Table Of ContentPLACE-BASED CURRICULUM DESIGN
“What I fi nd especially helpful in this book is the deliberate and repeated way it demon-
strates what it means to transform experiences outside the classroom into meaningful ‘texts’
that are worthy of close examination and analysis. It also provides many examples of ways
this process can lead children and youth to become the creators of knowledge rather than
only its consumers. As educators we neglect this possibility at our peril and the peril of
students who learn in too many classrooms to become disengaged and uninvolved. The
learning experiences described here serve as an antidote to that kind of alienation.”
Gregory Smith, Lewis & Clark College, USA
“An excellent introduction to the many curriculum projects that are available to the K–12
teacher just outside the classroom door. Drawing from a variety of approaches—from
service learning, to place-based learning and integrated, thematic instruction—this book
shows how extending the classroom into the community is not only possible, it’s potentially
transformative for both students and teachers.”
Jay Roberts, Earlham College, USA
“A comprehensive and thought-provoking approach to engaged learning that benefi ts
individuals and communities. Through the curriculum planning guides, insightful
quotations from scholars, and eloquent narratives of practicing teachers, we see hopeful
possibilities for what education and schooling could become.”
Christy M. Moroye, University of Northern Colorado, USA
Place-based Curriculum Design provides pre-service and practicing teachers both the rationale
and tools to create and integrate meaningful, place-based learning experiences for students.
Practical, classroom-based curricular examples illustrate how teachers can engage the local
and still be accountable to the existing demands of federal, state, and district mandates.
Coverage includes:
• connecting the curriculum to students’ outside-of-school lives,
• using local phenomena or issues to enhance students’ understanding of discipline-
based questions,
• engaging in in-depth explorations of local issues and events to create cross-disciplinary
learning experiences, and
• creating units or sustained learning experiences aimed at engendering social and envi-
ronmental renewal.
An online resource (www.routledge.com/9781138013469) provides supplementary mate-
rials, including curricular templates, tools for refl ective practice, and additional materials for
instructors and students.
Amy B. Demarest teaches standards-based curriculum design, authentic assessment, and
watershed education in northern Vermont. A central theme of her work, fi rst as a middle-
grades classroom teacher and now at the university level, is to fi nd ways to design curriculum
that engages students in the stories, questions, and issues found in the places they live
(www.ourcurriculummatters.com).
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PLACE-BASED
CURRICULUM DESIGN
Exceeding Standards through
Local Investigations
Amy B. Demarest
First published 2015
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2015 Taylor & Francis
The right of the author to be identifi ed as author of this work has been
asserted by him/her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without
intent to infringe.
First edition published by Routledge 2015
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Demarest, Amy B.
Place-based curriculum design : exceeding standards through local
investigations / by Amy B. Demarest.
pages cm
1. Curriculum planning—Social aspects. 2. Education—Curricula—
Social aspects. 3. Place-based education. 4. Community and school.
I. Title.
LB2806.15.D46 2015
375'.001—dc23
2014021542
ISBN: 978-1-138-01345-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-01346-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-79519-5 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
This book is dedicated to all the teachers who pursue ways
to authentically engage students in the world as it is—and
might be.
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CONTENTS
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xv
PART I
Place-based Education: Theory and Practice 1
Teacher Portrait #1: Kate Toland 4
1 What Is Place-based Curriculum Design? 5
2 How Does Place-based Education Work in Real Classrooms? 21
PART II
Elements of Place-based Curriculum Design:
Purpose and Function 41
Teacher Portrait #2: Sharyl Green 44
3 Personal Connections Are the Foundation of All Learning 45
Teacher Portrait #3: Gay Craig 52
4 Local Investigations Deepen Subject Understanding 53
Teacher Portrait #4: Ellen Temple 69
5 Local Investigations Build Holistic Understanding of Places 70
viii Contents
Teacher Portrait #5: Jean Berthiaume 84
6 Local Investigations Build Opportunity for Civic Engagement 85
PART III
Planning for Local Learning: Logistics and Challenges 103
Teacher Portrait #6: Judy Elson 105
7 Place as Text 106
8 Planning for Teaching in Local Places 127
PART IV
Moving Forward: Strategies for School Change 147
Teacher Portrait #7: Anne Tewksbury-Frye 149
9 Changing Practice Changes Schools 150
Index 168
PREFACE
This book is about the many ways teachers organize curriculum around the
signifi cant questions students have about their world. Authentic place-based
investigations—a practice that lies at the heart of place-based education—offers
students opportunities to explore topics and issues that matter to them personally,
to the community, and to our collective future. There is a wide spectrum of pos-
sibilities that weave together, in whatever ways teachers and students direct the
work, the deep knowledge of subjects, real-life information, and authentic skills.
When engaging in real problems and posing real solutions, students get a chance
to glimpse their personal “place” in the world.
Turtles and High Water
Like many teachers who design curriculum based on what is nearby, my early
work in the classroom was inspired by a desire to make learning more real. An
amorphous goal, I was drawn to a certain hum that happened when my students
got curious about things. They developed “new eyes” toward their surroundings
and spent more time learning about things that mattered to them. We explored
wetlands, old buildings, and historic sites and met with town planners, scientists,
historians, and scuba divers. These encounters inspired me as a teacher and them
as learners. I remember reading about the Seri people who lived in Baja California,
Mexico. Seri youngsters grew up knowing how their ecosystem functioned and
where turtles—an important food source for them—were located. T o know where
the turtles are became a refrain that described how I hoped my students could come
to know and value the place where they lived. This reliance on and knowledge of
local places has endured among native people, yet it remains elusive in popular
culture. I treasured this awareness in my own life, being a great lover of turtles, and
wanted to literally and fi guratively instill this love in my students.
