Population Connection: Hands-on Activities for People and the Planet
November 18th, 2026 4:30PM -6:00PM
Registration Fee: $15.00
In this hands-on workshop for K-12 educators, discover cross-curricular, inquiry-based activities for K-12 learners that address human population growth and its effects on the environment and human well-being. Presented activities incorporate critical thinking, collaboration, modeling, and innovative thinking while building skills in multiple disciplines including geography, history, civics, earth and life sciences, and mathematics. At the end of the workshop, participants will receive free access to an online curriculum library of 40+ lesson plans aligned to Washington state standards, as well as readings and other supplemental resources. Washington state educators are eligible to receive clock hours.
WORKSHOP FACILITATORS
Ryan Hauck is a teacher at Glacier Peak High School in Snohomish, WA. As a teacher of comparative politics and international studies, he is often applauded for bringing the world into his classroom by engaging students around the importance of living in an increasingly interconnected, interdependent world. One of Ryan’s global projects has been his work in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, building not only a sister school relationship between his high school and a remote village school in Oporoza, but also a village library. Recently, Ryan participated in a U.S. State Department fellowship to Senegal as part of the Teachers for Global Classroom Program and as a fellow with the Goethe Institut’s Transatlantic Outreach Program to Germany. Ryan Completed his master’s degree in Globalization and Educational Change from Lehigh’s Comparative & International Education Department. As part of this program, Ryan worked with a cohort of classmates and teachers on a professional development project in Cambodia to enhance teacher training and student learning. As a Washington State Council for the Social Studies Board Member, Ryan extends his passion for global studies to other teachers, students, and communities. Ryan brings his own real-life experiences into the classroom so that his students begin to understand the value of cross-cultural understanding and humanitarian action.
Bennett Steidinger is an Education Program Associate and coordinates the Population Education workshops, staff trips, and program outreach in the southeastern part of the U.S. and Canada. She also conducts online and in-person workshops across the country. Using her experience as a teacher, Bennett helps revise current lesson plans and writes new materials for the program’s resource libraries. Outside of the office, Bennett enjoys reading, yoga and crafting.
