Place+Based+Education

=**Place Based Education** =

This wiki page was constructed by graduate students in the Secondary MAC program at the University of Michigan--Ann Arbor; its primary purpose is to introduce educators to the practice of place-based education. As prospective teachers, we acknowledge the need to continually search for innovative ways to enhance the learning experiences of all students. We also recognize that traditional practices of education are not meeting many of the goals and mandates set forth in NCLB. We believe this to be especially true in some urban and rural communities. We also recognize that many of those communities are bursting with opportunities for students to learn, grow and develop. We offer place-based education as a way for schools to take advantage of those opportunities.

Overview: What is place based education?
Place Based Education (PBE) is a general term for formal instructional programs that seek to improve the educational outcomes for all students by using the “local natural and socio-cultural environments as the context for a significant share of students’ educational experiences” (Athman and Monroe, 2004, p. 10). Key characteristics of PBE programs include: 1. Interdisciplinary learning based on the local natural or socio-cultural environment. Such a basis for learning naturally blurs the distinctions between subject areas. 2. Project- and issue- based learning experiences. The kinds of problems that students solve and issues that they investigate push the students’ audience beyond just their peers and teachers within their school and out into the larger community. By having opportunities to share their learning with those beyond the four walls of their school, students may recognize the value that their education has to the whole community. 3. Learner-centered instruction. The natural curiosity of students is encouraged, giving them more voice in what they do and how they do it. 4. Constructivist approaches. Students build on previous learning and skills, improving higher order thinking and metacognitive skills.

PBE is strongly based in the philosophy of John Dewey, who emphasized the importance of students learning outside of the classroom and their ability to make connections between the classroom and real world applications in the everyday community.

Some synonyms for place-based education include: [|experiential education] (popular term), environment based education, pedagogy of place, community-based education.

**What are the goals of PBE?**
1) Student Achievement: PBE can boost student achievement and efforts by increasing stewardship of their own community.

2) Community Social and Economic Vitality: PBE attempts to forge ties between social and environmental organizations with the school and community, improving relationships between the school and surrounding community. PBE has often developed in school from communities of diminishing population. There is a belief amongst some PBE researchers that if students develop a deep connection to their home town through school, they will be less likely to leave their community later in life. Towns whose populations are decreasing will in most cases see economic depression. Thus, if PBE is successful in keeping students in their hometown, they may be able to help stabilize the economy.

3) Ecological Integrity: A strong focus of many PBE programs is to make environmental protection and conservation important issues to learn in school. For example, a school could advocate for the protection of a nearby wetland if businesses are causing its destruction ([|www.promiseofplace.org]).

=**Principles and Standards of Successful PBE** = There are several standards that PBE programs should adhere to to be effective in meeting their goals:

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">1. Learning at school and in local community and environment. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Learning does not solely occur in the classroom. A significant amount of students' school work takes place outside of the classroom and in the local community. For example, a school could have students learn about government structures by going to city hall, or learn about botany by growing gardens.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">2. Focus on local themes, content and systems. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This standard emphasizes the use of the local community and environment as learning tools and how schools can take advantage of their local resources.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">3. Make learning personally relevant. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This is a standard that ties closely in with students gaining a sense of stewardship. All learning should be meaningful. Through PBE, content is meaningful because it is connected to what is happening in the students' backyard. Students can feel empowered if they feel connected to their city through meaningful PBE.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">4. Learning should contribute to communities and environment, encouraging the community's role in preservation. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This standard of PBE states the importance of PBE education contributing to a community. For example, finding an issue of social injustice in the community and trying to correct the problem through working with local citizens.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">5. Learning through partnerships with other organizations. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">PBE can only exist through partnerships with organizations in the community. If the school develops strong ties with these organizations, then students will likely have greater opportunities for stewardship in their community.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">6. Interdisciplinary learning. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">A principle of PBE is that classes do not have to be specific to a single subject. Often times interdisciplinary curricula are used to make the content more meaningful.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">7. Create love of home through learning. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This is the principle that directly states that through education, a greater pride and love for home community can be attained.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">8. Develop an understanding of regional and global issues by encouraging participation. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">While PBE does teach using the local community, it is important that students do not only learn of issues in their own surroundings. Students should learn of issues outside their hometown and learn how to participate in helping solve problems on a larger scale.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">9. PBE is integral to achieving other institutional goals (student goes to college). <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">While PBE is an alternative form of education, schools need to tailor the program to help students reach other goals in life including going to college and getting jobs(<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">[])

=**<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14pt;">Historical Context: How did we get here? **= <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">The term "place-based education" (PBE) is relatively new, developed by David Sobel of the Orion Society and coined in the 1990s by Laurie Lane. Engaging in PBE mainly requires schools to reconnect to their local communities and focus on both the human and nonhuman aspects of that community (Smith & Sobel, 2010). Place-based education should be structured so that the community becomes the starting point rather than the end point for educating the child. ([]).

