Issue #3 • Spring 2009
N e ws
Who We Are
The mission of The Great Lakes
Constructivist Consortium is to advocate
for learner-centered environments that are
experiential, equitable, and ecological.
Editors
»  Susan Ballje   »  Anne Nordholm
2008–09 GLCC Leadership
Director of Membership  »  Kim Thiesen
Director of Communication  »  Leo Alvarez
Director of Community Partnerships   »   Josh Zimmers
Director of Sustainability  »  David Coyle
GLCC Facilitators
Bastante Educational Services, LLC
2217 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53207
414-294-3939
Manuscript Submissions
ALL GLCC members are invited to submit
articles and photos to be included in upcoming
GLCC issues. Fully edited submissions of
no more than 500 words must be
electronically submitted to anne.nordholm@
bastantemilwaukee.com.
The GLCC News Summer issue will
focus on School/Community Partnerships.
Submissions are due by May 27th.
Welcome and Thanks
to New GLCC Sponsors
»  D. Wienke, Glenview, IL
»  Laurie and Ray Wienke, Libertyville, IL
GLCC Website
h t t p ://w w w. g r e a t l a k e s c c . o r g
ructivist
s C on s t
ke
La N
Great
W E
GLCC
glcc_newsletter_3_final.indd 1
C on s t ru c t ivi s t C on sor t ium
In this issue…
The Spring GLCC Newsletter is focused A constructivist learning
on orientation. According to the diction-
community is intentional about
ary, orientation is the ability to locate
oneself in one’s environment with refer- orientation practices in order
ence to time, place, and people; one’s
to accommodate learners’
position in relation to true north; the
ascertainment of one’s true position, prior school experiences
as in a novel situation, with respect to
and assumptions about how
attitudes, judgments, etc.
learning happens.
Orientation is vital to the success of
innovative initiatives. Yet, too few organi-
advises us on the necessity of telling
zations (including schools) provide their
orienting stories through marketing and
members with the appropriate orienta-
social media. Sue McKenzie reminds us
tion to ease their way and facilitate
that mental health considerations inform
that success. A constructivist learning
how every interaction with learners
community is intentional about orienta-
affects orientation. The Journal Sentinel
tion practices in order to accommodate
recently featured an article on Audubon
learners’ prior school experiences
High School that provides a different
and assumptions about how learning
orientation to school community behav-
happens. Orientation processes can
ior expectations through restorative
communicate to learners the expecta-
justice. Susan Ballje offers examples of
tion of responsibility and independence
orienteering activities that can provide
regarding their own learning. Failure to
students with clarity about the transi-
provide orientation results in disorienta-
tions from middle school to high school.
tion — not an optimal state for learning.
The piece by Sean Michael Dargan
The authors in this issue of the GLCC about the Many Faces of Constructiv-
newsletter, offer many navigational tools ism Conference offers readers a first
to better serve an orientation process. glimpse of the upcoming event guar-
Co Nancy Frank’s article promotes under- anteed to provide the community with
ns
standing about constructivist program an orientation toward constructivism.
or
t iu m
components like service learning via Even the Calendar of Events presents
aquaponics. Michael Wridt describes many opportunities for folks to learn
how the recruitment, enrollment, and more about the GLCC and constructivist
hiring practices of a school offer myriad
opportunities for orientation. Spreenkler
practices in order to navigate their own
professional journeys.
3/31/2009 2:04:42 PM
 Great Lakes Constructivist Consortium News
The Dance of Change
The following excerpt is taken from The
Dance of Change, by Peter Senge, et al.
(New York: Doubleday/Currency, 1999)
Failure to rethink our
enterprises will leave us little relief
from our current predicaments:
rising turbulence causing us rising
stress; increasing disconnection and
internal competitiveness; people
working harder, rather than learning
We have failed if we have not provided a potential staff member or student with
enough information about our school that they can make a decision about becoming
a part of our learning community.
Orientation During Staff and Student Enrollment
by Michael Wridt
The foundational premise of
constructivism is that learners actively
construct their own knowledge by
anchoring new information to preexisting
knowledge. Staff and students have the
opportunity to exercise initiative, take
personal responsibility, and be in control
of their learning. Inevitably, this comes
down to choice and voice.
Between a stimulus and a response
humans have the freedom to choose
based on their self-awareness,
imagination, conscience and
independent will. Additionally, new
information provided prior to the
response will aid in the choice on how to
voice the response.
The first opportunity we have as a school
to provide both staff and students a
glcc_newsletter_3_final.indd 2
how to work smarter; and increas-
ingly intractable problems beyond
the reach of any individual or organi-
zation. If you are … someone at any
level concerned deeply about these
challenges, then you face a daunting
task. In effect, you are engaged in
a great venture of exploration, risk,
discovery and change, without any
comprehensive maps for guidance.
Actually, for most of human history,
intrepid explorers have set out on
their journeys of discovery without
comprehensive maps. … No one
choice and voice about their learning is
during the enrollment process. Inland
Seas’ staff and student enrollment
process provides as much information
as possible through a collaborative
process, so that potential staff and
students can make an educated choice
about joining our learning community.
This process is designed to allow
potential enrollees the opportunity to
understand our vision and mission and
how we manifest these on a day-to-
day basis. The time spent on this is
extensive.
Our hiring process is conducted
collaboratively with all potential staff
over a 2 day period for a total of 6 to 8
hours. Our student enrollment process
is also conducted collaboratively with
a combination of group and individual
expected them to provide more than
rough guidance. Yet, however imper-
fect, maps and guides have been
among humankind’s most treasured
artifacts. … Not surprisingly, the first
atlas makers, who gathered and
collected those charts and notes
into books and portfolios, changed
history. …
Without better maps, it is extremely
unlikely that organizational change
efforts will ever sustain themselves.
Each new adventure will be the first.
(pages 3-5)
activities over several contact days. We
believe this to be time well spent.
We have failed if we have not
provided a potential staff member
or student with enough information
to make the conscious choice. As
Henry David Thoreau said “I know of
no more encouraging fact than the
unquestionable ability of man to elevate
his life by conscious endeavor.” Inland
Seas believes that the staff and student
enrollment process can help individuals
make a decision about becoming a part
of our learning community.
Michael Wridt is Vice-Prinicpal and Lead
Teacher at Inland Seas High School.
3/31/2009 2:04:42 PM

