1. Good format for quoting someone that was quoted by someone else
    1. A useful definition is offered by Lawrence Buell, as cited by Browne in his text on Dewey and ecological writing, The World In Which We Occur.
  2. Foundational Figures of Progressive Education
    1. John Dewey
      1. Environment
        1. Dewey thinks of environment not as a physical location of place but more a state of mind. By creating a mindset conducive to learning it is more than the surroundings of a person that create an "environment". Educative environments should be balanced, orderly and simplistic in order to creating an environment of learning. An educational experience should have an appropriate balance between internal and external environmental conditions. Only when these components are in balance will a true learning experience happen. PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES IN EDUCATION – 2009/Volume 40 JOHN DEWEY AND A PEDAGOGY OF PLACE Stephanie Raill Jayanandhan Miami University
      2. Experience
        1. "From the standpoint of the child, the great waste in the school comes from his inability to utilize the experiences he gets outside the school in any complete and free way within the school itself; while, on the other hand, he is unable to apply in daily life what he is learning at school." Dewey School and Society
          1. "The school life should grow gradually out of the home life ... It is the business of the school to deepen and extend the child's sense of values bound up in his own life" My Pedagogic Creed
      3. Democracy
        1. "Democracy must begin at home, its home is the neighborly community." Dewey Democracy and Education
        2. What is democracy in education?
    2. Maria Montessori
      1. Montessori method
        1. Creating a learning conducive environment- According to Maria Montessori, it is important to create an aesthetically beautiful and orderly setting for children to learn as it teaches them order. It is the teacher's responsibility to create a sensory environment as this is how children learn best. This makes the child more capable of learning by putting them in a setting conducive to them without distraction. Theories of Childhood pg 24
        2. "Children learn language and other significant life skills, without conscious effort, from the environments where they spend their time ... [and] children learn best through sensory experiences" Life skills such as awareness, respect and self-esteem can be learned best in a natural setting. Theories of Childhood
        3. Educate the senses. Give children the ability to be independent and guide themselves to learn things they are interested in. It is important to provide child-size tools and utensils that really work as well as child-size chairs, stools, tables and other to size equipment and elements in a classroom to create a sense of reality and responsibility. . Have materials and equipment accessible to the children at all times. This enables them to expand their knowledge and use their imagination when it inspires them to do so.
    3. Rudolf Steiner
      1. Waldorf schools
        1. Using Waldorf methods in public schools
        2. Educate the whole child- head, heart and hands
          1. Imitation
          2. Imagination
          3. When seen from the lens of imagination, nature, the world of numbers, mathematics, geometrical form and the practical work of the world are food and drink to the soul of the child. Learning that Grows with the Learner: An introduction to the Waldorf education by Henry Barnes 1991 by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
          4. During the elementary school years, the teacher's task is to transform all that the child knows about the world into the language of imagination by Henry Barnes
  3. Progressive Education
    1. vs. Traditional Education
      1. Progressive education is, to use David Sobel's phrase "educational speciation" (pg.10), the evolution and natural progression of education from traditional education to the future of education. It's taking a base of learning and branching out as the world changes to reflect the new styles of teaching. Progressive education is Survival of the Fittest and PBE one of the new species evolving from the lack of connection children have to the natural world and their community. It is a progression that arose from a crucial need to get back to our roots, roots that circle back to traditional education. Adaptations happen in every form of life, why should the way we teach be any different? Continuing to teach as one has always taught will bring results as results have always been- the void will continue to widen as the world changes, as we become more reliant on technology and as our cultures continue to mesh, mingle and clash.
      2. In Place-based Education by David Sobel, the authors of Living and Learning in Rural Communities, an evaluation report on the Annenburg Rural Challenge Program are quoted as saying "Another way to think about this focus on place is to understand that a "grounded" or "rooted" learner stands within the world, acting on it's many elements, rather than standing outside looking in, acting in large measure as an observer, which is the typical stance expected of students in schools." Learning in this embedded way- as the student explores local lore, digs in the school garden, researches and reflects on the history of the community, investigates ways to improve the wetlands surrounding the school and works to restore them- gives the students a sense of pride as the depth of their work is taken to a new level and is more carefully tended to. The students learn that their actions make a difference and affect others, creating a stake in their community, It creates wonder and curiosity and a desire to learn more which in turn deepens their knowledge. Learning in the disjointed way that typically happens in public schools, with the students acting as observers does not create this interconnection with the world. Student passions are not allowed to flourish. Imaginations are not embraced and the students' desire to learn diminishes as they are taught subjects that are irrelevant or disconnected to them.
    2. Freedom vs. Structure
      1. Student-centered approach
        1. Academics based on student interest, direction
          1. By focusing on real problems the student can relate to, as opposed to memorizing the dates and locations of each battle in the Civil War, he becomes engaged in learning. He is creating and discovering knowledge, not just consuming it.
