How can the school's immediate environment become an active companion in teaching? The course Places as Learning Environments explores the educational potential of places and how different outdoor environments – from schoolyards and parks to forests and urban places – can support in-depth learning. Through a place-based learning perspective, we investigate how physical, social and cultural characteristics of places can contribute to the content, form and possibilities of teaching.
The course provides a theoretical basis in research on the importance of place for learning, relational pedagogy and ecological awareness. The students develop strategies for planning and implementing teaching in outdoor environments, taking into account didactic goals, the needs of the student group and sustainability aspects. Particular focus is placed on the ability to create, direct and maintain pupils' attention in outdoor environments.
Through the analysis of concrete places in the school's immediate environment, the student is trained in documenting, assessing and communicating place-based teaching plans in relation to governing documents and pedagogical theory. The course encourages a reflective and research-informed approach to learning environments, where the place is seen as an active part of learning – with the potential to contribute to inclusion, transformative learning and sustainability competence.
Teaching takes place through site visits, seminars, literature studies and didactic analysis tasks. Reflection assignments and collegial dialogue support transformative learning, where the student is challenged to reconsider his/her view of the spatial dimensions of teaching. The work takes place both individually and in groups, with supervision in the field and digitally.