Interdisciplinary Alchemy: Transforming the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Through Oral Histories, Place-Based Learning, and Communities of Practice

Abstract

This reflective essay brings together multiple disciplinary perspectives and divergent literature on the topic of Place-based Learning and the significance of community in the scholarship of teaching and learning beyond the classroom. Our reflections on a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) funded teacher professional development workshop explains the deeper reflections on the creation of our community of practice (CoP), learning in and around place, and the educational practices that can transform learning and scholarship. We consider how a significant historical event, the roles and experiences of both scholars and practitioners, along with the development of a project that began in 2015, culminated in place-based workshops utilizing a CoP as a means of connecting scholarship to teaching. The growth and development of an interdisciplinary project, and reflections on the scholarship, are shared in the hopes of fostering collaborative teaching that can shape lifelong learning in practical and meaningful ways.