Investigating the Learning Environment of a Place-Based Teacher Education Program in Its Implementation Year

• In Event: Learning Environments in Postsecondary Settings

Abstract

This paper describes and measures the learning environment of a place-based teacher education program in its implementation year in a Canadian university. The teacher education program in question had been transformed after ten years from a community-based to a place-based program with an ecological focus. Current research in learning environments using the PLACES questionnaire has noted that actual and preferred student learning environments have a much closer fit in place-based learning environments, in addition to having higher expectations, than more traditional classroom-based learning environments. The findings from this participatory study further elaborate on these findings as well as acknowledging the transformational element of place-based learning environments in fostering a more just and sustainability-minded society.

Authors

• Carlos Gustavo A. Ormond, Simon Fraser University

• David B. Zandvliet, Simon Fraser University