Reid, Robin

English

Digital Commons @ TRU Library (Thompson Rivers University)

Thompson Rivers University 
Digital Commons @ TRU Library 
Tourism Education Futures Initiative (TEFI) Conference 
Jun 26th, 2:15 PM - 2:30 PM 
Experimenting with Place-Based Curriculum: Postcards from 
Home and Away 
Robin Reid 
Thompson Rivers University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.tru.ca/tefi 
Reid, Robin, "Experimenting with Place-Based Curriculum: Postcards from Home and Away" (2016). 
Tourism Education Futures Initiative (TEFI) Conference. 9. 
https://digitalcommons.library.tru.ca/tefi/tefi9/day1/9 
This Presentation is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ TRU Library. It has been 
accepted for inclusion in Tourism Education Futures Initiative (TEFI) Conference by an authorized administrator of 
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Experimenting	with	Place-Based	Curriculum:	Postcards	from	Home	and	Away.	
Robin	Reid,	Thompson	Rivers	University,	Canada	
	
Canadian	campuses	are	increasingly	internationalized	places,	due	in	part	to	institutional	
strategies	for	growth.	Is	there	a	gap	between	the	rhetoric	of	internationalization,	
interculturalization	and	mobilization	at	the	institutional	level	and	the	students	lived	
experiences	on	our	campuses?	How	do	we	build	community	that	gives	meaning	to	the	
places	where	students	live	and	learn?			
	
A	connection	to	place—either	the	place	where	the	students	are	now	or	the	places	they	have	
come	from—has	particular	relevance	to	discussions	of	globalization,	localization	and	
community.	Drawing	on	the	work	of	David	Gruenewald,	the	distinction	can	be	made	
between	actually	inhabiting	a	place	where	we	are	likely	to	build	relationships	and	merely	
residing	in	place,	where	we	are	less	likely	to	invest	time	or	energy	or	ultimately	care	about	
that	place.		
	
What	are	the	potentials	of	tourism	education	to	activate	change	in	the	way	we	engage	with	
each	other	and	the	landscapes	we	inhabit,	even	for	a	brief	time?	Place	is	always	storied	and	
as	tourism	practitioners	we	are	in	a	privileged	position	of	being	able	to	mediate	and	
construct	narratives	of	place.	But	what	happens	when	the	students	are	empowered	to	talk	
about	their	relationships	with	place,	both	home	and	away	from	home?	Place-based	
curriculum	not	only	gives	meaning	to	the	places	where	we	teach	and	learn,	it	also	
encourages	students	to	engage	with	each	other	and	ground	tourism	curriculum	though	
narratives	of	place	that	students	create,	connect	with	and	understand.		
	
In	an	effort	to	explore	how	place-based	curriculum	could	increase	student	engagement	and	
give	meaning	to	“place,”	the	Pedagogy	of	Place	Group	at	Thompson	Rivers	University	
developed	a	series	of	“postcards	from	home”	assignments	that	were	incorporated	into	TRU	
courses	over	the	2012/2013	academic	year.	In	the	first	half	of	this	interactive	session,	
examples	of	the	postcard	assignment	implemented	at	TRU	will	be	shared	with	participants.	
In	the	second	half	of	this	session,	participants	will	be	invited	to	brainstorm	possible	place	
based	assignments	that	could	be	used	across	disciplines	to	mediate	and	construct	student	
narratives	of	place.		
	
	
	
	


Experimenting with Place-Based Curriculum: Postcards from Home and Away

https://digitalcommons.library.tru.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=tefi

Experimenting with Place-Based Curriculum: Postcards from Home and Away

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