Research on Place-Based Education

During a Community Engaged Learning project (CEL), Slippery Rock University graduate student Maria Delgado Gomez, M. Sc., completed a systematic review focused on Place-Based Education for Students or Communities with Non Dominant Identities. This publication details various place-based interventions and outcomes that will greatly inform our Professional Learning curriculum and research trajectories.

TSS is partnering with Dr. Brad Smith from University of Houston and the Columbia Public School district to evaluate whether participation in Outdoor Learning Experience programs influence rates of retention in the teaching profession. The project will use propensity score matching and statistical analysis to investigate the effects of this place-based experience for educators.

TSS is partnering with Dr. Paul Bocko at Antioch University to conduct a cooperative inquiry project examining the role and experience of professionals serving in PBE coordinator positions. The primary question: What relationship (if any) exists between an institution having a dedicated “place-based education coordinator” and being able to successfully implement a place-based educational approach?

TSS is partnering with Dr. Alison Mercier on multiple projects regarding the implementation and outcomes of PBE. One project aims to investigate experiences of rural science teachers as they implement PBE. A second project focuses on using a critical participatory action research (CPAR) approach to collaboratively document community-based impacts of PBE across a diverse range of school communities within the Place Network program.