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Why did schools, in general, begin to detach from their communities? There is no single defining point in time that marks this departure. However, if we look back to history, we see transition beginning to take place during World War II; this was a time in which the needs of the community took a back seat to the needs of the nation. The following decade ushered in the Cold War, and the launch of Sputnik in 1957; these events reinforced the idea that the needs of our nation were paramount (Rothstein, 1988).

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">In the 1960s, our nation raced to put a man on the moon. Television helped to popularize space exploration. Many students thus aspired to become astronauts or even secret government agents. Government agencies such as NASA and the CIA became authoritative sources for what an education should entail. This likely influenced how schools structured education.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">During the 1970s, global competition became an important factor that influenced how schools prepared students. Our students now had to compete with students in Japan and Germany, for instance.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">The 1980s can arguably be defined as a major decade of transition, one in which schools severely overlooked communities. Schools looked toward larger bureaucratic institutions to define what an education should entail. After becoming president, former actor Ronald Reagan introduced his definition of what an education should encompass: the 3 R’s- reading, writing, and arithmetic. //A Nation at Risk,// published in 1983, further exaggerated the urgency to produce globally competitive students (Rothstein, 1988). The 1980s was also a time in which state standards and standardized testing began increasing in popularity.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">By the 1990s, it was becoming increasingly evident to many educators that our schools had lost sight of what an education should really be about. Since then, numerous PBE organizations have developed. Their common goal has been to provide paths for schools to reconnect education to local communities. The term “place-based education” came into existence during this time.

