Fostering Place-Based Education in Schools

Environment, Economy, and Equity—these are the "three Es" of sustainability, widely considered to be the key factors in achieving a harmonious future. However, for many educators working on issues of climate change, sustainable development, urban/rural sprawl, and related issues, there is a fourth "E" that is equally important in this equation: Education. 

For Paul Bocko ('22 PhD) one way to reframe the traditional learning experience with an awareness of sustainability is Place-Based Education. PBE is the intentional use of natural, cultural, and built environments for learning and teaching.

"We could explore a park, or work with a museum, and by nature of it being in the real world, the experience is going to touch on and integrate math, and history, and social studies, and writing and reading," said Bocko, a graduate of the Teacher Education and School Improvement Program in the College of Education.

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In other words, PBE prompts students to make meaningful connections with the environments they encounter every day. Instead of simply walking through the woods, for example, students can practice mathematics by measuring trees and plants, learn about history by looking at signs and photos posted along pathways, and develop communication skills by completing a class project about land conservation. PBE doesn’t have to focus on the natural world, either, said Bocko. Students can gain the same interdisciplinary experience by visiting a local museum, community center, or art installation.

Bocko advocates for PBE in multiple ways, both as a professor at Antioch University New England, and as a program manager at the Horatio Colony Nature Preserve in Keene, NH. Over the course of the pandemic, he worked with K–12 schools to reinvigorate in-person learning for students.

There's something inherently transformative about getting out of the classroom and moving your body, Bocko said, even if the action is simply walking to a different area of the school grounds. The "textured landscape" of the world offers the perfect stage to not only engage students' multiple learning styles, but to also foster positive physical and socioemotional health.

"It's an interdisciplinary approach to education, one that seamlessly introduces students to many topics all at once–and asks them to draw on many different skills to solve problems."

At UMass Amherst, Bocko completed his dissertation on "educating for sustainability." He studied students in a fifth and sixth grade combined classroom who were tasked with building solar ovens. The remarkable thing, Bocko said, was that students at even a young age were able to grapple with the three Es. Students could successfully engage with sustainability topics, he added, because their teacher used evidence-based research and theory to create purposeful class activities. The sixth grade students left their class feeling optimistic about the future of the world and climate change, he said.

The College of Education provided a welcoming space to pursue his interests, Paul said. He credits the support of his advisor and dissertation committee with encouraging him to link his graduate work with his commitment to PBE and sustainability.

"I was always welcome to connect with my passions and know where I was headed," he said.