place-Based Education, 7.

  10. 10.

    Ibid.

  11. 11.

    Smith, “Place-Based Education,” 593.

  12. 12.

    Sarkar and Frazier, “Place-Based Investigations and Authentic Inquiry,” 30.

  13. 13.

    Handelsman, Miller, and Pfund, Scientific Teaching, 13.

  14. 14.

    Dewey, Democracy and Education, 220.

  15. 15.

    Sarkar and Frazier, “Place-Based Investigations and Authentic Inquiry,” 29.

  16. 16.

    Haywood, “A ‘Sense of Place’ in Public Participation in Scientific Research.”

  17. 17.

    Sarkar and Frazier, “Place-Based Investigations and Authentic Inquiry,” 29–33.

  18. 18.

    Membiela, DePalma, and Suarez Pazos, “A Sense of Place in the Science Classroom.”

  19. 19.

    Sperling and Bencze, “Reimagining Non-Formal Science Education.”

  20. 20.

    Oyana et al., “Nurturing Diversity in STEM Fields Through Geography.”

  21. 21.

    Zimmerman and Land, “Facilitating Place-Based Learning in Outdoor Informal Environments with Mobile Computers.”

  22. 22.

    Miele and Powell, “Science and the City.”

  23. 23.

    Gold et al., “Lens on Climate Change.”

  24. 24.

    Barker, Slingsby, and Tilling, Teaching Biology Outside the Classroom.

  25. 25.

    Smith. “Issues and Trends in Higher Education Biology Fieldwork.”

  26. 26.

    Smith, “Place-Based Education,” 588.

  27. 27.

    Glasson et al., “Understanding the Earth Systems of Malawi.”

  28. 28.

    Orr, “Place and Pedagogy.”

  29. 29.

    Semken and Freeman, “Sense of Place in the Practice and Assessment of Place-Based Science Teaching.”

  30. 30.

    Sukhontapatipak and Srikosamatara, “The Role of Field Exercises in Ecological Learning and Values Education.”

  31. 31.

    National Research Council (NRC), National Science Education Standards, 31.

  32. 32.

    Orr, “Place and Pedagogy,” 183.

  33. 33.

    Ibid., 186.

  34. 34.

    Ibid.

  35. 35.

    Sukhontapatipak and Srikosamatara, “The Role of Field Exercises in Ecological Learning and Values Education.”

  36. 36.

    Wilson and Stemp, “Science Education in a ‘Classroom without Walls.’

  37. 37.

    Gautreau and Binns, “Investigating Student Attitudes and Achievements in an Environmental Place-Based Inquiry in Secondary Classrooms.”

  38. 38.

    Borgelt et al., “Using Digital Narratives to Communicate about Place-Based Experiences in Science.

  39. 39.

    Semken and Freeman, “Sense of Place in the Practice and Assessment of Place-Based Science Teaching.”

  40. 40.

    Borgelt et al., “Using Digital Narratives to Communicate about Place-Based Experiences in Science.”

  41. 41.

    Zimmerman and Land, “Facilitating Place-Based Learning in Outdoor Informal Environments with Mobile Computers.”

  42. 42.

    Way et al., “Greening the American Campus.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Elon Core Curriculum, Elon University, Elon, USA

    Jeffrey Scott Coker

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  1. Jeffrey Scott Coker
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Emory University , Oxford, Georgia, USA

    Deric Shannon

  2. Emory University , Oxford, Georgia, USA

    Jeffery Galle

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Coker, J.S. (2017). Pedagogy and Place in Science Education. In: Shannon, D., Galle, J. (eds) Interdisciplinary Approaches to Pedagogy and Place-Based Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50621-0_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50621-0_6

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-50620-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-50621-0

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