SITUATING EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCES IN SUPERIOR: TOWARD PLACE-BASED K-12 EDUCATION IN A CULTURALLY AND GEOLOGICALLY DIVERSE SOUTHWESTERN REGION

Place-based teaching encompasses experiential learning in natural and cultural surroundings, transdisciplinary and cross-cultural synthesis of local and indigenous knowledge, and community outreach. It leverages sense of place: the meanings and attachments that places hold for people. An authentic place-based curriculum requires focused collaboration of teachers not only in Earth, ecological, and environmental sciences but also social sciences and humanities. Place-based teaching may better engage and retain students with strong land-based cultural ties, such as American Indians and Mexican Americans in the Southwest (SW) USA. Several regional programs now prepare K-12 teachers in place-based pedagogy and knowledge of the natural and cultural landscapes. However, in the school systems of many rural and disadvantaged SW communities, teacher retention is poor and turnover is endemic. Many teachers are recruited from distant places and leave within a few years. What lasting impact can place-based teacher enhancement have in this volatile professional environment?

For two years we have analyzed process and outcomes of an experimental SW-based Earth science course for teachers in a culturally, ethnically, and geologically diverse mining region around Superior, Arizona; part of a project targeted at improving K-12 education in the region through a place-based approach. Forty educators from various disciplines, many of whom are Mexican American or American Indian, have participated in the project. Our data include pre, post, and formative surveys of sense of place, content knowledge, and motivation; classroom and field observations; exit interviews; and artifacts such as assignments and projects. Participants have in turn enriched the course by sharing ethnographic and place knowledge that are integrated into the curriculum. Our analysis subdivides teachers into “inhabitants,” “residents,” (per David Orr's model) and “visitors” according to residency, tenure, sense of local places, and response to different elements of the curriculum. Our findings indicate that place-based Earth science best engages “inhabitant” teachers. On the other hand, pedagogical content knowledge modeled in place-based preparation can readily be embraced and adapted by “visitor” teachers.