Both authors of these two articles, “Learning in Your Own Backyard: Place-Based Education for Museums” and “The Best of Both Worlds: A Critical Pedagogy of Place” emphasize the importance of incorporating outside surroundings into the process of learning. The first article focuses solely on place-based learning, which entails concentrating on environments to better understand concepts in many different subjects. Janet Petitpas stresses that place-based learning reaps many benefits for students aside from just performing better in school. As previously discussed in Surrounded by Science, informal learning experiences that incorporate interaction with the surroundings allows these students to make connections between what they learn and previous knowledge they obtained. They learn how to actually participate in science rather than simply reading about what happens, and are better able to apply their knowledge to other unfamiliar encounters. Like we have discussed previously in class, these unique learning experiences allow students to better remember the material they learn and benefit from exploring their misconceptions. This article focuses on three informal learning spaces, namely the Turtle Bay Exploration Park, Lower East Side Tenement Museum, and the Bay Area Discovery Museum. Each of these locations embodies the benefits of informal science learning that we have been discussing. The Turtle Bay exhibits highlight the importance of sparking interest in the visitors by encouraging exploration of familiar things to them. When visitors connect new concepts to their previous experiences and knowledge, they can better understand how it is that science works. By becoming an active participant in the community, these students become part of a place in which science learning thrives. This service learning which is an important component of placed-based education is similar to what we did during the BioBlitz for Macaulay Honors College. We served the community, interacted with the New York City learning space that is Central Park, and learned science skills in the process. The second place that the article discusses is the Tenement Museum which I visited with my Macaulay Seminar class last year. This was a very moving experience for me because not only did I learn about the immigrant story, but I also connected on a personal level because my family went through similar circumstances when they arrived in New York City. I understood more about the city I call home, the people who lived there, and also my family history. This museum serves as a very important link between the past and the present, and continues to remind us that we are constantly shaped by our environment in much the same way as we shape the places that we interact with. Hearing the stories about the immigrant families from the workers at the museum was interesting and informative. They encouraged dialogue and conversation, let us ask questions, and this helped us reflect on the experience. This also goes back to the crucial role of interaction and communication in informal learning. The third location, the Bay Area Discovery Museum, discussed the challenges of designers to create memorable experiences that will capture the interests of small children. Since it is important to build an important learning foundation from an early age through exploration of the world around them, designers strived to incorporate the natural environment into the learning experience.

The second article aimed to blend between two schools of thought in education “critical pedagogy” and “place-based education” to create a hybrid referred to as “critical pedagogy of place.” David A. Gruenewald argues that by incorporating the best of each tradition, scientists and learners can broaden and deepen their knowledge. They not only have to reflect critically but also become involved in a relationship with a learning space. I completely agree that it is necessary to not only read words to learn but also experience the world. These two approaches are intertwined and one could not effectively function without the other. According to the article, “a critical pedagogy of place…encourages teachers and students to reinhabit their places…to pursue the kind of social action that improves…the places…now and in the future” (7). This way of learning creates a dynamic relationship between the scientists and their natural surroundings, and fosters the understanding of the forces that influence the way the world functions and is itself shaped. This blend of traditional approaches to education not only strengthens the learner’s connection to the concepts, but also bolsters the development of communities within these environments.