Constructing Modern Knowledge Online

Episode 26 – Carla Rinaldi, Edith Ackermann, and Gary Stager in Conversation

Episode 26 – Carla Rinaldi, Edith Ackermann, and Gary Stager in Conversation

This recently found video features insights from Professor Carla Rinaldi and Dr. Edith Ackerman. Rinaldi emphasizes the Reggio Emilia approach, illustrating with a story about young children learning through projects and peer interactions. Ackerman discusses the intersection of design, play, and aesthetic in learning. Both stress the value of iterative learning, documentation, and the teacher’s role in creating a dynamic, supportive learning environment. Additionally, the conversation addresses the importance of projects, meaningful documentation in education, advocating for a holistic and reflective approach to teaching and learning.

Episode 25 – Will Richardson in Conversation with Gary Stager

Episode 25 – Will Richardson in Conversation with Gary Stager

In this conversation, Gary and Will discuss the complexities and pressing issues faced by educators in the modern world. They reflect on past educational practices, the impacts of the pandemic, and the importance of prioritizing the well-being of students over rigid adherence to curricula and standardized testing. The dialogue critiques the ill-advised educational methods adopted during the pandemic, such as hybrid classrooms and policing of student behaviors during remote learning. The conversation transitions to broader societal issues, including the political and social divides affecting education, authoritarian tendencies, and the controversies surrounding artificial intelligence in schools. The speakers emphasize the necessity for educators to vote and act in their own interests, suggesting potentially drastic measures like strikes to advocate for better conditions. They also touch on the problematic nature of current educational fads and policies, urging a return to child-centered learning approaches and questioning assumptions about literacy and learning crises. The discussion explores how schools and educators can better respond to meta-crises like climate change and biodiversity loss. They conclude by contemplating a radical thought exercise about redesigning the educational system to maximize quality learning within a limited timeframe, acknowledging the challenges against a backdrop of political and social turmoil. Throughout, the importance of empathy, teacher autonomy, and genuine engagement with students is highlighted as key to fostering a meaningful educational experience.

Episode 24 – Sylvia Martinez Speaks With Ken Kahn About His New AI Book

Episode 24 – Sylvia Martinez Speaks With Ken Kahn About His New AI Book

In this episode, Dr. Kahn discusses his journey with AI, including his work in generative AI, ToonTalk programming, and his focus on enabling children to integrate AI into their projects. The conversation highlights the book’s focus on engaging students with chatbots to create interactive web apps, educational simulations, and storytelling exercises. Dr. Kahn shares specific examples, from simple web apps to complex, curriculum-related simulations and structured conversations.

The discussion underscores the potential for AI to enhance project-based learning, foster computational thinking, and support creative explorations in various educational contexts.

Episode 22 – Rethinking Tinkering with Gary Stager

Episode 22 – Rethinking Tinkering with Gary Stager

After about fifteen years of the maker movement and the adoption of makerpsaces in education, Dr. Gary Stager, co-author of Invent to Learn – Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom, has some thoughts on tinkering. This keynote reviews lessons learned and launches educators towards a future students deserve.

Episode 21 – Alfie Kohn at CMK 2022

Episode 21 – Alfie Kohn at CMK 2022

Fearless educator, author, and guest speaker Alfie Kohn has been featured at Constructing Modern Knowledge on three separate occasions, including our very first year. Here is a a recording of his most recent CMK conversation.

Crossover Episode 20 – Tinkering 15 for 15

Crossover Episode 20 – Tinkering 15 for 15

Ryan Jenkins of the Wonderful Idea Co. recently sat down with Constructing Modern Knowledge founder Gary Stager to discuss the lessons learned from fifteen years of leading his summer institute.

Episode 19 – Jonathan Kozol at Constructing Modern Knowledge

Episode 19 – Jonathan Kozol at Constructing Modern Knowledge

Jonathan Kozol is a National Book Award-winner who abandoned his Rhodes Scholarship to teach in the still largely segregated Boston Public Schools following news of the murder of Goodman, Schwerner, and Chaney in Mississippi. He was subsequently fired for reading a Langston Hughes poem to fourth graders. That experience led to his first book, Death at an Early Age in 1967. Kozol has been urging each of us to do the right thing ever since, including as a guest speaker at Constructing Modern Knowledge!