LEARN BY DESIGN

Role: Co-Director

As Chairman of the AIA TN 2016 State Convention, Jared looked for ways to extend the impact of the conference beyond the convention center walls. To accomplish this he created and co-directed two Community Outreach Projects: Passageways and Learn by Design.

Learn by Design presented by AIA Tennessee and Green Spaces was a community outreach project of the 2016 AIA Tennessee State Convention held August 24-26 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was a community engagement project intended to highlight the value of design based learning for K-12 education. Students, educators, and Architects learned from national leaders in integrating design thinking and project based learning into the core curriculum of classrooms. Students were inspired by engaging and challenging projects that empowered them to not only learn but have a positive impact on their city in the process. Teachers learned strategies for more creative and innovative classrooms, while making connections with design professionals from the region. 

Phase 1 started months before the convention with 1-2 hour design-thinking workshops at Youth and Family Development Centers in under-served neighborhoods. Through this process students identified a need and prototyped a solutions for Phase 2’s Design Build project. 

Phase 2 of the program took place during the AIA State convention and included 3 primary programs: Student Design Workshops, Teachers Design Workshops, and a community Design Build project. Workshops were led by the Chicago Architecture Foundation and Design Build Project was led by Public Workshop. Students, Teachers, and Administrators from the Hamilton County Schools participated.

Phase 3 of the program was led by our partner Green Spaces and focused on leveraging the momentum to support 2017 Design Competitions including Bright Spark High School of the Future, Playcore STEM Play Design Challenge, and the ACE Mentor Program.