Maine DOE supports the development of place-based learning as a means to achieve interdisciplinary education. This PBL aligns to learning goals by designing curriculum that connects academic learning to building connections across the community, helping students develop a sense of identity and pride. Place-based education has significant overlap with project-/problem-based learning including diving deep into a topic or a problem (often identified by the students) and culminating in a project or presentation made by the students for an audience beyond the classroom. Content area subjects are taught within the structure of the project.
Place-based education:
- Connects the student to both local and global communities.
- Is student-centered.
- Is inquiry-based.
- Enables solution-oriented design thinking.
- Connects the community as the classroom.
- Takes an interdisciplinary approach to content learning.
Introduction to Place-Based Learning
Take a Deeper Dive into Place Based Learning
Return to PBLs: Place-, Project-, and Problem-Based Learning page