          2. Montessori method
          3. According to Jean Piaget, children learn best when they are actually doing the work themselves and creating their own understanding of what's going on, rather than being given explanations by adults. A teacher isn't someone who shares info but one who nurtures inquiry and supports the child's own search for answers. "For example, children might be interested in how things grow. If a teacher reads them a finely illustrated book on how things grow, this instruction will increase the child's knowledge base. But if the student has the opportunity to actually plant a garden at school, the process of digging, watering, observing, and actually experiencing growing things will help the child to construct a knowledge of growing things that he cannot ever achieve merely by looking at pictures." Theories of childhood pg. 62
          4. Lev Vygotsky's scaffolding provides a good example of academics based on student direction: Just as scaffolding is used in construction to reach new heights needed to accomplish a task, academic scaffolding is an adult or another student helping a student or peer reach a new concept or skill by giving supporting information. This can be done by a teacher or by another student that already possesses this knowledge or skill. It is important for a teacher to pay close attention to the students to discover how high they are capable of going and supporting their learning so as for the student to become the best he is capable of being. Theories of childhood pg. 84
        2. Teacher-directed curriculum
          1. Waldorf method
          2. John Dewey believed that the teacher shouldn't be afraid to share her own knowledge. Be confident when planning and base lessons on what you've observed of the students interests, experiences, needs and prior knowledge. My Pedagogic Creed by John Dewey
        3. "According to holistic educators, all learning should be experiential ... Children should be active participants in their learning processes. Educational experiences should draw forth what is already within each child and promote a worldview less focused on materialistic concerns and more centered on the development of the full human potential and on teh quality of human relationships." Schools where children matter pg xii
      2. My philosophies
        1. Finding an appropriate degree of balance of freedom and structure.
          1. "The mere removal of external control is no guarantee for the production of self-control ... Impulses and desires that are not ordered by intelligence are under the control of accidental circumstances. It may be a loss rather than a gain to escape from the control of another person only to find one's conduct dictated by immediate whim and caprice; that is, at the mercy of impulses into whose formation intelligent judgement has not entered. A person whose conduct is controlled in this way has at most only the illusion of freedom. Actually he is directed by forces over which he has no command." (Dewey, 1963, pg. 64) Schools where children matter ph xvii
          2. " ... Balance students' experiences in ways to have them both explore emergent interests and also pursue established goals." Schools where children matter pg. 154
        2. Using the school's surroundings as a framework to construct learning, guided by teachers and based in student-interest using proven educational practices and curriculum that meets state education standards.
      3. Absolute freedom
        1. The teacher's role is not to direct students but to assist as they ask for help.
        2. Academics aren't more significant than other types of experiences that children want to have.
      4. Structured classrooms
        1. Learning experiences are arranged by the teacher. There are prescribed ways of handling the instructional materials available in the classroom.
    3. School Reform
      1. Progressive education is paving the way for school reform. It is a model in the effort to change the way we think about education. The underlying principles of progressive education are so completely different than those of traditional public school education and they need to be taken seriously as the new way to teach. School reform does not have to be about reforming the students, in fact if the educators' way of thinking and way of teaching were to change, the students wouldn't need to be reformed. Reform shouldn't be about discipline, it should be about finding the root cause of why a child doesn't pay attention to his textbook or is doing badly on standardized testing. Reform is about finding new ways to teach so that a child learns in the best appropriate way for that child. Progressive education and place-based education in particular take the traditional way of teaching back to traditions. It teaches children about sustainability, the culture that surrounds them, local history and lore, local flora and fauna and a way of acting responsibly in a local and global fashion. These concepts were taught in generations past and are still important today.
  4. Place-based education
    1. Approaches to place-based education
      1. Nature-based education "Coyote Teaching"
        1. How do you meet state education standards following this type of program? where the "curriculum" is no curriculum?
          1. Because it's fun is not enough- Learning can and should be enjoyable but unless it builds the childrens learning it's not an educational experience. Specific questions must be asked to determine if a lesson includes a learning experience or is just for fun. Some activities in the classroom that don't have a point can actually hinder the children's wonderlust and their search for more knowledge if they don't know why they are doing something. Running around in the woods, without some clear guidance or at least a point is not the point of place-based education or even nature-based education.
          2. From Dewey's perspective, an experience can only be called "educational" if it meets these criteria: It is based on the children's interests and grows out of their existing knowledge and experience. It supports the children's development. It helps the children develop new skills. It adds to the children's understanding of their world. It prepares the children to live more fully. Theories of childhood. pg 14
      2. Outdoor classrooms in public schools
        1. Interdisciplinary teaching in the outdoor classroom
        2. Form follows function
          1. An outdoor classroom doesn't have to be a fully designed and laid out place. Perhaps there is a stream that runs through the playground or a wooded area behind the school. These are all great places to learn.
