Reneta D. Lansiquot is Professor of English, Program Director, Professional and Technical Writing, and Assistant Director of the Honors Scholars Program at New York City College of Technology, The City University of New York, USA. She has published widely on interdisciplinary studies and educational technology.
Sean P. MacDonald is Associate Professor of Economics at New York City College of Technology, The City University of New York, USA. She has served as a fellow and as contributor on interdisciplinary grant initiatives. She has published on the 2008-2009 financial crisis and interdisciplinary pedagogy.

Theoretical framework for place-based and virtual place-based learning explores how nexus of two innovative approaches to education in urban college environments have successfully enhanced students' learning experience

1. Introduction: A Model for Interdisciplinary Place-Based Learning.- 2. The Varieties of Place-Based Education.- 3. The Solar Decathlon: Team DURA and Interdisciplinary Place-Based Learning.- 4. Cyclonic Pedagogy: Learning Interdisciplinary Lessons from a Hybrid Storm.- 5. From Local to Global: The Role of Interdisciplinary Place-Based Research in Teaching Environmental Economics.- 6. Visualizing Medicine: Mapping Connections with Plague Inc. to Learn in the Interdisciplinary Classroom.- 7. Modelling Interdisciplinary Place-Based Learning in Virtual Worlds: Lessons Learned and Suggestions for the Future.

This book focuses on the interdisciplinary incorporation of place-based learning in faculty teaching strategies at the New York City College of Technology. Contributing authors highlight their creative use of the unique urban environment of Brooklyn, illustrating the integration of urban resources into student research projects and activities in the context of an interdisciplinary course. Beginning with a reflection on the interrelationship between learners and nature, built and virtual environments, contributors then examine the experience of students and faculty in interdisciplinary projects in architecture, the geosciences, economics, computer science, the humanities and medicine. The volume concludes with a synthesis of best practices from these projects, focused on virtual place-based learning. This scholarly book makes a valuable contribution to the literature, offering a model of creative employment of urban spaces to enhance experiential interdisciplinary learning and demonstrating the potential educator application in diverse urban institutions elsewhere.