Place-Based Science Teaching by Aragaki, Whitney; Milks, Kirstin;

Short description:

Jumpstart your imagination and transform your science classroom by centering place-based learning

Identity, community, and place are tightly connected and can be leveraged to deepen science learning for students. Place-Based Science Teaching offers K-12 science educators an innovative approach to building learning experiences that embrace the rich and varied knowledge held by people, both past and present, about the places we call home. This book helps teachers to foster greater personal investment of students in their learning, as well as develop NGSS-informed authentic problem-solving and critical reasoning skills. The book will also help teachers create and find joy in their classrooms by connecting lessons to local environments, cultural heritage, and global issues.

Written by nationally recognized STEM educators Whitney Aragaki and Kirstin Milks, the book blends inspiring storytelling with practical frameworks and resources. Chapters will take you behind the scenes into innovative classrooms, detailing high-impact, standards-aligned activities and sharing educator stories from diverse settings.

Grounded in cutting-edge research and real-world examples, Place-Based Science Teaching

• Introduces the Place Based Science Teaching Framework that asks “where are you,” “when are you,” “who are you,” and “who are we together” as a way to connect learning to local and global contexts


• Provides classroom-ready lessons and case studies from many educational settings, aligned with NGSS and centered on belonging, access, and engagement


• Offers strategies for virtual spaces and digital perspectives to enhance teaching in an increasingly online world


• Includes actionable reflection prompts designed to help teachers explore their own positionality and better connect with their students and communities

This book will encourage educators and administrators alike to transform science learning into an opportunity for building empathy, connection, and hope. Place-Based Science Teaching is designed to help teachers foster a sense of place and stewardship among their students, and address peace- and justice-focused solutions that encourage students to care for their communities, think critically about global challenges, and develop the agency to lead for generations to come.

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Long description:

Jumpstart your imagination and transform your science classroom by centering place-based learning

Identity, community, and place are tightly connected and can be leveraged to deepen science learning for students. Place-Based Science Teaching offers K-12 science educators an innovative approach to building learning experiences that embrace the rich and varied knowledge held by people, both past and present, about the places we call home. This book helps teachers to foster greater personal investment of students in their learning, as well as develop NGSS-informed authentic problem-solving and critical reasoning skills. The book will also help teachers create and find joy in their classrooms by connecting lessons to local environments, cultural heritage, and global issues.

Written by nationally recognized STEM educators Whitney Aragaki and Kirstin Milks, the book blends inspiring storytelling with practical frameworks and resources. Chapters will take you behind the scenes into innovative classrooms, detailing high-impact, standards-aligned activities and sharing educator stories from diverse settings.

Grounded in cutting-edge research and real-world examples, Place-Based Science Teaching

• Introduces the Place Based Science Teaching Framework that asks “where are you,” “when are you,” “who are you,” and “who are we together” as a way to connect learning to local and global contexts


• Provides classroom-ready lessons and case studies from many educational settings, aligned with NGSS and centered on belonging, access, and engagement


• Offers strategies for virtual spaces and digital perspectives to enhance teaching in an increasingly online world


• Includes actionable reflection prompts designed to help teachers explore their own positionality and better connect with their students and communities

This book will encourage educators and administrators alike to transform science learning into an opportunity for building empathy, connection, and hope. Place-Based Science Teaching is designed to help teachers foster a sense of place and stewardship among their students, and address peace- and justice-focused solutions that encourage students to care for their communities, think critically about global challenges, and develop the agency to lead for generations to come.

Place-Based Science Teaching ignites a powerful vision for science education—rooted in local context, real-world relevance, and student curiosity. Written by National Board Certified Teachers, it’s packed with classroom-ready ideas and inspiring stories that show how reimagining the learning journey can spark deeper learning and lasting impact. A must-read for educators ready to transform science teaching!

