Ecological Thinking: A Professional Development Workshop for K–12 Teachers

This three-part workshop helps teachers incorporate ecological thinking and sustainable design into classroom instruction. Explore the exhibition Emerging Ecologies: Architecture and the Rise of Environmentalism to learn about the innovative, fantastical, and daring projects that architects proposed as environmentalism gathered steam in the 1960s and 1970s. Featuring over 45 projects that reconstruct how the rise of the environmental movement in the US informed architectural practice and thought, the exhibition tells an alternate history of architecture that focuses on designers who have made the natural world a centerpiece of their practice. Teachers will also visit two other sites: Freshkills Park and Carroll Hall (designed by Dameron Architecture) to explore different ways architecture and design can address ecological concerns today. The sessions will provide opportunities to connect with people and organizations working in these spheres and to brainstorm concrete examples of how to help students understand the interconnectedness of the built and natural environment. Teachers will develop concrete lesson ideas and will have opportunities to share and discuss them with a professional community of learners.