What Teachers and Principals Say About Construct
“The biggest impact has been allowing the students to be the experts. Bringing in industry professionals for students and teachers to learn from was key to making this happen. The other unique element for the students presenting at OMSI, they truly feel like their design is important. They can see how they can really make a difference.”
—Lisa Normand, Principal, Ogden Middle School
“Innovation is contagious. Students are excited by it and because innovation requires and demands high levels of learning, teachers feed off that excitement and develop other places and spaces that provide better learning opportunities. Design challenges encourage growth for everyone.
—Cassandra Thonstad, Assistant Principal, Mountain View Middle School
“Through this experience, I’ve seen students and teachers step beyond what they knew and begin exploring a real, complex problem. That moment when students realize they are working with an authentic problem, and that they have the ability to impact real change, everything shifts --Not only how students see learning, but how they see themselves in the learning process.”
—Casey Petrie, Principal, Chehalem Valley Middle School
“A main area of focus for learning at Pacific Crest is relevance. It’s exciting for students to see themselves as experts, designers, or professionals of any kind. Much of what is presented in school is deemed important because, “you’ll use this in the real world” yet, students feel disconnected because that “real world” seems to only exist outside the classroom. This challenge flips the learning experience on its head so students are truly experiencing the “real world” while they work.”
—Lisa Birk, Principal, Pacific Crest Middle School
“A design challenge like this impacts teaching and learning in similar ways. As a teacher, you’ll learn a lot about yourself--how to let the students take the lead, guide their own instruction and learning. And as they become more independent through the challenge, the student’s own strengths are brought to the forefront and they learn a lot about themselves. They learn to develop the skills and tools they’ll need in the working world that is waiting for them.”
—Giselle McKenzie, Teacher, Ogden Middle School
“Anytime we can get our kids thinking about their life in ways that support being real-world problem solvers it is a huge win, particularly when we connect our students to community partners in meaningful ways. This project puts kids in the mode of learning for the sake of learning, not because they have to, but because they want or need to in order to solve a problem or create something new.”
—Jamie Richardson, Principal, LaCreole Middle School
“Participating in this challenge was such a valuable opportunity for my classroom. I saw my students grow in their ability to communicate and collaborate, all while engaged in critical thinking and creativity. When it came time to share out their ideas, it was amazing to see their confidence in themselves and their support for one another.”
—Megan Huitt, Teacher, Mountain View Middle School
“In a canned curriculum of worksheets and rote learning, the human connection is missing. This experience gave students the opportunity to make an impact on their own community and allowed them to ideate on prototypes that they could be passionate about. Students learned how to empathize with a user’s experience and to better meet their needs.”
—Michael Sweeten, Principal, Gardiner Middle School
“Participating in an industry supported Design Challenge creates excitement for learning. Not only are the students excited about the process, but it ignites a new flame of passion for teaching as well. My big takeaway was how motivated the students were to go on an educational adventure. Students were eager to come to “Design Time” every week. Any teacher knows it is nearly impossible to have the majority of middle school students coming to your class EXCITED to learn, create, and work on solving a problem.”
—Lori MacKenzie, Teacher, Gardiner Middle School
Want to Learn More?
Curious about how Design Challenges work? Want to learn more about how we assist teachers? Ready to work with us? Find the information you need here.