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Table of Contents:

Contributors
Preface
Why Place-Based Teaching?
Our Goals for This Book
How to Use This Book
Features of the Book
Self-Awareness, Personally and Professionally
Author Positionality
Uncovering Your Positionality
A Few Notes on Language
Land Acknowledgment
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Chapter 1: A First Look at Place-Based Teaching Practices
Introduction to the Work
What Is Place-Based Teaching?
Why Is Place-Based Science Teaching Effective and Important?
Four Questions of Place-Based Science Teaching
What Inspired the Place-Based Science Teaching Framework?
Wait, Is Place-Based Learning Another Way to Say Project-Based Learning?
(K)new Invitations
Knowledge
Innovation
Belonging for Students
Learning and Community for All
Building Belonging in Science Class
Acknowledging Land
How Are Land Acknowledgments a Good Opportunity for Exercising Place-Based Science Concepts and Learning?
Sociocultural Features of Helpful Land Acknowledgments
Land Acknowledgments Are Best as a Process of Learning
E lu‘u hou i ka wai
Reflection Questions
Chapter 2: Where Are You?
Noticing Place, Wherever You Are
Getting Started: Uncovering Specifics of Place
BioBlitzes and Square of Life: Documenting Place in Class
More Examples of Where in Place
Sit Spots: Individualized Invitations to Place
Field Experiences in Kirstin’s Small Midwestern City
Kilo
Exploring Connection to Place
Stories Across Our Places: How Teachers and Students Ask, “Where Are We?”
Reflection Questions
Chapter 3: When Are You?
Crosscutting Concepts: Investigating “When Through Authentic Features of Science and Engineering”
Exploring Scales of Time
Intertwined Histories, Intertwined Science
What’s “The Trouble With Wilderness?”
Exploring Ecosystem Services
Caretakers of Our Land, Past and Future
Stories Across Our Places: How Teachers and Students Ask, “When Are We?
Reflection Questions
Chapter 4: Who Are You?
How Are Place and Identity Linked? Strengthening Self-Awareness
Strategies for Supporting Student Identity Exploration Through Place
Leveraging Informal Conversations With Students
Connecting With Family as a Means of Connecting With Self and Place
Learning From Elders About Their Experiences of Place
Celebrating Local Diversity of Place and of People
Stories Across Our Places: How Teachers and Students Ask, “Who Am I?”
Reflection Questions
Chapter 5: Who Are We Together?
Developing Science Curriculum to Reflect Student Experiences and Relationships
Combating Place-Based Injustice With Action
Growing Justice Education: Starting With the Teacher
Belonging as Action
Classroom as Place
Student and Family Relationships
Student and Place Relationships: Safe, Brave, and Accountable Spaces
Teaching Beyond the Classroom
Participatory Science
Place- and Project-Based Learning: Connecting Global Challenges to Local Action
Connecting Big Problems to Local Solutions
It’s OK to Start Small
Stories Across Our Places: How Teachers and Students Ask, “Who Are We Together?”
Reflection Questions
Chapter 6: Virtual Spaces and Our Places
(Re)defining Place
Place in Virtual Space
Science in Virtual Terms
Science in Virtual Place
Access and Equity in Virtual Places
Inquiry and Privilege
Artifacts and Access
Identity, Safety, and Belonging
Framing a Digital Environment With Four Questions
Where Are You in the Digital Environment?
When Are You in the Digital Environment?
Who Are You in the Digital Environment?
Who Are We Together in the Digital Environment?
Digital Equity and Belonging
Reflection Questions
Chapter 7: Place-Based Teaching for Sustainable Futures
Justice-Ready Futures
A VUCA Forecast
Joy and Justice
AI-Ready Futures
What Does AI Say About This?
Where Does AI Fall Short?
Refuge-Ready Futures
Teaching Place Away From Home
(K)new Beginnings
Climate-Ready Futures
The Climate Gap
Place-Based and Future-Forward
(Be)coming Home
Final Words From Whitney
References
Index

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