Bringing the Inside Out and the Outside In: Place-Based Learning Rendering Classroom Walls Invisible

Abstract

Ecopedagogical approaches for teaching children about nature have evolved over time. The shifts have encompassed a number of approaches and integrative subsets that involve students in nature. These moves focus on developing students’ appreciation of nature and responsibility to nature as ecologically active citizens. This chapter provides a research-informed narrative of these shifts from one educator’s experience teaching across primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors. It begins from the notions that early childhood experiences in nature positively influence ecologically motivated behaviours in adulthood. The chapter continues by describing experimental education experiences from the 1980s through to current ecopedagogical practices in everyday teaching and learning experiences. The chapter closes by exploring how place-based learning has been embedded in a number of primary education subjects for preparing eco-rich, teacher-ready practitioners.