Place-Based Education: Reimagining the Future of Education
with Sarah Anderson
This keynoe address was given on October 24, 2020 at the inside-Outside conference.
As educators are now reimagining what it means to teach in this unprecedented moment, how can we make adaptability a part of our continuing practice? How does a place-based approach help us to embrace challenges as opportunities and nurture creative and critical thinking? From her experience as a place-based education coordinator in a K-8 school, Sarah will share how to embed problem-solving into practice to prepare students for meeting the challenges of the future.
Meet the Keynote SPeaker:
Sarah Anderson
Sarah Anderson is an educator and author specializing in place-based education and curriculum design. Anderson served as a middle school humanities teacher for nine years, first in Annapolis, Maryland, and then at the Cottonwood School of Civics and Science in Portland, Oregon. Before teaching in the classroom, Anderson spent many years as an educator in non-traditional settings from Vermont farmland to the California Redwoods. She is currently the Fieldwork and Place-Based Education Coordinator at The Cottonwood School.
As part of The Cottonwood School’s mission to disseminate place-based education practices to other schools in the Pacific Northwest, Anderson leads workshops and mentors other teachers in place-based curriculum design. She holds a degree in American Studies from Bard College, and a MEd from Antioch New England Graduate School.
Bringing School to Life: Place-Based Education across the Curriculum by Sarah Anderson offers insights into how to build a program across the K-8 grades. Anderson addresses key elements such as mapping, local history, citizen science, integrated curricula, and more. Additionally, Anderson suggests strategies for building community partnerships and implementation for primary grades. This book goes beyond theory to give concrete examples and advice in how to make place-based education a real educational option in any school.
