The Many Benefits of Community Mapping


by Jenny Mears “ I


t’s useless to just map the places that need attention and then not do anything!” wrote Paul, a sixth-grade student


at Villa Academy, an independent Catholic school in Se- attle, Washington. For weeks, he and his fellow classmates had drawn pictures, taken photos, and interviewed students, teachers, and other staff in order to map the neglected and the cherished places in his school community.


A Learning Tool


This student-centered, hands-on experience is called com- munity mapping, a participatory, community engagement tool that gives students a way to learn about and document their physical surroundings while acquiring new skills and increasing connection to their community. People of all ages, socioeconomic, and demographic backgrounds come together to map places that are important to them. This process helps communities gener- ate shared knowledge and identify valued and treasured places. Additionally, this type of mapping can stimulate community improvement and motivate environmental stewardship. In the classroom, community mapping has many multidisciplinary connections to core


curricula, from geography and math, as students learn to draw to scale, measure distance, and calculate area; and to communication, as students interview community members and work effectively in groups. Students use new technology and artistic skills to represent their community. Social studies can be reached through exploration of the community’s history of land and resource use. Ultimately, however, community mapping reaches across all disciplines as an inquiry-based activity that fosters problem-solving skills and experi- ential learning.


The Process


Community mapping can be done with a community of any size and can be modified throughout the process. Projects are often composed of several different components that teach new skills or further existing ones. Villa Academy’s community mapping project began with a discussion of how students defined community at their school, which helped broaden students’ perspectives of the people they encounter every day: teachers, fellow students, custodians, and even the chef who makes their lunches. Students next created maps of their school from memory in order to record and signify


the places most important to them, which at Villa Academy ranged from the quiet grotto ringed with trees to the overgrown trail leading to the lake. Children’s favorite places vary from child to child and are often different from what adults would choose for them; docu- menting these places on maps validates the child’s perspective and can be a first step in ensuring the preservation of these cherished spaces. The students themselves valued the chance to share their voices, and wrote in their evaluations:


©SYNERGY LEARNING • 800-769-6199 • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012 Connect • PAGE 1


Students create cognitive maps of their community.


This kind of mapping helps


connect children to their environment and see themselves


as part of the larger community.


jenny mears

Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28