EduCon 2025

In our STEAM Hub, we have created a culture that at times baffles us. Our learners are motivated, mature, creative, and able to work through multiple iterations of projects. When we compare their skill set with that of students outside our program, they generally blow their peers out of the water. In seeking to understand how we built our culture, we first turned to our learners themselves. We found that their answers were remarkably similar: we listen, we treat them as equals, we engage them in meaningful conversations, we demand integrity and maturity, and we celebrate successes and milestones. Their answers helped us to define aspects of our culture that create the conditions for powerful learning. In hindsight, we realize that our culture was built through hundreds of small decisions and a set of core practices that are ultimately anchored in the Stanford design process. With the help of our learners, we will walk you through the process of designing a culture that fosters strong community and deep learning.