Name: What If We Don’t Tell Them How? Designing Open-Ended Engineering Experiences That Build Student Agency
Start: 2026-09-19T10:30:00-0700
End: 2026-09-19T11:30:00-0700

What If We Don’t Tell Them How? Designing Open-Ended Engineering Experiences That Build Student Agency

Saturday September 19, 2026 10:30am - 11:30am PDT

What happens when we stop telling students how to solve a problem and instead create opportunities for them to think, design, test, and revise? In this interactive session, participants will experience an open-ended engineering challenge and explore how intentional learning design can transform STEM experiences into opportunities for deeper thinking and student agency.

Using Rigamajig as a model experience, participants will examine how open-ended challenges, purposeful questioning, and productive struggle help students construct understanding rather than simply follow directions. Participants will explore strategies that create equitable entry points for diverse learners and allow students to contribute through collaboration, creativity, communication, and problem solving.

Through the Model–Show–Explore framework, educators will experience the learner perspective, unpack instructional choices, and design an engineering experience they can adapt for their own classrooms. The focus is not the tool—it is creating conditions where students see themselves as capable engineers and innovators.

Speakers

Jessica Muncy

Elementary School Teacher

Jessica Muncy is an elementary STEM educator and current mechanical engineer with experience designing and implementing engaging, student-centered engineering learning experiences for grades PK through 6th. She has received multiple grants supporting innovative STEM education and... Read More →

Saturday September 19, 2026 10:30am - 11:30am PDT

Breakout Session 1

AI and Innovative Tech Symposium

Jessica Muncy

Get help with the event

AI and Innovative Tech Symposium

Jessica Muncy

Sign up or log in to save this to your schedule, view media, leave feedback and see who's attending!

Get help with the event