8/19 FREE UM-FLINT CONFERENCE: "Our Cities, Our Classroom" Place-based Education

Our Cities, Our Classroom

August 19, 2010, 8:30am-4pm

William S. White Building

University of Michigan-Flint

Flint, MI

We are pleased to invite you to Our Cities, Our Classroom, a regional conference to explore place-based education as it relates to urban settings on August 19, 2010, held on the University of Michigan-Flint campus.

Place-based education seeks to immerse students in what is local - the environment, culture, heritage, and art of a specific place – and use those unique characteristics of a community as the basis for the study of language arts, social studies, science, mathematics, and art. By providing hands-on, real-world experiences for learning, students contribute to resolving local community and environmental issues by turning schoolyards, communities, and cities into classrooms.

The Our Cities, Our Classroom conference aims to bring together educators from this region's urban centers who want to discover more about place-based education. By attending this conference you will:

• learn from community organizations and teachers how to incorporate the unique characteristics and resources of your community into your classroom or other educational efforts;

• meet and network with educators and community members interested in engaging youth in community development work; and,

• realize the many exciting educational opportunities for students available in and around your city.

Conference breakout sessions will include the following themes:

1. Place-based education best practices, including:

•What is place-based education?

•How to build school/community partnerships

•Place-based education and Michigan curriculum standards

•Community and asset mapping

2. Urban place-based education content areas, including:

•Urban agriculture and food systems

•Green building

•Land use and water quality

•Environmental health

The Our Cities, Our Classroom conference is hosted by the University of Michigan-Flint’s University Outreach and is made possible through generous support from the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative and the Great Lakes Fishery Trust

Nancy Finegood

Executive Director

Michigan Historic Preservation Network

107 E. Grand River

Lansing, MI 48906

www.mhpn.org