by Susan Ball je
Orienteering in Schools
M any years ago, Grand
Avenue Middle
School was growing into a
high school program within
MPS. Since most students
came out of the middle
school and returned to the
same building with many
of the same friends, the
challenge became: What’s
different about high school?
and What changes from 8th to
9th grade? While there was
an 8th grade graduation and
summer vacation, as well as
strong warnings from sin-
cere 8th grade teachers and
families … it became clear
that something must be in
place to announce, “You
are here, now!”
Several orientation sessions, called
“Welcome to High School!”, were
offered in the fall to take students into
this new place. The intention was for
9th graders to become more respon-
sible, older and wiser, accepting of
bigger challenges, and better prepared
for their future. But without a com-
prehensive re-orientation throughout
the year students frequently spoke
of high school as just like middle
school. They joked and played with all
the vigor of those early years! When
students visited their former middle
school “families”, they became aware
that while middle school kids were
younger, many of their “high school”
friends still acted the same way.
Adults soon realized that students
needed orientation about what was
different about the current context,
and what did their future hold for
them? In addition, staff needed to
be very intentional about design-
ing relevant experiences to get them
glcc_newsletter_3_final.indd 3
Orienteering
A race across unfamiliar territory
using maps and compass.
there. Expectations for change need
to be included in orientation activities
along with clarity in the mind’s of the
adults.
Planning for further down the road,
Grand Ave High School staff began
creating 11th & 12th grade courses
that were offered on Marquette Uni-
versity campus. When staff walked
students through the grounds for an
Walking through the
Marquette University campus
for a tour, a student from Grand
Avenue High School shrieked,
“OMG, I am not ready
for college!”
Issue #3 • Spring 2009
initial college tour, there was
an apparent awakening.
“OMG, I am not ready for
college!” one shrieked. And
the excitement began!
In collaboration with MU
admissions, orientation into
Grand Ave High School
was changed to experiences
which included:
»  You are here!
»  Where do I go for help?
»  How do I read a map?
Through the Grand Avenue
Institute class taught by
Karen Green, each student
participated in a campus
treasure hunt exploring
areas that would be impor-
tant to them throughout their high
school experience. Orienteering had
really begun! Many got lost and found
new friends, the girls adjusted their
clothes to look older, the boys settled
down to blend in, and the staff worked
really hard to make the “Welcome
to High School” an adventure where
teens would know life is different.
Our challenge and discovery as
we think about the purpose of ori-
entation in schools is to realize there
needs to be a sense of place (not just
a building) where each of us belongs,
knowledge about what is expected, an
advocate to sort the new experiences,
including loss and changes in relation-
ships, and a sense of curiosity while
feeling safe enough to take risks. IF
we are constructivist, orienteering stu-
dents continues throughout their high
school years because there is always
unfamiliar territory that will need a
map and a compass, while they learn
to be their own guide.
3
3/31/2009 2:04:43 PM
 Great Lakes Constructivist Consortium News
b y S u e Mc K e n z i e
What Students Have to Say
T he following is a brief summary of
ideas that teens and young adults
shared with InHealth WI through a
process of filmed interviews and from
the five years of experience working
with teachers throughout the coun-
try. Many high school students suffer
from mental health challenges. We
need to learn how to support them.
A Beliefs Check-Up
» The teens and young adults inter-
viewed spoke with unanimity when