=<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Assessment = <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Place-based education lends itself to alternative forms of assessment, rather than the traditional paper-and-pencil classroom tests that are found in most schools. Place-based learning not only allows different and more comprehensive assessment techniques, it benefits from them. It would be difficult to accurately assess student learning through a multiple choice test in the classroom when the class has consisted of completing a hands-on project in the community. Semken (2008) suggests using assessments that require students to use application or analysis, not just factual recall to demonstrate their understanding. The literature on place-based education brings to light several student assessment techniques that work well in such a context.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Methods Of Assessing
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Four major assessment techniques seem to be especially common in place-based education. They are student testimony, standardized/classroom tests, project completion, and portfolios. Each is described in more detail below.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Student Testimony:
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Often, when asked what they’ve learned at the end of a classroom unit, students will stare blankly, and be able to come up with little more than some random facts. Students know when they’ve learned something that’s valuable to them, and this is one way in which place-based education can get a good handle on student learning. As part of an end-of-unit questionnaire or portfolio, one way to assess student learning is to ask students to detail what they think they’ve learned. In one class on entrepreneurship, students bought and opened an old local theater. Upon being asked what they gained from the experience, one student said, “‘Being in the entrepreneur class has widened my horizons - it has helped me become more confident in public speaking, and taught me how to write minutes for meetings.’” Another said, “‘Through this class I have learned the responsibilities of opening and running a successful business’” (Loveland, 2003, p.10).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Standardized/Classroom Tests:
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">There is some evidence saying that students in place-based curricula perform at least as well as, and often better than, their peers in traditional classrooms. The evidence points to the idea that traditional and standardized tests will reflect student learning in place-based programs. In Alaska, the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (AKRSI) “has documented eighth grade scores on CAT-5 math tests for four years with schools using place-based education showing a gain in scores over schools that do not. AKRSI districts now have 24.3 percent of their students performing in the upper quartile” (Loveland, 2003, p.6).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Fly (n.d.) says that “place-based learning models that use the community in which children live as a learning laboratory across all subjects, have been demonstrated to improve student performance on standardized tests” (p.7), also saying that a likely reason is activation of student curiosity in a real environment, much like childhood curiosity drives children to discover the world around them.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Project Completion:
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Place-based learning often consists of projects completed by the students within the community. “Much of the evidence of student learning is demonstrated in the act of performing the service itself” (National Service-Learning, 1999, p. 2-7). In Oregon, eighth grade students created a walkway for an office building. The walkway incorporated footprints of Oregon animals, and required students to learn about the different animal tracks and plot/graph the pace of each animal. They had to then create the footprints to scale and calculate the necessary volume of cement, the cost, and finally create the prints in the actual walkway. In order to complete such a project, students had to utilize a variety of skills, many of them mathematical, to carry out their plans (Loveland, 2003).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">In order to capture specific evidence of this kind of learning, teachers can establish processes such as observation checklists or anecdotal record keeping. Students can contribute through journal entries, peer evaluations, and group discussions (National Service-Learning, 1999).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Portfolios:
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Student portfolios to assess learning can incorporate a variety of items. Often portfolios will include pieces of student work, teacher evaluations, student self-evaluations, write-ups from community members involved in a project, peer feedback, drafts and completed products, and in-class reflections (National Service-Learning, 1999). Portfolios provide concrete evidence of actual student learning, and practically any material related to a place-based project could be included in order to get a thorough and well-rounded view of student accomplishment. See [] for examples and information about portfolios in pace based education.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">What And Why To Assess
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Semken (2008) offers an additional perspective on assessment in place-based education, in addition to assessing students’ academic knowledge. Semken suggests assessing students’ attachment to place, saying this “refers to an affective bond formed through direct experience in, or vicarious engagement with, a place” (p.1047). Such an assessment gets at another important part of place-based education, which is involvement with and integration into the community. One goal of PBE is for students to feel connected to their community in a way that will promote active citizenship in the future.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">“Student assessment has multiple purposes, including grading, sorting, diagnosing strengths and weaknesses of students, evaluating effectiveness of curriculum and delivery models, reporting to parents and schools, identifying misunderstandings, offering a sense of direction, and celebrating accomplishments” (National Service-Learning, 1999, p.1-3). An ideal purpose of assessment is to provide students with feedback, allowing them to direct their efforts at improvement. Assessment is also useful feedback for teachers, suggesting ways in which to change or improve their approach to their place-based curriculum in order to maximize student learning. So not only does assessment promote growth in students, it also serves as proof that place-based education is a useful and effective approach. Without assessment, place-based education programs could lose support, due to lack of evidence of student growth (National Service-Learning, 1999).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Standards
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Some states are embracing place-based education to the point of including its principles in state standards. For example, Vermont’s learning standards now include “sense of place” and “sustainability” (Westra, 2003). Alaska is making strides as well. Loveland (2003) explains, “the Alaska Standards for Culturally Responsive Schools have been developed for students, teachers, curriculum specialists, schools and communities to provide explicit guidelines for ways to integrate the Alaska Native culture and environment into the formal education process” (p.6). By incorporating place-based goals into state standards, it gives educators concrete goals to work with and formulate their curriculum around. It encourages inclusion of place-based learning, and all the benefits that come with it.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Policy
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">In 1994, Vermont led the organization of a National Service-Learning and Assessment Network (NSLAN) in order to address the issues of student assessment in place-based education. This spawned the National Study Group on Service Learning and Assessment. This group met several times between 1996 and 1999 to discuss assessment, authentic tools and techniques, student learning, and state standards (National Service-Learning, 1999).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Eventually, a guide for teachers was developed on the matter of assessment techniques in place-based education. To do this, study groups in several states were formed consisting of classroom teachers and assessment consultants. Their goal was to identify best practices in place-based education environments in regards to both content and skill areas. “The mission of the National Study Group was to: provide guidelines to the local study groups to develop standards-based tools to assess (or develop assessments for) student learning through service; critique the tools collected or developed by the local study groups; document and share information about what the local and national groups are doing” (National Service-Learning, 1999, p.1-3).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The view of assessment that the NSG chose was a focus on feedback that helps students learn. They worked around a belief that students should have familiarity with their state’s standards, and that something beyond paper-and-pencil tests would be necessary to give students the feedback they would need in relation to those standards. This was based on a belief that these kinds of tests test little more than a student’s ability to take a test and memorize facts.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The overall theme of the NSG was the understanding that “assessment was not simply about grading, but was a process that entailed setting goals, clarifying expectations, generating evidence of student competency, and providing feedback in a variety of ways” (National Service-Learning, 1999, p.2-1).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">An Example
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This section presents one specific example of how a teacher assessed place-based learning in her classroom. This was the second time she had done this project, and her practices reflect what she learned as a result of trial-and-error. Ms. Lary’s class created a video history of their town through extensive research and interviews. She discussed with her students at the beginning of the project the standards they would be working toward, and came to a consensus on what would be considered quality work. Ms. Lary regularly checked their progress, recorded observations during class, led discussions on triumphs and challenges of the project, and collected responses from students about their contributions and their strengths and weaknesses. She administered a test that asked students to give advice to interviewers, write an essay of the town history, and write about something they learned from their interviews with elderly community members. In addition to collecting and reviewing final products, she also collected drafts to see how students progressed. Ms. Lary found that these practices gave her a good idea of what students learned, and improved the quality of student work (National Service-Learning, 1999).

