Place-Based Science Teaching
Connecting Students to Curriculum, Community, and Caring for Our Planet
Inclusion/ Mainstreaming | Science Methods | Science Methods | Science Methods | Science Methods
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!
In our increasingly indoor-, media-, and technology-focused world, reconnecting young people to the environment has never been more important. This book is both a catalyst and a passionate practicum to do just that: grounding science education in the natural and cultural landscapes of home.
Place-Based Science Teaching offers a transformative approach to education. By deeply connecting students to their curriculum, community, and planet, this insightful guide showcases the authors’ critical analysis and tremendous creativity. The book’s practical and inspiring strategies empower educators to nurture student agency and a much-needed sense of care for our world, giving me great hope for the future of science teaching.
Everything I know about place-based learning, I learned from Whitney Aragaki. She opened my eyes to a world in which honoring place, histories, and personal context is centered and celebrated with humility and humanity. For educators feeling the isolation that technology can sometimes create, this reading will inspire new possibilities— reimagining online spaces with a place-based approach that celebrates community and
honors life experiences.
This powerful resource provides a multitude of entry points and classroom-tested strategies for place-based science teaching. Not only a resource guide, this book also challenges the traditional notions that science teaching and learning are neutral. A must-read for social justice–oriented science teachers!
As a teacher who strives to connect my students with their world, this book is extremely useful. It provides ways for my students to learn science through authentic interactions with nature and people in our community.
This book provides clear and convincing evidence of how place-based learning helps students develop a deep knowledge of local environments and their relationships with them, strengthen their ties to the community, and foster the agency to solve real-world problems. Each chapter provides powerful frameworks, lesson-ready tools, and richly detailed cases of science teachers around the country who are engaging their young learners in diverse and holistic forms of placed-based inquiry.
A well thought out book that brings place to its rightful spot in learning by looking at what and who was there, with an eye to honor those before while maintaining it for the present and beyond.
Place-based science immerses any science class in real-world applications for students. No longer will students ask, ‘When am I ever going to use this,’ since they will be using their (k)newfound knowledge wherever and whenever they are.
Aragaki and Milks invite educators to redraw their maps—not just around textbooks and test scores, but around the texture of home as well. This book will inspire teachers, transform pedagogy, and have a profound impact on students’ lives.
