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SESSIONABSTRACTS continued...
MINI SESSION 8: Makerspaces: From Elementary Schools to College Campuses
Once found primarily in schools of engineering, makerspaces are now a growing trend in all levels of educational facilities, from elementary to high schools and from technical schools to university libraries. Providing tools and materials, mentors and sponsors, they foster cross-pollination of disciplines, promote higher engagement with teams, and encourage the skills and abilities required for success in students’ future careers: ideation, collaboration, and exploration. Highlighting a variety of makerspaces across the country, this course will reveal current trends, share the benefits to users, and demonstrate successful design strategies for these creative community spaces. SPEAKERS: Gretchen Diesel, Stantec; Gwen Morgan, Stantec; Allison Schneider, Stantec
MINI SESSION 9: A Bold Commitment to Reshape a Top Performing District; The Why, the
What and the How
The Cherry Creek School District (CCSD) in Colorado made a bold commitment to reinvent its educational approach and prepare students differently for the workforce they’ll enter by placing greater emphasis on innovation, critical thinking skills, and advanced career-based programs. To achieve this feat, the district partnered with DLR Group
and with local industry partners guided by the Colorado Workforce Development Council’s Colorado Talent Pipeline Report to create relevant career pathways for students and design the new Cherry Creek Innovation Campus (CCIC), a facility that expands college and career preparatory opportunities currently available to 11th and 12th grade students at the district’s seven high schools. It will support learners at all levels. Students who plan to attend college can take dual enrollment courses to earn credit toward their college degree. Students who prefer to enter the workforce or military immediately can learn skills or trades that help prepare them for their careers. And students who have not decided on a career path can further explore interests and build skill sets that will give them a competitive advantage as they enter the workforce. Students also will have opportunities for off-site internships and apprenticeships for hands-on experience in a variety of potential career fields. DLR Group’s design for the 117,000 SF CCIC comprises
a variety of learning environments and social spaces from traditional classrooms for instruction, to more intense
labs that provide hands on areas for a project-based curriculum that includes everything from health sciences + wellness, to artificial intelligence, to advanced manufacturing to transportation logistics to STEAM/IT. Industry- specific spaces support real-world training or trade certification programs, and high-bay labs provide flexible spaces for experimentation and exploration. The high bay labs for infrastructure, aviation, and transportation logistics have direct access to sheltered work areas for enhanced learning opportunities to create + explore in authentic outdoor environments. An ‘i-commons’ is also incorporated at the heart of the campus. It is a space designed to encourage intentional collisions and synergy between the interdisciplinary interactions, industry partners, and career-based programs by designing circulation and open break out areas that support collaborative activities outside of the specific “learning labs”. The professional development and creation of appropriate curriculum that is both relevant and engaging was also an integral part of a process that links innovative learning environments with the teacher change necessary for the educators to leverage the magic of the Cherry Creek Innovation Campus. SPEAKERS: Sarah Grobbel, Cherry Creek School District; Greg Cromer, AIA, DLR Group