they said, “Believe our pain is real.”
Students look for teachers who under-
stand that if given the power and
choice, no child or teen would choose
to live their school years in suspension
rooms, anxious silence, or on the side-
lines of learning. This simply means
that we need to find a way to say, “I
acknowledge your pain.”
» Acknowledging does not mean
understanding. In fact, adults must
understand that we “fly blind” in
many situations of troubled children
and teens. Spending our limited
energy trying to discover the “whys”
of a student’s behavior, while helpful
if it shines light on strategies for the
classroom, often becomes a dead-end
full of the barriers of confidentiality,
denial, and dysfunctional educational,
medical or family systems.
» Confronting student emotional
pain is not easy. As the grown-ups in
the room, we need to remember, “It is
not about me.” Keeping our focus on
the students’ experience, allows us to
make decisions regarding strategies
to assess, forge positive connections,
and provide learning opportunities
that offer possibilities for incremental
successes.
» One problematic belief is that we
glcc_newsletter_3_final.indd 4
don’t always know if our efforts are
having a positive effect. Healing from
depression related illnesses takes time.
For some it can be a three year path
out of the darkness and for many it is a
lifetime of managing a chronic illness
with all its ups and downs. We must
rely on the knowledge that our efforts
are part of a bigger scheme. Some
teachers might say, “I tried that and
it never made a difference.” Yet, the
teens who told their stories so others
might learn, pointed to the central role
that teachers played in their healing.
Strategies For Engaging Students
During Tough Times
» Employ consistent welcoming
practices. People struggling with
depression related illnesses have
many negative thoughts bathing their
psyche.
» Create regular and consistent time
for addressing conflicts. The learning
process can get side tracked by argu-
ments between student and teacher.
» Create a place in the classroom for
re-grouping to teach proactive self
monitoring and control.
» Communicate with students in
writing. The teens interviewed talked
about the anxiety of conversations
with teachers when they were feel-
ing sad, angry, frustrated, etc. They
remembered just trying to look like
they were OK rather than taking in
what was being said.
» Create opportunities for small suc-
cesses each day.
» Ask students about their learning
environment needs early in the school
year or semester.
» Assess success expectations by
giving small assignments. By start-
ing small we can determine what a
student is capable of accomplishing.
» Maintain realistic expectations
regardless of a “super-star” moment.
Building a sense of personal compe-
tence is a succession of incremental
positives that when strung together can
outweigh consistent internal depressive
messages of being “less than.”
» Try your three - five best teaching
practices in any given situation and
use professional collaboration time to
discuss how they are/are not working.
Following is a list of effective practices
with which to experiment.
1. Watch the tone of voice — this can
be a trigger.
2. Engage the senses to bring a stu-
dent back from darkness.
3. Use (appropriate) humor.
4. After providing a moment of
comfort, offer a diversion, engage
student in a choice.
5. Provide compliments from student
perspective — be very careful with
random empty compliments.
6. Model stress and anger
management.
7. Refer to and connect to the adults
in child’s life. Discover which adult,
in and outside of the school, the
student would turn to if in need.
The teens who were interviewed
made it clear that what they want are
teachers who believe their pain is real
and then offer a safe classroom where
success is possible in small increments
that add up to power over their illness.
Sue McKenzie is the Program Director
for InHealth Wisconsin. http://inhealthwi.
org/
3/31/2009 2:04:43 PM

