Event Information
Recorded Session0–10 minutes | Introduction & Framing
Content: Introduce the session purpose: connecting STEM careers, identity, and community through landmark design. Highlight alignment to ISTE Standards (Leaders, Educators, Students) and UDL.
Engagement: Whole-group discussion about local landmarks and their cultural/engineering significance. Prompt reflection: What does a landmark say about a community? How can learners see themselves in it?
Process: Quick think-pair-share; participants jot ideas on sticky notes.
10–20 minutes | Setting the Stage
Content: Explain roles (Designer, Engineer, Communications Leader, CFO) and how these mirror authentic STEM careers.
Engagement: Attendees form small teams of 4. Each team assigns roles. Facilitator circulates, answering questions.
Process: Interactive polling or role cards to assign responsibilities and spark conversation.
20–40 minutes | Team-Based Design & Modeling
Content: Teams design and build a prototype landmark reflecting shared identity and community values.
Engagement: Use craft supplies/tech tools. Participants collaborate within their roles to make design decisions.
Process: Hands-on modeling, brainstorming, sketching, prototyping. Frequent peer-to-peer dialogue and leader facilitation.
40–50 minutes | Team Presentations & Peer Sharing
Content: Each team presents their landmark: purpose, design choices, identity connection, and career role contributions.
Engagement: 2–3 minutes per team. Peers are encouraged to ask “What if?” questions to spark iteration.
Process: Peer feedback, storytelling, and reflection prompts.
50–60 minutes | Adaptation & Action Planning
Content: Facilitator shares resources, extension ideas, and adaptation strategies for classrooms, programs, and leadership contexts.
Engagement: Participants brainstorm how they would implement this in their own setting. Leaders reflect on school/district-wide applications.
Process: Small group share-outs; collective documentation of ideas
Extension – If swirched to 90 Minute Workshop
Add 15 minutes to the design/build phase (20 → 35 minutes) for deeper iteration.
Add 15 minutes to the adaptation phase, allowing leaders and educators to co-create site-specific action steps or cross-team planning documents.
Attendees will leave with access to a complete set of project resources, role-based guides, and extension ideas adaptable for K–12 classrooms and programs. They will also take away the knowledge and inspiration to foster inclusive, community-centered STEM learning. For education leaders, the session provides a framework for integrating these practices into schoolwide vision and planning, demonstrating how design-based projects can cultivate belonging, empower student identity, and align with strategic goals for innovation and equity.
Zhang, L., Ma, Y., & Chen, L. (2023). A study of the impact of project-based learning on student learning effects: A meta-analysis study. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1202728. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1202728
• Lucas Education Research. (2021). Project-Based Learning leads to gains in science and other subjects in middle school and benefits all learners. Lucas Education Research. https://www.lucasedresearch.org/publication/project-based-learning-leads-to-gains-in-science-and-other-subjects-in-middle-school-and-benefits-all-learners/
• Kewalramani, S., Aranda, G., Sun, J., Richards, G., Hobbs, L., Xu, L., Millar, V., Dealy, B., & Van Leuven, B. (2024). A Systematic Review of the Role of Multimodal Resources for Inclusive STEM Engagement in Early-Childhood Education. Education Sciences, 14(6), 604. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14060604
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