Take off your teacher hat, put on your learner hat, & join in the fun!

Constructing Modern Knowledge is a glorious learning adventure distinguished by the learning community it creates and has sustained over fourteen years. CMK is fueled by people power, not vendors, sponsors, or an exhibit hall. The educators who gather in Manchester, NH each August set the standard for what learning-by-doing can be with learners of any age.

Our great friend and beloved children’s author/illustrator Peter Reynolds riding a cardboard tricycle made by CMK 10 participants and speaking at the first CMK. Peter has been with us since the beginning and designed the CMK logo.

Lots of people talk about teachers as learners, communities of practice, or “disrupting” the hierarchical structure of teachers and learners, but this is realized at every single Constructing Modern Knowledge institute. Guest speakers are not only invited to share their remarkable accomplishments, talent, expertise, wit, and wisdom, but also to learn from the example of the educators gathered at CMK that things need not be as they seem in schools. Teachers are creative, confident, competent, and represent the future of learning – not an obstacle. One of the many positive outcomes of CMK is the number of prominent progressive educators who came “to speak,” and left our institute with the realization that computational technologies can amplify human potential in a fashion wholly consistent with the most learner-centered traditions. (I still can’t believe the guest speakers we’ve enjoyed at CMK over 14 years!)

Tracy Rudzitis, veteran CMK alum Janet Gray-McKennis, and Jaymes Dec at CMK 2014

Constructing Modern Knowledge would be impossible without the friends who form our faculty and the friends we have made along the way. Since Constructing Modern Knowledge seeks to model learning-by-doing, with cutting edge technology, and without instruction, our faculty is comprised of super ninjas generously contributing their love, talent, knowledge, and just the necessary amount of information – and not a drop more – to support participants in their project development.

Josh Burker, guest speaker Mark Frauenfelder, and Marsha Stewart at CMK 2012

I would say that we operate like a family, except that we never fight or disappoint each other. With a subtle point in the direction of a project group or a raised eyebrow, our team of faculty superheroes swing into action, knowing just what is needed to help participants think about thinking and solve their own problems.

Brian Smith holding court at CMK 2011

With the exception of Cynthia Solomon, the mother of educational computing, Sylvia Martinez, the CMK den mother, and Janine Maletsky who we coaxed out of retirement, our entire faculty – including Josh Burker, Jaymes Dec, Tracy Rudzitis, Brian Smith, and Amy Dugré – are not only the finest educators I know working in schools, but they were all once Constructing Modern Knowledge participants as well!

Cynthia Solomon and Marsha Stewart at CMK 2011

But, as much as we rely on our magnificent faculty, Constructing Modern Knowledge would not be possible without the participation of great educators like you, committed to inventing the future of education. One way to assess the impact of Constructing Modern Knowledge is the number of educators who return for a second, third, fifth, seventh, or in the case of Marsha Stewart, tenth year. These educators report that they receive new knowledge, develop new skills, and generate enough sustenance to launch next school year’s learning adventures into uncharted territory.

Join us for exciting projects, riveting guest speakers, meat on swords, tons of hard fun, secret ice cream, a new project pajama party and the learning adventure of a lifetime this July 11-14, 2023 at Constructing Modern Knowledge! Registration fees increase on June 1st.