University Lake School

Our ULS Great Lakes Constructivist Consortium Experience

By Lisa Rawski, 6^th grade teacher

ULS 6^th grade students participated in an exciting and inspiring “unconference” hosted by the Great Lakes Constructivist Consortium and Milwaukee School of Engineering on Thursday, May 19, 2010.   GLCC is a collective group of schools, educators, and community members who believe in the philosophy and benefits of constructivist learning.  Their organization is threefold:  experiential, influential, and integrated. 

Karen Malhiot and I had the privilege of mentoring eight 6^th grade students to help support them in sharing and showcasing two constructivist projects—the Maple Syrup Project and the Oconomowoc River Project.  We spent nearly two months gathering, preparing, developing, and polishing each project and used the GLCC Judge Rubric as our guide.

May 19^th was an exhilarating day for both the students and the teachers!  We were taken aback by the sheer size of MSOE’s field house filled with a rich variety of projects.  A total of 50 projects were on display from Wisconsin high schools; ULS was the only middle school represented among the schools.

ULS students were asked to present in pairs.  Each pair did a wonderful job of communicating the key ideas related to their project in a concise, intelligent, and exuberant manner!  Students were evaluated by independent judges between three and five times. 

After judging was completed, we learned that out of the 50 high school projects, Daniel Yamilkoski and Gabe Kornacki of the Oconomowoc River Project placed.  Their exemplary oral communication skills, coupled with their knowledge and understanding of the project, rocketed them into 2^nd place winners!

Karen and I were astounded at the success of our wonderful 6^th grade students.  It was truly an honor to be part of this wonderful event hosted by GLCC!