Place-based learning’ a step in the right direction

In the article “Nittany Valley Charter School embarks on ‘place-based learning’ ” published in the CDT’s Family Pages on Monday, there is mention of being able to learn outside the classroom in a more engaging way. Growing up, learning wasn’t always enjoyable because there was not often a relatable element.

I applaud the Nittany Valley Charter School for going against the “traditional” learning engagement and taking field trips to places such as Lincoln Highway and Washington, D.C. It is more stimulating to actually seeing the White House, as compared to simply looking at it in a textbook. Most educational research supports the efforts of how students will be more active in learning when they have content that is relevant to them. By getting them out of the classroom, students will want to learn more if there is interaction with learning material that may have seemed out of their reach.

To learn that a school is using this method seems to be a step in the right direction in getting students engaged and wanting to learn. Continuing these efforts will help further this area’s lacking educational value and help students want to go beyond the classroom and learn about the world around them.

This story was originally published September 26, 2017 at 10:50 PM with the headline "Place-based learning’ a step in the right direction."