ERIC Number: EJ1045830
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 7
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1068-3844
EISSN: N/A
Transforming Multicultural Classrooms through Creative Place-Based Learning
Sloan, Connor
Multicultural Education, v21 n1 p26-32 Fall 2013
Classrooms are spaces where diverse cultures have the potential to share lived experiences and gain insight from each other's "spatial, geographical, and contextual dimensions of existence" (Gruenewald, 2008, p. 310). Teachers facilitate multicultural perspectives being integrated into curriculum by analyzing data at school sites and discussing the cultural influences and norms that occur in and around their school. Through pointing out, discussing, and inquiring about language found within classrooms and campuses, growing a school garden, collecting daily litmus tests on drinking water, experimenting with life labs in the classroom, taking and analyzing inventory of flora and fauna found on a campus, collecting nutritional data, and documenting supplies and waste management of school lunches, classroom learning communities transform daily routines into effective practices and integrate school cultural norms into everyday learning opportunities. These learning opportunities are all examples of place-based learning activities that guide the learning experience towards understanding how school, classroom, and personal cultural identities and norms leave local ecological footprints within and around school campuses. Place-based learning is a pedagogical approach that promotes students interacting with their environment and surroundings to gain a historical, cultural, and ecological perspective, while advocating for active stewardship and community participation (Capra, 2007). Through the connection to place, learners begin to transform the world around them through an emerging ecological understanding (Sobel, 2005).
Descriptors: Student Diversity, Multicultural Education, Culturally Relevant Education, Environmental Influences, Learning Activities, Minority Group Students, Cultural Influences, Educational Environment, Environmental Education, Gardening, Teaching Methods, Natural Resources, Transformative Learning, Child Health, Resilience (Psychology), Sustainability, Imagination, Place Based Education
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A