For the past decade, I’ve dedicated myself to teaching and developing an Aloha ʻĀina curriculum at Waiʻanae Intermediate. It is my mother, Natalie Oana, who taught science through a Hawaiian lens at Hālau kū mana who inspired me to become a teacher. In my first year of teaching, when I found myself at Waiʻanae Intermediate with no curriculum, I thought back on what she taught me. I took a lot of professional development classes and began to include moʻolelo in my lessons, and began to see a considerable difference in student engagement.
Whose Bread Is It Anyway?
Ever scroll through LinkedIn and feel like it’s the movie, Groundhog Day? Same creator, same viral posts. 1,000 comments every time.
What’s his secret? AI-generated content, including his video avatar explaining the daily showcased app.
Picture an AI-assistant chef in your content kitchen, perfectly chopping thoughts, accurately seasoning sentences, and plating paragraphs in just the way your diners like it.
But how much creativity is there in the work if you’re only adjusting settings and hitting “generate” until credits run out? Did the creator infuse any of his personality to craft something unique?
Honoring Excellence in Social Justice Education: Announcing the 2025-2026 Hawai‘i Social Justice Educator Award Recipients
Since its inception in 2018, the Social Justice Education in Hawai‘i Project has been empowering teachers to affirm and uplift the diverse student populations of Hawai‘i. Established through the generosity of Jana and Howard Wolff, and led by a partnership between the Hanahauʻoli School Professional Development Center and the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa College of Education, the multiyear project has included numerous professional development workshops on topics such as antibias education, civic education, engaging in challenging and controversial conversations with students, place-based and culturally relevant learning, and much more. The program likewise offers opportunities for teacher networking and collaboration, university-level coursework for credit, and an award to recognize and uplift educators who are advancing social justice in their schools and communities.
99 Perspectives on Progressive Philosophy & Pedagogy
In June 2021, the same year that the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa College of Education’s Progressive Philosophy & Pedagogy masters degree program was started, the Hanahau‘oli School Professional Development Center launched this blog to create a collective thinkspace for progressive educators, in hopes of furthering the worldwide progressive education movement. In just a few short years, our readership has grown to over 3,600 educators, philosophers, scholars and community members. In celebration of our 99th post, we share a few of our favorite reflections by Hanahau‘oli School’s faculty and staff below.
From the PD to Practice: The Hidden Factors in Professional Development Success
In 2024, I completed my doctoral research publishing a dissertation titled, “Predicting Professional Development Learning Transfer with the Theory of Planned Behavior: A Non-Exploratory Correlational Study.” This study was inspired by years working with anti-bias educators around the world. In this blog I share how my recent research revealed that the successful transfer of professional development learning to classroom practice depends heavily on school culture, particularly individual and shared beliefs about teaching and learning. I also learned, that when a school's pedagogical approach aligns with the training content, teachers are more likely to implement new strategies, but culture alone isn't enough.
Revisiting the Connection Between Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences and Progressive Education Assessment Practices
At the end of the Fall 2024 semester, I was reminded of the wonderful impact that Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences (introduced to me close to 25 years ago) continues to have on my teaching practice. It was the last day of class for the second cohort of our University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Education Progressive Philosophy and Pedagogy masters students. In addition to the incredible amount of reading, writing, and dialogue they had engaged in over the course of the semester, the group was invited by my co-teacher (Dr. Chad Miller) and I to give a presentation of learning using a modality that would best communicate and illustrate their growth. In the presentation criteria we encouraged them to use a medium that would, “capture the spirit of who you are becoming as a progressive educator and philosopher.” It was a small parameter embedded into this end of semester assessment activity, a piece of criteria that ultimately yielded a very moving set of deliverables.
The Joy of Art Experience: Designing School Structures for Sustaining Progressive Education Teaching & Learning for Children & Adults
At a Friday assembly in December, Hanahau‘oli School children were enthusiastically introduced to a brand new Joy of Art experience that would take place in January 2025. The children’s excitement was felt throughout the day as they talked with one another at recess and at lunch, sharing their reactions to the new learning opportunities presented and articulating their preferences of which Joy of Art experience they were most interested in with their friends. That night, children went home and continued to talk with their parents and caregivers about the two days of choice-driven learning they would get to participate in at the start of the new year.
Progressive Education Reflections on the Professional Development of Teachers
To kick off the start of the new year and semester, I had the opportunity to participate on a speaker panel at the Hawaii Education Association’s annual summit held on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, 9:30 am – 130 pm at the downtown YWCA. The Hawaii Education Association (HEA) chose to focus this year’s educator summit on topics critical to the current moment: teacher recruitment and retention.
