PLACE-BASED EDUCATION ENGAGES GEOSCIENCE STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND COMMUNITIES IN COLLABORATION

Place-based (or land-based) education can increase student and community engagement in STEM programs, including those not commonly represented in the geosciences. In this work, I present the findings of a systematic literature review identifying the relationship between place-based education and students’ and faculty engagement in their community. Three databases (Proquest, Web of Science, Scopus) and the Journal of Geoscience Education were searched using a common search phrase: (“community engaged” OR “community engagement”) AND (“place-based education” OR “place based education” OR “place-based learning” OR “place based learning”) AND (“earth science” OR “environmental science” OR geoscience OR geology OR “earth systems”). Eighty-three documents were analyzed using the PICO framework to focus on Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcomes reported in each study. Although relatively few geoscience studies were community-engaged, findings indicate that community-engaged, place-based instruction in the geosciences is planned in a collaborative effort between faculty and community partners. Consequently, students also engage in some level of collaboration with community partners and faculty on relevant environmental issues. Community engagement is not just important for place-based education programs, but for geosciences in general. This work suggests the value of collaborating directly with community partners when engaging geoscience students in a place-based framework to make the most impact on both students and the community. To have a meaningful impact, we must also move away from general content to align geoscience content with community needs and values through community-engaged curriculum development.