Book cover for Learning on Location: Place-Based Approaches for Diverse Learners in Higher Education by Ashley J. Holmes. Series on Engaged Learning and Teaching
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ISBN: 9781642674217

November 2023

Chapter 2 defines learning on location in higher education as practices of place-making that integrate: (1) student experience, curating identity-conscious, embodied, and mobile student experiences in meaningful places; (2) critical reflection and praxis with places and spaces, working toward enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); and (3) partnership and stewardship through reciprocal, ethical relationships among key stakeholders within our shared lands, histories, communities, and neighborhoods. This chapter describes the learning on location framework and argues for its significance in uniting a number of trends in higher education today, including work on student success, retention, experiential learning, and civic education, among others. Chapter 2 also acknowledges that place-based learning can have the effect of drawing attention to differences among students and their experiences; learning on location must attend to issues of inclusivity, accessibility, and diversity so that student populations typically underrepresented in higher education have equitable opportunities to learn. Chapter 2 lays the groundwork for the book’s following chapters that are organized around three practices for place-based teaching and programming: writing on location (Chapter 3), “walking” and diverse forms of movement on location (Chapter 4), and engaging the civic on location (Chapter 5).

Discussion Questions

  1. View the Learning on Location Framework. What is your reaction to the framework? Which of the practices (writing, walking, engaging the civic) seem most applicable to your course or initiative? Brainstorm opportunities for developing programs that combine student experience, critical reflection and practice, and partnership and stewardship.
  2. Learning on Location complements other engaged teaching and high-impact practices, deepening student learning by rooting their experience within place. What other programs, curricula, initiatives, or resources exist within your institution that may benefit from increased attention to location and place-making?