An Architect in the Classroom

What skills does a professional architect bring to high school education? Guest Kelly Foster explains, as he shares his experience as both a practicing architect and a STEM teacher. He discusses his methods in teaching creativity and problem-solving in multiple areas of design, including civil and architectural engineering, architecture, and graphic design. He also analyzes the design of the new Central Library, part of the Austin Public Library system. Guest co-host Rachel also joins the discussion. Related to this episode: • Austin Central Library: https://library.austintexas.gov/central-library • Science poster designed by Kelly Foster, “CAUTION! Science Teacher at Work”: http://www.k12engineering.net/downloads/caution-scienceteacher-kwfstudio.pdf • Project Lead The Way preK-12 STEM curriculum: https://www.pltw.org/ • Project Lead The Way curriculum in civil engineering and architecture: https://www.pltw.org/our-programs/pltw-engineering-curriculum#curriculum-4 • Land surveying on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surveying • Hogwarts “Grand Staircase” from the Harry Potter Wiki: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Grand_Staircase • MC Escher’s “Relativity” lithograph showing staircases: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativity_(M._C._Escher) • Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s “Prisons” art: https://new.artsmia.org/exhibition/piranesi-prisons/ • The old Faulk Central Library of Austin: http://library.austintexas.gov/blog-entry/remembering-faulk-central-library-411004 • Brutalism in architecture, on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brutalist_architecture • Lake Flato, San Antonio-based designers of the Austin Central Library: https://www.lakeflato.com/ • Article on the Technology Petting Zoo at the Austin Central Library: https://www.512tech.com/technology/austin-central-library-hands-gadget-time-drives-the-tech-petting-zoo/mBU2Ik9qSJM6D7ATXNhjKO/ • Weed eater locking mechanism video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpTyp0tXxBA • “A&M” is Texas A&M University. • Article on the housing bubble and crisis of 2008: https://www.businessinsider.com/impact-of-2008-crash-on-housing-2016-2 • The cover art for this episode pictures the underside of stairways in the Austin Central Library, photographed during the conversation. Our closing music is “Yes And” by Steve Combs, used under a Creative Commons Attribution License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Subscribe and find more podcast information at: http://www.k12engineering.net. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs, or send one-time contributions by buying us coffee: https://ko-fi.com/pioslabs. Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.