Learning on Location: Place-Based Approaches for Diverse Learners in Higher Education

This book offers an innovative framework and set of pedagogical pathways for deepening college student learning through critical engagement with place.

Though the what and how of teaching and learning rightly take center stage in research of best practices, this book argues that the where of education deserves increased attention. Drawing from interviews and case studies with college and university educators in the United States and Canada, Learning on Location highlights pedagogies-in-action and identifies programmatic models for embedding location-based learning within specific courses, majors, curricula, and campus-wide initiatives. Chapters provide a mix of theoretical framing and practical application, with three key practices grounding the text: writing on location, walking on location, and engaging the civic on location.

This resource is an invaluable guide for higher education faculty, leaders, and practitioners seeking to enhance student experience through attention to location, support identity-conscious student success, and use reflection and praxis to move toward more inclusive and equitable learning experiences. Supplemental resources—including example assignments, discussion questions for reading groups, and more—are available at www.centerforengagedlearning.org/books/learning-on-location.