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

Authored by a scholar-teacher in writing studies pedagogy who has taught in higher education for nearly 20 years and has been working in faculty development across disciplines for the last six years as Director of Writing Across the Curriculum in Georgia State University’s Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Online Education. Learning on location complements other engaged teaching practices (e.g. high-impact practices (HIPs), experiential and place-based learning, study abroad and domestic field study, service learning, mobile technologies in learning) but calls attention to how place shapes the diverse ways students experience learning. The arguments in this book also intersect with conversations in higher education about retention, student success, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Drawing on interviews and case studies from educators in the United States and Canada, Learning on Location highlights examples of place-based, experiential learning in specializations across the disciplines, as well as cross-disciplinary programs located within university-community partnerships, mapping projects, and story labs. This accessible book includes a framework that can be applied within a range of courses and contexts in higher education; examples of pedagogies-in-action from disciplines such as Anthropology, Criminal Justice, English, Environmental Science, History, Sociology, and Teacher Education; and suggested models and logistics considerations for enacting learning on location approaches. The book highlights how learning on location can complement campus DEI goals, challenging educators to curate spatial learning experiences that validate diversity, seek equity, and prompt inclusion. This location-based work should ask students to confront their assumptions about the places and people in their communities, to critically engage with public spaces, and to interrogate the ways our experience on location forms and re-forms collective memories. The corresponding online materials for the book include discussion questions, brainstorming prompts, example assignments, and guiding questions for curriculum development and application. Many of these materials could support the book’s usage in faculty/staff book clubs, campus workshops, and curriculum development.