        3. Design informs intent
          1. All around the school are wonderful places for learning or just having fun and taking a break. If your school's curriculum doesn't allow for place-based teaching then maybe recess is the only time the children get outside. Why spend it in a concrete playground? Children need the connection with nature to explore and learn about the world they live in. The time they spend outdoors doesn't have to be as rich and meaningful as classroom time but it also serves a purpose and is more than "just for fun". Or by taking faux field trips outside to explore you can plan open-ended activities in which you are unsure of the outcome. Find a cool leaf? Pull out the field guide and find out which tree it came from. Curious about the shadows cast on the field? Perfect opportunity to teach about sun dials. Providing real world experiences will enrich learning much more than looking at pictures that don't actually give the experience of discovery.
        4. PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES IN EDUCATION – 2009/Volume 40 JOHN DEWEY AND A PEDAGOGY OF PLACE Stephanie Raill Jayanandhan Miami University
          1. Dewey‘s call for simplicity and order in an educative environment is understood by some commentators to mean that the classroom is the most effective educational environment. Some place-based educators find a middle ground by ―circumscribing the curriculum within a limited [geographic] horizon‖—for example, one square mile around the school.18 The educative environment in this case is larger than the school, but smaller than the whole world.
      3. Teaching subjects in a "place"
        1. Natural environments
          1. PBE is about teaching in an environment rather than teaching about an environment. It's not about taking a field trip to a far off location to learn about how a newspaper is printed. It's about fully integrating a classroom with the outdoors. Its' creating learning experiences that a child can relate to- when he goes outside to play after school, he knows the trees native to his area
        2. Places in the community
          1. The Great Good Place (New York: Paragon Books, 1989) ISBN 1-56924-681-5 third places are important for civil society, democracy, civic engagement, and establishing feelings of a sense of place.
    2. Definition of place-based education
      1. Different names for place-based education
      2. David Sobel's definition of PBE: "Place-based education is the process of using the local community and environment as a starting point to teach concepts in language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, and other subjects across the curriculum. Emphasizing hands-on, real world learning experiences, this approach to education increases academic achievement, helps students develop stronger ties to their community, enhances students' appreciation for the natural world, and creates a heightened commitment to serving as active, contributing citizens. Community vitality and environmental quality are improved through the active engagement of local citizens, community organizations, and environmental resources in the life of the school."
        1. David Sobel's definition of a pedagogy of place: "a theoretical framework that emphasizes the necessary interpenetration of school, community, and environment, whether it's urban, suburban, or rural."
      3. PBE teaches about the natural and built environments, the history, culture, society and economics of a place.
    3. What is place?
      1. Physical
      2. Cultural
        1. in a mobile and globalized world, we would do well to share the skills and strategies of learning about place with students: to make place based-learning portable. Philosophical Studies in Education.
        2. As well as the important task of helping students how to be in the place they are, place-based education must include an element of meta-analysis: learning how to learn how to be in a place, without the support of a high school or college‘s institutional relationships and curriculum. Such learning might include concrete strategies for exploring new places (reading a newspaper, visiting a farmers market, getting a library card, joining an organization, talking to an elder, mapping a city, town or region). It might also include pedagogical structures that foster an understanding of how to learn about place (having more advanced students teach or mentor new students, for example, so they can explore through teaching what is needed for learning). Philosophical Studies in Education.
      3. Psychological
        1. Ray Oldenburg's Third Space
          1. ...third places are the heart of a community’s social vitality and the foundation of a functioning democracy. They promote social equality by leveling the status of guests, provide a setting for grassroots politics, create habits of public association, and offer psychological support to individuals and communities.
          2. Thoughts on third places or "great good places"- From a child's perspective, first place is home, second is school and third are the community spaces they visit. These community spaces can be translated as local businesses, public parks, an outdoor classroom or the woods surrounding the school. These spaces are neutral places where each child can feel equal. A common goal of learning excites the senses and allows freedom to explore.
        2. Enhancing emotional connections with the land is one component of developing a sense of place. by David Sobel
    4. Place-based educators
      1. David Sobel
        1. "the process of using the local community and environment as a starting point to teach concepts in language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, and other subjects across the curriculum."
        2. By teaching cookie cutter curriculum and not paying attention to our native environments and culture, we are driving a wedge between out children and the learning opportunities present in the natural world and the community.
        3. As Sobel quotes Comenius, the seventeenth-century education philosopher, articulated one of the core precepts of PBE when he said "Knowledge of the nearest things should be acquired first, then that of those farther and farther off." This core precept crosses into more progressive education models than just PBE. It articulates a principle followed by the Montessori method as well. The Montessori method follows this practice on a different level: not the physical use of space that PBE uses starting with the schoolyard, then progressing to the area surrounding the schoolyard and the parks within walking distance from the school to eventually making into the community and visiting local businesses. Within the Montessori method one of the core precepts is to (describe the precept where tools are made available to students progressively as they learn how to use them and new tools are introduced as the students grow and mature. This stair-step approach piques the child's curiosity, increases attention span and interest level. It only allows tools and new places and experiences to become available as the childen become ready intellectually and emotionally for them.