The Integration of Place in Rural Science Education: Resources of Place Realized by Middle School Teachers Through Implementing a Place-Based Engineering Design Unit

• In Event: Embracing Place and Identity: Culturally Relevant and Inclusive Pedagogies in Rural Education

Abstract

This exploratory qualitative study examines the relationship between rural educators and places. Twenty-two middle school science teachers implemented a place-based curriculum titled Energy and your Environment (EYE). We analyzed participant pedagogical practices using the Resources of Instructional Context and the Place-Conscious Education Framework establishing how contextual resources of place were used by participant teachers. Across our participants, we found they integrated place-based learning dependent upon their social construction of place. This social construction determined how they implemented resources for place-based enactment. In addition, we found that as teachers enacted the unit over time, they grappled with their perceptions of place. This study validates place-based curriculum in the rural setting which supports teacher resources and perceptions of place.

Authors

• Rebekah Snyder, University of Missouri

• Caiden Webb, University of Missouri

• Yupei Duan, University of Missouri

• Laura Zangori, University of Missouri

• Laura Cole, Colorado State University