Developing a sense of place: Examining educator practice in place-based education

Place-based education is a growing branch of environmental education that strives to build stronger communities and improve environmental literacy. The goal of this action research project was to understand how students develop a stronger sense of place. The action research was in two parts. I began by interviewing and observing non-formal educators to understand how they helped students to develop a sense of place. Second, I implemented and evaluated an action plan based on the first part of the research to see if the sense of place of high school students could be deepened. The products of this research are an action plan for teachers to help students develop a sense of place and an evaluation of the success of the action plan. Overall, the high school students responded positively to the action plan, and they developed greater knowledge, appreciation and awareness of the local environment. The students' connection to the place did not change; however, with long-term follow-up and a longer opportunity to implement the action plan greater changes in connection may be seen.