College of Education curriculum studies students set sail

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Jennifer L. Parks, (808) 956-0416
Communications Coordinator, College of Education
Posted: Oct 10, 2011

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Education Department of Curriculum Studies students sailed to Molokaʻi this summer as part of the department’s EDCS 630 Cultural Diversity and Education graduate course, which focused on the theme of Visions and Voyaging.
In partnership with the college’s Get FIT (A Future in Teaching) program and the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS), the three-day voyage included an outreach event with faculty from Maui Community College, Molokaʻi High School, and nine UH Mānoa College of Education curriculum studies students.
The focus of this year’s EDCS 630 was the critical examination and application of multicultural education. In collaboration with the PVS, students developed a voyaging curriculum that integrated navigation with the content areas of math, language arts, science and social studies to be used for Hōkūleʻa’s worldwide voyage in 2013.
“This experience looked at education broadly and critically, helping teachers to envision what education should look like to serve all students,” said Associate Professor Patricia Halagao. “Addressing the need for educational reform, the worldwide voyage will be a catalyst for change in curriculum development and pedagogy.”
During the weekend voyage, the education and navigation communities continued to work together to develop a critical and culturally responsive unit plan. Participants have already begun to make connections in and out of the classroom, which is part of the course’s culminating goal to educate the children of Hawaiʻi and worldwide.
In an original reflection poem by College of Education graduate student and Kamehameha teacher, Anna Lee Lum, she writes, “Steeped in knowledge of our past, guided by the wisdom of our ancestors/ We envision our future together.”

For more information, visit: http://www.coe.hawaii.edu/about/stories/EDCS_630