SUPAR Students Work with Sixteenth Street
Community Health Center to Grow Food
S
By Nancy Frank
tudents at the School for
Urban Planning and Architecture
have partnered with Sixteenth
Street Community Health Center, with
assistance from Growing Power, the
UWM WATER Institute, and Sweet Water
Farm, to build an aquaponic food grow-
ing system in the school.
Aquaponics is an approach to growing
food sustainably in urban areas. Fish
and plants are raised together in a
closed loop system where fish wastes
are naturally converted by bacteria to
provide a form of nitrogen fertilizer for
plants which simultaneously purify the
water for the fish, providing healthy
greens and fish for people to eat.
Locally grown food has a smaller
environmental impact than foods
transported many miles. Because of
SUPAR’s emphasis on sustainable
urban planning, we were eager to have
our students introduced to this option.
Along the way, students are learning
about biochemistry, carpentry, and
energy consumption.
Planning for this effort began a year
ago, when fifteen SUPAR students
toured the Growing Power facility at
55th and Silver Spring. Growing Power
was founded by Will Allen, a former
professional basketball player and a
recent MacArthur Fellowship recipi-
ent. After touring the Growing Power
facility, SUPAR students started their
own vermiculture (worm composting)
operation.
While working with Sixteenth Street
Community Health Center on “testing
the waters” of the Kinnickinnic River a
few weeks later, SUPAR and Sixteenth
Street discovered their shared interest
glcc_newsletter_3_final.indd 5
Sixteenth Street Community Health Center Americorps volunteer, Celeste Verhelst, works with
SUPAR students to build a small aquaponic system in SUPAR’s science room. Students are
learning about construction, biology, chemistry, and energy by growing their own food.
in trying to create a small aquaponic
system at school.
This year, with the critical assistance of
Celeste Verhelst, an Americorps volun-
teer working with Sixteenth Street, that
dream has become a reality. Celeste
and SUPAR students, along with other
volunteers that Celeste has attracted to
the work, have built the system, planted
seeds, and transplanted watercress pur-
chased from Growing Power. The UWM
WATER Institute has donated lake perch
fingerlings. Over the coming months,
those fingerlings will grow. We can’t be
sure that they will reach “fish fry size” by
the middle of June, but we are eager to
see how much they grow and how much
lettuce, spinach, basil, and other greens
we can harvest from the growing trays.
We know that SUPAR is not the only
school to have worked on aquapon-
ics. Fernwood Montesorri has been a
Issue #3 • Spring 2009
leader in getting their students involved.
SUPAR is proud to be part of this grow-
ing trend, offering our students the
opportunity to work on something that
is truly experimental. Everyone in this
field continues to learn new ways of
cutting energy costs and improving the
health and productivity of the plants
and animals in the system. SUPAR is so
grateful to its community partners for
helping make this a reality.
SUPAR is eager to show off our work
to students at other schools and to
community groups. Once we prove our
green thumbs and earn our fins, we
hope to be a resource to community
groups that want to provide high quality
food, locally grown.
Nancy Frank is AICP, Chair Department
of Urban Planning School of Architecture
and Urban Planning University of
Wisconsin--Milwaukee
3/31/2009 2:04:43 PM
 Great Lakes Constructivist Consortium News
Hello, GLCC!
My name is Sean Michael Dargan, and
I am currently helping GLCC plan and
produce the upcoming “The Many Faces
of Constructivism” event on May 21st
2009 at the Milwaukee Public Museum.
Some of you may have met me last
November at the Wisconsin Charter
Schools Association Awards Gala at
Turner Hall; I produced that event,
and had a terrific time doing so! I also
produce the Games+Learning+Society
Conference each summer for the UW-
Madison School of Education.
As the new father of a seven-month-
old daughter, I am only now beginning
to scratch the surface of Wisconsin’s
primary education system, and what it
might mean for my family. I am thrilled to
live in a state with such excellent public
schools, and the closer I look, the more
I am impressed with Wisconsin’s charter
schools. Furthermore, the constructivist
model — though unknown to me as an
educational movement until last year —
resonates deeply, and reminds me most
of how I was taught, both by my parents
and my teachers, all the way up through
college and beyond.
glcc_newsletter_3_final.indd 6
One of the Many Faces
the combined synergy of
The chance to work professionally with everyone together in one space
a group that shares so much of my core
will be truly powerful …
values is genuine treat. I look forward to
helping make “The Many Faces of Con- and what better place for
structivism” a fun, informative, safe and
such a grand event than the
successful event next month. Although
this is technically the second year for the very fun, very interactive,
event, it is the first year that the entire
very constructivist
GLCC will gather together as one large,
unified group (rather than separate, Milwaukee Public Museum!
mini-events). The good work of GLCC
schools and GLCC partners certainly
speaks for itself, but the combined syn-
ergy of everyone being together in one
The Many Faces
space will be truly powerful … and what
better place for such a grand event than
the very fun, very interactive, very con- of Constructivism
structivist Milwaukee Public Museum!
I look forward to seeing all of you on Conference
Thursday, May 21st, 2009!
(Incidentally, my picture might seem odd
for an event producer, but in my “real Thursday, May 21st
job” I am actually a nationally-touring, 2–7 pm
independent musician, songwriter and
Milwaukee Public Museum
band-leader who just happens to live in
Madison!) 800 W. Wells Street
Milwaukee, WI 53233
3/31/2009 2:04:44 PM
 Issue #3 • Spring 2009

