2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Climate change presents not only technical challenges for the built environment but also significant psychological and ethical challenges for students preparing to enter architecture and construction-related professions. Increasing evidence of climate anxiety among young adults highlights the need for educational approaches that integrate technical competence with emotional resilience and professional responsibility. This study presents an ongoing pedagogical initiative at a historically Black university committed to social and environmental justice, examining how sustainability-integrated architectural technology instruction across multiple courses can reframe students’ climate-related emotions while strengthening technical knowledge. The study draws on data from two undergraduate courses, ARC 2470: Introduction to the Technology of Architecture and ARC 3551: Architectural Structures II, in which sustainability and climate responsibility were embedded within core technical modules on building materials, structural systems, environmental systems, and building codes. Guided by constructivist and transformative learning theories, the instructional approach framed climate anxiety as a legitimate entry point for professional learning rather than a barrier. A mixed-methods pre- and post-course survey was administered to assess changes in students’ self-reported technical knowledge, climate-related emotions, and perceptions of professional responsibility. Quantitative results indicate statistically significant gains in three of four technical domains, with large effect sizes observed for building materials, structural systems, and sustainability-related codes and regulations. Analysis of climate-related emotions reveals that while anxiety remained prevalent, feelings of powerlessness declined substantially, accompanied by marked increases in motivation and hope. Qualitative responses further suggest that students increasingly interpreted technical design decisions as ethical actions with environmental consequences. These findings suggest that sustainability-integrated technical instruction across multiple courses can transform climate anxiety into a sense of agency and purpose without diminishing awareness of the climate crisis. The study contributes a replicable, ethics-informed pedagogical model for architectural and engineering technology education and offers implications for curriculum design aimed at preparing students to address climate change through informed, responsible professional practice.