You Got Your Civics in My STEM: Tiny Houses and Transdisciplinary Learning

Outline

Content and Engagement:
- This poster session showcases the Global Futures Design Lab, a hands-on, transdisciplinary project where students envision and design equitable, sustainable communities worldwide. Participants will explore physical 3D models, interactive digital presentations, and photographic documentation of student work, seeing how design thinking, technology, and creativity empower youth to tackle authentic local and global challenges. The session highlights strategies for integrating civics, STEM, arts, and cultural studies, demonstrating how projects can be implemented using accessible materials, or expanded with digital tools, multimedia, and QR-linked resources. Attendees will discuss student design processes, examine project adaptations for different contexts, and, through interactive exploration, experience firsthand the engagement and learning that comes from student-driven, cross-curricular projects. This session emphasizes practical, reproducible strategies that help educators foster equity, agency, creativity, and critical thinking while offering fresh perspectives on global, community-centered learning.

Time:
- Poster Session (5 minutes per participant): Each participant will have dedicated time to engage with physical models, multimedia examples, and photographic displays of student projects. Attendees can ask questions about the design process, explore strategies for adapting projects to their classrooms, and consider ways to integrate cross-curricular learning and cultural perspectives. The format supports deeper dives into scaffolding for different grade levels, customizing challenges, or extending projects using technology and accessible materials.
- Converted Session Format: Idea Lab / Interactive Session (varies based on format): Converted sessions allow participants to collaboratively design, build, and play with models, experiment with digital tools, and adapt projects to diverse classroom contexts.

Process:
- Peer-to-Peer Interaction: Attendees share strategies and experiences for adapting student-driven projects, exchanging ideas on classroom implementation and cross-curricular integration.
- Hands-On Activities: Participants interact directly with physical models, multimedia, and digital resources. In extended formats, they collaboratively design, prototype, and playtest projects to experience the learning process.
- Multimedia Engagement: QR-linked student work, videos, and photographic displays showcase both hands-on and technology-enhanced approaches, providing practical inspiration and examples for classroom implementation.

Outcomes

After this session, participants will be able to:
- Empower students to design equitable, sustainable communities using hands-on modeling, technology, and design thinking.
- Facilitate cross-curricular, project-based learning integrating STEM, civics, and the arts while developing creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking.
- Guide students in researching real-world challenges, creating sustainable solutions, and presenting prototypes.
- Explore diverse global projects that highlight cultural richness and address authentic local and global issues.
- Implement adaptable, technology-rich, community-centered design activities using practical tools, guides, and 3D/digital resources.
- Reflect on and modify projects to meet diverse learner needs, classroom contexts, and grade levels, ensuring meaningful participation for all students.

Supporting research

Todd, Roisleen. "Creating a Culturally Responsive Early Childhood Classroom." Edutopia, 26 Feb. 2021, www.edutopia.org/article/creating-culturally-responsive-early-childhood-classroom.
- This article discusses strategies for educators to design learning environments that reflect and honor the diverse cultural identities of young students, fostering a sense of belonging and engagement.

Langman, Catherine, et al. "Disciplinary Learning From an Authentic Engineering Context." Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research, vol. 9, no. 1, 2019, Article 5, docs.lib.purdue.edu/jpeer/vol9/iss1/5/.
- This study examines how students engage in mathematical modeling and science through an authentic engineering-themed module, highlighting the impact on disciplinary learning and problem-solving skills.

Russell, Christopher, and Amanda Gonczi. "Makers by Design: Helping Teachers Integrate Design Thinking Into Instruction Through a Sustained Professional Learning Fellowship." Journal of Agricultural and Extension Education, vol. 3, no. 1, 2024, pp. 1–15.
https://micronanoeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Russell-and-Gonczi-_-Makers-By-Design_DOI.pdf
- This article discusses a professional learning program that equips educators with the skills to implement design thinking in their classrooms, fostering creativity and problem-solving among students through hands-on, interdisciplinary projects.