=<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16pt;">Best Practices ** = <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">When one decides to implement a place-based or experiential lesson, the structure of the class period will most likely need to change. Taking a field trip or another activity may require more time than the average class period.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**//Advocating for Your School//**
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">If administrative approval is necessary for a project, show them the positive evaluation results documented in “Why PBL Matters” ([]). Studies suggest that place-based learning programs engage students better, retain teachers, and support strong academic achievement. Or, go to [] This website includes a database of research and evaluation of existing and past PBE programs.

//**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Integration Within Existing Structures **//
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The way a teacher structures a PBE project can greatly affect the efficacy, realization, and sustainability of the project. For someone who is new to PBE, it is easier to start out small by working with existing school schedules and programs. After doing this successfully, it will be easier to request more time or a more flexible schedule.In addition, teachers can integrate PBE into the regular curriculum and create methods for assessment and evaluation. Partnering with other teachers in similar fields facilitates more support and more opportunities for clear connections with content. Also, aligning goals and projects with the school mission and vision can help to secure a PBE project within a school.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**//Teacher Collaboration//**
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Working with community partners in the local area on existing projects may also be helpful. If a teacher decides to tackle a larger project, it may be effective to divide up big projects into groups or classes, and even spread the projects across time and different grades (Clark, 2008).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Planning ahead will also make PBE an easier endeavor. Asking for help and working with other interested teachers are possible methods. Planning events in advance will give parents and other teachers notice. Partnering with other grades or classes can potentially offer more resources and provide diversity and multiple perspectives. Planning and preparing for a future place-based education project in the summer or break period will allow more time for planning.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">//**Behavioral Expectations**//
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Teachers who employ PBE may have to adapt disciplinary methods. Establishing clear rules and boundaries works well. As students become accustomed to field studies, the experiences outside the classroom should be viewed as part of the curriculum rather than a break, and behave accordingly. Also, if a class visits a public or private space, it is important for teachers to know any corresponding rules or policies (Clark, 2008).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Funding Resources **
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Funding may also be an issue. If so, try to get support from the school. If this does not work, funds may be acquired through grants from private foundations or from donations from local businesses. These organizations can also be incorporated in community based learning as partners. See [|www.promiseofpla] [|ce.org] for more information. Some agencies or organizations which support place based education are as follows: The Wellborn Ecology Fund, Promise Neighborhoods, 21st Community Learning Centers, Rural School Partnerships, The National Science Foundation, The National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, and The Walton Family Foundation.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Involving students in fund raising activities is an effective way to raise money and involve students in the community and the PBE project (Clark, 2008).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Conversely, funding is not even necessary for some PBE lessons. Teachers can recruit chaperones or extra adults from partner organizations, parents, or the community. Traveling to a nearby location can also help to eliminate or reduce costs.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Relevant Models **
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Examining previous and existing models of successful place-based education programs is a good way to develop a new project. Here are some examples of projects and resources that can be used to model a PBE project.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The article, “A Place-Based Model for K-12 Education in Tennessee” discusses PBE and provides a model. This can be found at: [|http://web.utk.edu/~markfly/documents/Place-Based%20K-12%20Education%20Proposal%205_10_10.pdf]

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Alaska Native Curriculum and Teacher Development Project (ANCTD). <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Teachers, elders, and community members participated in order to develop curricula on Alaska Native studies and language. The project is supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. More details can be found at: [].

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">In addition, the Place-Based Education Evaluation Collaborative (PEEC) and the Promise of Place websites have a lot of information and models that teachers can research. They are found at: [] and [|promiseofplace.org].

