Abstract
This paper investigates the explanatory and pedagogical value of place-based education (PBE) as an epistemologically unorthodox learning strategy in intercollegiate forensics. This investigation is timely as the COVID pandemic has seen online education become a staple in the teaching-learning process, creating greater distance from more holistically interactive forms of study. Application of PBE as a supplemental model of learning seeks to create opportunities for meaningful engagement, expanding upon traditional modes of preparation and knowledge production. By highlighting situational factors, PBE offers direct engagement with diverse cultures and communities, unique histories, and local environments that would otherwise be inaccessible. It attempts to reconnect and recontextualize the learning process by situating it within pedagogically grounded spaces. PBE would allow participants in intercollegiate debate to move beyond the walls of the classroom and digitized texts to explore topics in a more tangible and self-directed way. Such an unconventional strategy may help counter a common critique of forensics which suggests that its orthodox modes of learning keep ideas stagnant and locked up within the “ivory tower” of the Academy. Our goal is to assess how experiential and place-based engagements might lead to an enhanced understanding of a topic through more diverse forms of knowledge production. We begin with a review of place-based pedagogical models, assess potential strengths and limitations of their application—particularly with regard to identifying any evidence of the value such an unconventional mode of knowledge production might offer in enriching the process of sense-making, and conclude with recommendations for further inquiry.
Presenters
Korry HarveySenior Instructor, Assistant Director of Forensics, Communication Studies, Western Washington University, Washington, United States Lydia Haindfield
Student, Business Associates, In Progress: Political Science Major, Women Gender Sexuality Studies Minor, Western Washington University, Washington, United States Gabriel Heintz
Student, Communication Studies, Western Washington University , Washington, United States Laura Roark
Student, Western Washington University, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
COMMUNICATION STUDIES, FORENSICS, ARGUMENTATION, PLACE-BASED PEDAGOGY, KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION, EPISTEMOLOGY