Congratulations to Audubon Calen

d
of e v e a r
Technology and Communication GLCC
nts

Center High School! • F i r s t T h u r s day E v e n t s •

“Going In Circles” was featured in the Journal Sentinel
Reservations are required for First Thursday
article on March 16th by By Alan J. Borsuk.
events and can be made by contacting
anne.nordholm@bastantemilwaukee.com
re sults
across MPS this
New approaches, T h u r s day, A p r i l 2 n d
“There is a big push ols, new ap-
spensions. A na- But at some scho Systems Thinking: What Lies
year to reduce su tried, and MPS
am came in last proaches are being Beneath (and Above!)
tional consulting te aged that they ’re
had one of the officia ls are encour
year and said MPS
5–7:30 pm at BASTANTE
rates — maybe getting results.
highest suspension S. 9th St., is 2217 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
the country and Audubon, at 3300
the highest — in taking part in a
one of 16 schools
Milwaukee, WI 53207
ctive and less se- ciples of what is
that more constru program using prin
ps were not being justice. The goal
vere disciplinar y ste ca lled restorative
T h u r s day, M ay 7 t h
ey should be. punish as to get
used as often as th is not so much to
Restorative Justice and
, the number of to make better
Across the system students on paths the Classroom
more than 20%, and the impact
suspensions is down choices, to underst
rough last week. deal w ith people
5–7:30 pm at BASTANTE
according to data th of what they do, to
schools have 2217 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
Teachers at some better — in othe
r words, to learn
not much more ange their ways
Milwaukee, WI 53207
said that means something, to ch
o were suspended out classes for
than that kids wh and not to just sit
nt to the office in
when they were se three days.”
• Other Events •
ing sent back to
the past are now be April 20 –21
class. Wisconsin Charter Schools Conference
Country Springs Hotel
Waukesha, WI

