Place-Based Learning in Rural New Mexico: A Case Study

• In Event: Millennium Hotel Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: The Meaning of Place in Rural Education

Abstract

This paper reports on the preliminary findings from a case study of a place-based high-school curriculum in a rural setting in Southwestern New Mexico. Place-based learning strategies in similar rural settings offer public schools opportunities to leverage local resources by connecting learners to their communities, and therefore improving digital and spatial literacies (Erstad, 2013). Connecting to the local community and social networks addresses the needs of diverse learners, and in this case study, learners with a similar Southwestern US social and cultural profile associated with the funds of knowledge. This case study examines a rural Southwest New Mexican public charter school that has a place-based curriculum characterized by an inquiry-based, experiential, and community-based set of pedagogical strategies.

Author

• Otto Khera