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Formal Research - Evidence of Success
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Many organizations that are involved with planning, implementing, or evaluating place-based education programs for urban districts claim significant positive outcomes for students. The evidence presented is often merely anecdotal, though, lacking qualitative and quantitative rigor (see Gregg, 1998). Also, the evidence may not speak to what the academic results are for PBE programs for high school students (see Woodfin, 2009).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">However, there is some published research that shows positive results for PBE in urban schools. Gregg (1998) gives an overview of an integrated, experiential learning program called QuEST developed for 9th graders in a St. Petersburg, Florida high school. In the paper, the author, herself an administrator at the school, presents informal evidence that QuEST alums demonstrate **more advanced critical thinking and problem solving skills** than their peers who do not go through the PBE program. A large percentage of program alums also **assume leadership positions** in various school organizations.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Quantitative evidence in support of PBE in urban schools is presented in Athman and Monroe (2004) and Ernst and Monroe (2006); note that Ernst is Athman’s married name. These studies analyze the same data from a mix (location, socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity) of Florida high schools that have implemented a range of different PBE programs for 9th graders and 12th graders.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Athman and Monroe (2004) looked at whether student **achievement motivation** index (AMI) was improved for 9th graders who went through PBE programs, using an experimental versus control group model. A statistically significant improvement for PBE program participants that was not dependent on pretest score, GPA, gender, or ethnicity was found for the 9th graders. For 12th grade students a statistically significant improvement was also seen, but the results did vary with ethnicity in that non-white students who went through the PBE programs did not show the same improvement in AMI as white 12th grade students. The authors point out that the non-white students in the control group had a much higher AMI level than white control group students. This fact, together with the much higher high school dropout rates for non-white students, leads Athman and Monroe (2004) to hypothesize that the non-white students remaining in 12th grade have reached their AMI “ceiling.”

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Using the same control and experimental groups of 9th and 12th grade students, Ernst and Monroe (2006) reports on whether students showed an **improvement in critical thinking skills**, as measured by the Cornell Critical Thinking Test (CCTT), and **disposition towards critical thinking**, as measured by the California Measure of Mental Motivation (CM3). The results showed improvement in critical thinking skills for both 9th and 12th graders who went through the PBE programs, reaching levels comparable to university students; these improvements were seen regardless of pretest score, GPA, gender, or ethnicity. However, the results for disposition towards critical thinking only showed statistically significant improvement for PBE program students in the 12th grade.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Both Athman and Monroe (2004) and Ernst and Monroe (2006) present qualitative results summarizing interviews of a group of students and teachers sampled from the experimental group. In these interviews they were asked what PBE program factors influenced their achievement motivation, critical thinking skills and disposition towards critical thinking. The common characteristics for motivating achievement were the use of the l**ocal environment as a motivating context**, the **application of content and skills to real-life issues and problems**, and the empowerment of students to be responsible for their own learning. For influencing critical thinking skills and disposition towards critical thinking the common program characteristics were the **integration of multiple disciplines** using a common environmental theme; the implementation of **open-ended projects requiring hypothesizing, investigating, and researching**; the **empowerment of students** to be responsible for their own learning; and the opportunity for students to r**eflect on what they have done or learned**, allowing for connection to the local purpose of their efforts. //Note the commonalities between the characteristics promoting AMI, critical thinking skills, and disposition towards critical thinking. These commonalities include: empowerment of students to be responsible for their own learning; use of local environmental themes to motivate cross-discipline learning; and the application of skills, such as hypothesizing, investigating, and researching, to real-life issues.//

=<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16pt;">**Rural Place-Based Education** = <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">__A challenge for rural education__ <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">Research has shown that rural students are less likely to get a quality education, have lower test scores and are less likely to go to college (Bartolomaeus, pp. 481-483) <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Place Based Education can create deep connections with the rural community, so that students who leave for college will be more likely to return to their community. PBE in rural communities has grown as a solution to some of these problems. Students who develop a a deep connection with their community are less likely to leave. ** (Bartholomaeus, 2006). **