S at u r day, M ay 2 n d
GLCC Conference Orientation Igniting PBL in your Environment!

via Social Media 8:30–12 noon at BASTANTE

2217 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
By Sara Gehl
Milwaukee, WI 53207

S preenkler, LLC is a creative ser-

vices agency that recruits bright,
creative and tech-savvy local college
students, cross-trains them in a variety
of fields — from social media strategies
to web-design and utilizes their talents,
by working on projects with companies
from around the Milwaukee region,
allowing them to gain real world experi-
ence. In turn, companies get fresh, vital
and focused innovation.
Specifically, for the Great Lakes Con-
structivist Consortium, Spreenkler is
heading up a social media campaign
that uses tools such as Facebook,
LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter and Flickr to
increase awareness, build a GLCC on-
line community and inspire people about
why they should attend the Many Faces
of Constructivism, May 21st event com-
ing up at the Milwaukee Public Museum.
The campaign also integrates grassroots
marketing tactics, which involve sneak
preview events leading up to the main
event. The mini-events will be held
throughout the Milwaukee area over
the next 10 weeks. During the sneak
previews, social media tools will be used
to post photos, stream the events live
and give the on-line community a taste
of what is to come, all the while building
suspense and anticipation. Local GLCC
high school students will be involved
T h u r s day, M ay 2 1 s t
The Many Faces of
Constructivism Conference
2–7 pm
Milwaukee Public Museum
800 W. Wells Street
Milwaukee, WI 53233
(See greatlakescc.org for more
information.)
in the campaign to give them hands on
experience using the latest tools in the
areas of social media technologies.
Sara Gehl is Director of Marketing &
Client Services for Spreenkler, LLC.

glcc_newsletter_3_final.indd 7 3/31/2009 2:04:44 PM

 Issue #3 • Spring 2009

Member/Sponsor Form B e n ef i t s of M embe r s h i p

Ye s ! » GLCC Newsletter
» First Thursdays: A forum provided by
I’d like to join the Great Lakes Constructivist Consortium.
the Great Lakes Constructivist Con-
sortium where colleagues and allies

Name (please print)

talk and strategize about issues that
charter schools are confronting. (See

Address
Calendar of Events.) First Thursday
events are reserved for GLCC mem-

City State ZIP

bers. Guests of members are limited
to one event annually. After one free

Phone Email
event, membership fees will apply.
» Eligibility for GLCC Internship program

School
for students
» Constructivist Leadership Training
Please indicate your GLCC Mail this form, along with a check to Program (Co-Directors)
membership level: Great Lakes Constructivist Consortium » Networking/partnerships with like-
Individual Membership — $25 c/o Bastante minded educators across the Great
School/Organization Membership — $100 2217 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. Lakes region.
District Membership — $500 Milwaukee, WI 53207
Sponsors
GLCC Sponsor $
Sponsors will be noted in future newslet-
ters and in the program for the May 2009
Checks are made payable to the Great Lakes Constructivist Consortium, a not-for profit organization. Many Faces of Constructivism Conference.

Milwaukee, WI 53207
2217 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
c/o Bastante
Great Lakes Constructivist Consortium

glcc_newsletter_3_final.indd 8 3/31/2009 2:04:44 PM