Ultawild - Teacher PD Sessions
by Steve Mushin
Description
1. What is Rewilding? And How Can Rewilding Philosophy be Incorporated into STEM Lessons?
How can rewilding be incorporated into STEM classes? What can we learn from the incredible rewilding projects happening around the world? And how can rewilding help us remain positive and optimistic in the face of climate change and biodiversity collapse?
Steve Mushin’s book Ultrawild aims to empower and excite a new generation of designers, scientists, engineers and wild thinkers. This talk explores the philosophy of rewilding, and discusses incredible real-world ultrawilding technologies that blow students minds, and hands-on rewilding projects that teachers can set up anywhere. This session consists of a 30-40 minute talk, followed by a high speed creative thinking challenge to help teachers think outside the square about urban rewilding. In this activity, Steve demonstrates his ideation process by drawing live on a whiteboard, then challenges participants to develop and pitch their own ideas.
Topics Covered:
- What is Rewilding?
- Incredible Rewilding Projects Around the World – and What we can Learn from Them
- How Rewilding Boosts Ecosystems
- How Rewilding Helps Reverse Climate Change
- Examples of Ecological Design and Engineering that are Helping Reverse Climate Change
- Using Drawing and Creative Thinking to Reimagine the World
- Rewilding Future Cities – more Possible than Most People Think
2. Using ‘Design-Thought-Experiments’ to Engage Students with STEM, Boost Creative Thinking and Create Hope for the Future
How can having fun with wild ideas help engage students with STEM? How can we give students the design and creative-thinking tools required to tackle the future and reinvent the world for the better? And how can we all remain positive and optimistic in the face of climate change and biodiversity collapse?
Steve Mushin’s book Ultrawild aims to empower and excite a new generation of designers, scientists, engineers and wild thinkers. This talk focusses on teaching creative thinking with a sustainability focus. It also explores Steve’s research into fascinating technologies that can help us reverse climate change, and discusses the science behind how pushing our brains to think-up wild ideas can increase our creativity. This session consists of a 30-40 minute talk, followed by a high speed creative thinking design challenge to help teachers think outside the square about tackling climate change and biodiversity loss. In this activity, Steve demonstrates his ideation process by drawing live on a whiteboard, then challenges the audience to develop and pitch their own ideas.
- Using wild ‘design though experiments’ to make STEM lessons awesome
- How Ecological Design and Engineering Projects are helping reverse Climate Change
- Imagining Future Cities
- What is Rewilding
- Ecosystems and Biodiversity Crisis
- Rewilding and Climate Change
Details
Audience
Teachers at Primary, Secondary, Senior Secondary and University levels
Duration
60 Minutes. Typically, Steve visits schools for a full, or half day, and delivers multiple sessions to small groups where he can directly engage with participants.
Requirements
Large whiteboard and markers (new condition please☺) for Steve to draw with. A data projector or large TV. Pencils, A3 paper and a surface to draw on for participants. A microphone for audiences larger than 50. Steve has a Macbook with USB-C or HDMI outputs, and has an HDMI cable. He will also have a USB stick.