Placed-Based Learning as a Model to Transform Practice and Foster a Passion for Teaching

• In Event: 25.068 - Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: 25.068-3 - Leveraging Self-Study to Transform Our Identities

Abstract

Educational reform and changes in policy require teachers to re-examine their classroom practices and make changes to their curriculum as they develop new methods for educational accountability and assessment (Porter, McMaken, Hwang, & Yang, 2011).  In this three-year qualitative self-study, Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (Engeström, 2000) and longitudinal methods were used to document and analyze my teaching journey. In an effort to re-align my teaching beliefs and practice through place-based pedagogy, six key findings emerged: self-awareness, social-awareness, environmental-awareness, student-centered teaching, cultivating relationships, and renegotiating the distribution of power in the classroom.  Findings indicated that reflective and place-based pedagogical practices nurtured teacher transformation and directed teacher agency and teacher empowerment.

Author

• Stacy A George, Mauka Lani Elementary School