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This research explores the role that place attachment and place meaning towards an urban farm play in predicting undergraduate students’ civic-mindedness, an important factor in sustainability and social change. In 2017 and 2018, three STEM courses at a private university in the Midwest incorporated a local urban farm as a physical and conceptual context for teaching course content and sustainability concepts. Each course included a four to six-week long place-based experiential learning (PBEL) module aimed at enhancing undergraduate STEM student learning outcomes, particularly place attachment, situated sustainability meaning-making (SSMM), and civic-mindedness. End-of-course place attachment, SSMM, and civic-mindedness survey data were collected from students involved in these courses and combined with institutionally provided demographic information. Place attachment and SSMM surveys, along with the course in which the students participated, were statistically significant predictors of students’ civic mindedness score.
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Using Place for Developing Learners: Early Findings From the Integration of a Campus Farm
Having a STEM literate society, capable of questioning and being caring and compassionate citizens of the world is vital in a global society. This project utilized place-based education (PBE) and experiential learning, via a campus or community farm, to provide college students with contextual learning experiences that enhanced content knowledge, course engagement, critical thinking skills, and civic mindedness. The research in this paper focuses on the outcomes of a second year ecological biology course, at an urban institution, that integrated an approximately six week lesson incorporating the college’s urban farm. When compared to a control group, derived of students from the previous year, students in the treatment group had greater attachment to the farm, greater knowledge around civic activities, and statistically significant increases in scientific literacy skills.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1915313
- PAR ID:
- 10427474
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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When implemented effectively, Place-Based Experiential Learning (PBEL) pedagogies have been shown through different studies to enhance student content knowledge, course engagement, critical thinking skills, and civic-mindedness. This research followed 10 semester long university courses, during one academic year, implementing PBEL pedagogies with a focus on urban farming. Courses came from a wide array of disciplines including courses focused on science, technology, engineering, or mathematics as well as many non-STEM courses. Students completed pre- and post-assessments to measure change in civic-mindedness, place attachment, situated sustainability meaning-making, and environmental scientific literacy. Statistically significant positive change with small to moderate effect sizes were found in student’s environmental scientific literacy, situated sustainability meaning-making, place attachment, and civic-mindedness.more » « less
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.3102/1439531