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How PBE exists in rural communities:**
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">A strong PBE curriculum that can foster ties to the land can help keep students in their rural community. The programs should draw from the resources in the community. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">For example: <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">A school can use the natural environments in rural communities such as forests, streams, and fields to teach many principles of biology.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">Students can learn the founding of their own town from talking to older residents and city officials and by going through the city's archives. The founding of the town can teach the history of the place and teach why such a town developed in the first place. Students can learn how to analyze primary sources through this method. Students in frontier towns can learn the importance of the expanding west in American history and learn of the national trends led to the city's development.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">PBE can be vocational and teach cultural skills. In a rural setting, an example of this form of PBE can be drawn from students in Eskimo village in Alaska where they learn hunting, butchering, and skin preparation skills (Bartholomaeus, 2006).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Russian Mission School, Alaska**
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Russian Mission School is a place-based education success story; over 1/3 of the children over age 12 were not attending classes. As a result, Russian Mission School students scored lower that any other school in its district. With help from the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (AKRSI), PBE was introduced as a way to incorporate the native culture into the curriculum. Subsistence camps were incorporated into their education. Such camps train participants how to live off the natural land, they teach the skills needed for obtaining food and constructing shelter. For example, students in these camps learned about local medical plants, fishing, cabin construction, animal habitat, as well as local history. Students were then required to communicate what they learned to the outside world using technology. As a result, student reading levels improved dramatically (Elaina, 2003).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Tillamook Junior School, Oregon**
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Tillamook is situated in the heart of a logging community. Students worked with the Oregon Department of Forestry; they conducted surveys and collected data that helped to ensure loggers were not harvesting too many trees. Students were then assigned the task of putting their data into a program. The students collected data from the surrounding woodlands. They put their data into programs, and their computations were remarkably accurate; they deviated only 0.2% from those of professional surveyors. In another activity, students designed and constructed a cement walkway that simulated animal tracks. In order to ensure that the tracks were to scale, students employed math to correctly increase the size and stride of the animal tracks. Students also calculated the volume of cement that would be required to complete the project (Elaina, 2003).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Papunya School, Australia**
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;"> The Papunya school based on The // Papunya School Book of Country and History, // targets aboriginal students who experience a disconnection between school and culture. Thus the Papunya school began giving more focus to aboriginal culture. One of the major things that the school did was have students construct a mural vision painting that displayed aboriginal culture. The school has been incorporating a new vision statement which emphasizes having students participate in mainstream society while maintaining cultural relevance (Bartholomaeus, 2006).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">**Cowell School, Australia**
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">The Cowell school area integrated a PBE model in terms of teaching aquaculture. The school is located on the western coastline of Australia where fish farming is a booming industry. Oyster farmers in the area wanted students in the area to become familiar with the business and asked the school to teach aquaculture. The class allowed the students to have the knowledge and skills to work in the field. Students would work in fish farms, maintain fish tanks and raise fish. Much of their biology curriculum was based around the aquaculture class. They learned economic priorities in the field as well and how to be successful aqua farmers ** (Bartholomaeus, 2006). **

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Mollusk Island School, United Kingdom**
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">In Mollusk Island (UK) a small island, with a small school, the teachers taught in a PBE environment. In wood-shop, they built fishing poles and fishing nets and learned to fish, which is part of the local industry. The students had the opportunity to go to the market and sell their fish, learning business skills and economic principles. In history, the teacher took the students all around the island to historically significant sites as part of his teaching. He took the students to a cemetery to teach about some of the important figures buried there. As part of the English curriculum, the teacher taught the students about the island's unique dialect in comparison with other British dialects as a basis for teaching language skills.The science teacher taught the students about local environmental issues by having them witness firsthand some of these issues on the island. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">The Mollusk School Model provided some more guidelines for PBE: <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">1) The PBE content must be decided with a strong goal in mind of how it is being used or else it is merely an alternative education form without being better than the norm. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">2) PBE must be flexible and evolving. For example the wood-shop teacher learned about computers and robotics and realized that those skills were more pertinent to the students. He transformed his class from a wood-shop course to a technology course. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">3) PBE teachers should not give instruction if another group can teach the material better. For example on Mollusk Island the school resorted to having curators at the museums and members of environmental groups teach about their respective content matter (Thomas, 2005).

