(WATERBURY, CONN. – May 21, 2009) - Wallace Middle School teachers Mel Rusnov and Lisa Camilleri brought the professional world into the classroom and made it real for their students as they guided them through a bridge-design competition this spring. The project began with students’ working as teams to design and build bridges within a specific time and budget and ended with their work’s being judged by City Engineer for the City of Waterbury, Mark Pronovost.Rusnov, a former civil engineer who now teaches science, and Camilleri, a former business owner who now teaches math, created work teams that mimicked the organization of a small business.. Each group member assumed the specific role of project director, accountant, architect, carpenter, or transportation chief.
Pronovost met with the top 13 teams, asking questions about their design and construction methods. At the end of the morning, he had scored all the bridges and chose the top three. The winners said they were excited to have been selected by a distinguished guest.
Students experienced the pressure of a tight deadline and budget constraints. Groups were allotted budgets of $1.55 million and given a deadline of 10 days in which to complete bridges according to competition rules and in compliance with building codes. For lumber they used toothpicks; for welding material, white glue—which they “purchased” from a warehouse set up in the classroom.
They experienced setbacks, too. Even after students laid out their designs and drew construction plans, many discovered the need to revise and sometimes even scrap their original ideas. Within teams, respect was gained and lost, friendships tested, and tempers—sometimes—ignited.
When Rusnov and Camilleri threw real-life situational curves at the teams, such as abruptly doubling prices of materials, charging large fees for rental of special equipment, or inconveniently shutting down the warehouse for inventory or vacation, students had to learn to react to the obstacles. The “life is not fair” adage took on new meaning.
Finally, the students experience the feedback of an objective critic when Pronovost judged their work. Pronovost said his work is not glamorous, but it is both satisfying and rewarding. He said: “Your cell phones last a year or two; your TVs, maybe five to 10; cars, 20 years, with luck. The work of civil engineers lasts for hundreds of years.” He asked students to consider that the roads they drive on, the water they drink, the sewers they use, and the buildings of Waterbury “are all the work of civil engineers.
After the judging, Pronovost quipped that he was much more comfortable at his Kendrick Avenue computer work station than facing a large crowd of middle schoolers.
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Photo: Justin Nasario, Mel Rusnov, Mark Pronovost, Durell Anderson, Odalys Galarza