Community mapping

Community mapping project is a unique and engaging activity that incorporates place-based learning with various curricula expectations. The project gives student ownership to their own learning and allows that to explore their own environment. Jagger (2015) outlines some of the great benefits of mapping activity. It allows students to ‘make sense of the world’. Students are able to see how the community is made of out so many entities and learn to appreciate how they interconnect. Students learn to, “celebrate local geography, ecosystems, and stories of place through created representations of their communities” (Jagger, 2015). It also allows students to, “develop deep personal connection” (Jagger, 2015) with the society around them.

This experiential learning activity blendes all subject areas and teach vital skills such as observation, mapping, directional reasoning etc. By examining the ecosystems around students are able to see, feel, smell and hear the science in the textbooks. Students are able to see and live the social studies curriculum and learn to appreciate the history and how their environment came to be. Math can be easily incorporated through exploration of distance, shapes and structures, making learning relatable and engaging.

In Sly’s article (2015) she mentions, “there is a growing body of research on the benefit of place-based learning. Among them, higher test scores, better grade-point average, improved classroom behavior, increased self-esteem and problem-solving ability and a higher level of thinking skills.” It also, “Increases critical thinking skills and fosters positive attitudes towards subjects such as mathematics and superior performance with conceptual questions and applied problems.” (Sly, 2015)

Susan Jagger (2015) states it well, “Community mapping can be a wonderful way to infuse place-based environmental education across the curriculum….project was truly cross-curricular as we drew science, social studies, language arts, fine arts and citizenship together in our studies. This type of project can be easily adapted to the exploration of any local environment; the possibilities are endless. Mapping a local natural space helped the students to realize and respect the biological wealth and diversity that lived quite literally in their own backyards. Stephen Jay Gould wrote, “we cannot win this battle to save species and environments without forging an emotional bond between ourselves and nature as well—for we will not fight to save what we do not love” (as cited in Orr 2004, p. 43). Community mapping projects can help foster this critical bonding in students.”

Sources

https://clearingmagazine.org/archives/12439

https://www.ecoliteracy.org/article/teaching-strategies

#Environment #placebasedlearning #communitymapping