=<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">**Place Based Education and Civil Engagement** =

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Transformational Mode l
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">Rothe (1993) describes the Transformational Model of education as a way of teaching civil engagement. The model adheres to many principles of PBE. He describes a version of the curriculum used in British Colombia that had students address traffic problems in their community. Traffic problems became a community learning tool allowing students to learn of local issues. The goal of the model was to have students effectively present a resolution to the municipal government that imposed more safety regulations to reduce traffic accidents. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">The Transformational Model is based on students having a personal stake in a social issue. With traffic accidents the stake is damage and death.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">The model can be broken into four stages: <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">1) Awareness <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">The issue is defined and introduced to the students. They learn the costs of traffic deaths. The students learn the context of how social action can be implemented. They learn how those in local government operate and makes decisions for the city. They learn how citizens can cause a political impact through letters, public meetings, referendum and elections. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">At this time the students are presented with videotapes called “close calls” which shows traffic accidents. Students analyze the traffic accidents and collect data on the incidents.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">2) Diagnosis <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">The second stage is diagnosis. Students analyze the data, determine how the accident was caused, and write descriptions of the accidents. The data are then categorized.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">3) Resolution <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">In this stage the students develop recommendations in order to create a formal brief detailing their project which will be presented to municipal government, creating a professional document worthy of serious attention.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">4) Presentation <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">This is the stage where the class presents their brief to the municipal government. By doing so they become stakeholders in their community. Furthermore, through this process they are working in a professional environment. Hopefully the municipal government took the resolution into consideration and implemented some of the students' ideas. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> Through the process of addressing this issue, students learned about several areas. They learned about their local community, problem solving skills, data analysis, writing of briefs and social action which helps communities ( Rothe, 1993).

=<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Other PBE Programs and Initiatives =

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Project Citizen
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> Another form of civil engagement in PBE is the “Project Citizen” initiative from the Center of Civil Education. This is a similar project to the one above that has students engaging in changing public policy. The students identify problems in the local community, research the problem, evaluate data and create an action plan for getting the local government involved. Several criteria for higher order thinking are displayed in this project. This project has gotten students engaged and excited to do school work, as the goal is helping their community ( []).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Valley Quest
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> An award winning PBE program is the Valley Quest. This form of PBE involves “quests” which are essential educationally based scavenger hunts. For example, there is a quest based on learning all of the different types of trees and plant life in forests ( []).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Tell Us How It Was
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> The // Tell Us How It Was // program is an oral history PBE initiative that has grown across the country as a program through the organization What Kids Can Do. The organization is based on giving students a strong partnership with teachers and other adults to build a purposeful learning environment. The initiative is an oral history project that is emphasized in small towns (population under 2000). The program sees oral history as a unique form of learning where students can learn directly from their community. Currently the program has around 700 partnerships with schools in over 30 states. The program provides opportunities for individuals in the community who have an oral history to share (Rural and Community Trust, 2002). []

=<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Partnership Resources =

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">NATIONAL:
<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10.5pt; text-decoration: none;">US department of Agriculture -Education Outreach <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10.5pt; text-decoration: none;">[|http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/!ut/p/c5/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os_gAC9-wMJ8QY0MDpxBDA09nXw9DFxcXQ-cAA_1wkA5kFaGuQBXeASbmnu4uBgbe5hB5AxzA0UDfzyM_N1W_IDs7zdFRUREAZXAypA!!/dl3/d3/L2dJQSEvUUt3QS9ZQnZ3LzZfUDhNVlZMVDMxMEJUMTBJQ01IMURERDFDUDA!/?navtype=SU&navid=EDUCATION_OUTREACH]

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">US Department of Forestry -Learning Opportunities for High School Students <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10.5pt; text-decoration: none;">[]

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10.5pt; text-decoration: none;">National Place of Promise PBE organization __http://www.promiseofplace.org__

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**STATE:**
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Michigan Renewable Energy Program (MREP) <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px;">[]

Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) -Education Outreach []

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**LOCAL:**
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">Greening of Detroit <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|http://www.greeningofdetroit.com]

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">US Forestry Service "Urban Connections" <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[]

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Creative Change (curriculum/planning): <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[]

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Detroit Agriculture Network (consortium): <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[]

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Earthworks Urban Farm (Detroit farm): <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[]

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Black Community Food Security Network (Detroit): <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[]

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Organizations
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|Program Evaluation and Educational Research, Inc. (PEER)] <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|Place-based Education and Evaluation Collaborative (PEEC)]

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Journals
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|Journal of Environmental Education] <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|Environmental Education Research] <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|Journal of Interpretation Research] <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|Journal of Experiential Education]

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Legislation related to Place-Based Education**
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-left: 0.05in;">[|Full-Service Community Schools Act of 2009 S1655] <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-left: 0.05in;">[|Access to Complete Education Act HR597]