Module 3.1: Reading
Introduction
The education based on “my place” is a new pedagogical method which cross-auricularly intends to approach the local environment and raise the active participation of all students. The role of Environmental Education is decisive for the school to educate students and to cultivate integrated personalities with ecological consciousness and empathy.
The existing programs focus mainly on acquiring knowledge about the general environment and not about the place to which each school unit belongs.
The aim of the specific lesson is to search for information and implement actions for the natural environment of the school community. Gruenewald &Smith (2008) state that in place-based education the concept "place" is often used as a synonym for the concept "community".
According to Smith & Sobel (2010), the implementation of an action plan whose main objective is to get to know and promote “the Place” will create learning opportunities that foster a change in attitudes towards environmental issues and the acquisition of skills. The students, in collaboration with the teachers, process the topics that concern the history of their place and the particular characteristics (environmental and cultural). The concept of “place” can be approached as a small-scale concept, that is, as a neighborhood but also in the broader sense of the entire region.
Adams et all (2017) argues that not all of us have the same perception of “our place”. Some students and teachers may give more importance to the ecological dimension of the place and others to the social and cultural parameters. They also point out that “the place” evokes mainly positive emotions.
The school is therefore called upon to create those attitudes, so that the students recognize in their place its importance for ensuring a quality life and sustainability.
The concept of Place in environmental Education is distinguished by the following characteristics:
1. Learning is mainly experiential.
2. Students research information about their place.
3. The approach is interdisciplinary.
Active participation and initiative are encouraged Kudryavtsevetal (2012), argue that the concept of place in environmental education includes the connection to place but also the importance of place. Place connection refers to the ties that develop between a place and people and the strength of those ties, while significance includes the symbolic meanings given to a place and the rationale for creating those ties.
They also argue that the way people perceive their place is directly related to the effort to improve the place.
The research of Ardoin at al., (2019) showed that enhancing contact with the biophysical environment positively affects environmental behavior and active support in efforts to protect their local environment.
Through environmental actions, students learn to be responsible in their adult lives and to be active citizens who will provide social work.