Teaching and Modeling Resilience
Resilience is a topic we hear a lot about these days, and we all have a general understanding of what it is - but how do we teach it to young people? We intuitively know how significant resilience is when it comes to overall well-being and success in life – but the skills that make up resilience aren’t always obvious. The good news is that resilience can be learned and can be influenced by both internal and external factors that, as teachers, we do have some control over.
Progressive Education 101: A Timeline of Selected Definitions, Plus Some Essential TexTS
In a recent breakout session at the Progressive Education Network (PEN) conference held at Wickliffe Progressive in Columbus, Ohio, one of the participants asked the group for a resource to help them learn more about progressive education’s defining characteristics and essential features. While no one in the room wanted to offer “a single fixed definition”–which, as Alfie Kohn (2015) explains, is “fitting in light of [the movement’s] reputation for resisting conformity and standardization” (p.2)–everyone did agree that a collection of progressive education definitions would be helpful for the work ahead. This blog is a small attempt to get started on such a resource, but is by no means finished or complete. It is a definite work in progress!
He Kauwā Ke Kanaka: The Door Opens Inward - Hawai‘i’s Role in World Healing
The first ever He Aliʻi Ka ʻĀina Educator Conference was held last month, on October 10 and 11. Designed to serve as a transformative professional development opportunity for the greater community to learn more about Hawaiian Culture-Based Education (HCBE) – the initiative aimed to engage participants in learning how to integrate the principles of aloha ʻāina (love of the land) and ea (sovereignty, life) into educational practices.
The Progressive Education Association 1937 – On Teacher Happiness
Established in 1919, the Progressive Education Association was a networked group of individuals who were dedicated to the spread of progressive education in American public schools up until 1955. This included expanding the reach of progressive education philosophy and pedagogy and engaging members in critical discussions about the social and political issues of the day. Eugene Randolph Smith was the first PEA president, and he helped to put into writing the overall objectives of the Association.
Kids Voting Hawai‘i Student Leaders Prepare for the 2024 General Election
In this edition of Progressive Philosophy and Pedagogy: A Blog for Progressive Educators the editors feature a team of Punahou School high school students who are spearheading Kids Voting Hawai‘i. In preparation for the USA’s 2024 General Election, we were interested in learning more about this youth-driven civic education initiative as it exemplifies the power and potential of a 21st Century progressive education.
Hanahau‘oli Guided Learning Tours: International Visitor Insights and Take Aways
Hanahau‘oli School continues to strengthen its role as a leader in the progressive education movement by increasing its capacity as a “living laboratory,” which facilitates the “scientific” study of teaching and educational excellence. In partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, College of Education, the living laboratory at Hanahau‘oli builds on the school’s already established Professional Development School (PDS) model (Goodlad, 1984) to promote the “simultaneous renewal of schools” and the “education of educators.” This partnership creates a school culture characterized by inquiry, systemic exploration, creativity, and data-driven discovery for the purpose of learning more about ourselves, one another, our place (environment), and the art of teaching (design, instruction and assessment). The living laboratory at Hanahau‘oli helps to increase the school and university’s prominence as sought after destinations for educators, researchers, scholars, and innovators who want to collaborate on educational improvement and the creation of a better future society.
Launching the He Aliʻi Ka ʻĀina Educator Conference
Hawaiʻi is a truly unique and special place. Those fortunate enough to live here have a kuleana (responsibility) to care for the ʻāina (land), to support their kaiāulu (community), and to respect the host culture and Native Hawaiian people. But how does one truly learn about this special place, its culture, and its people? While signs, flyers, and public service announcements offer some insight, these touchpoints often remain superficial. To cultivate a deeper understanding and appreciation, it is essential to implement culture-based and place-based education in our schools.
Building a Community of Social Justice Educators
Early in 2020, I enrolled in Leaders of Social Justice in Education: Theory to Practice, a course taught by Dr. Amber Makaiau, Dr. Patricia Halagao, and Dr. Ger Thao. This course was offered through the University of Hawaiʻi (UH) at Mānoa College of Education (COE) in collaboration with the Hanahauʻoli School Professional Development Center as part of an initiative to advance social justice education in Hawaiʻi. This initiative, the Social Justice in Education Project, aims to grow local educators’ capacity for educating children and youth to be active participants in a diverse democracy, and is made possible by the generosity and support of Jana and Howard Wolff.
Exploring A Progressive Educator’s Stance on the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Schools
In 1937, Louisa Palmer wrote to the Hanahau’oli School community:
Progressive education..is a moving, dynamic, changing education – not a theory or a system proved and therefore static, but a living thing, growing, continuously having to change because of the three great changing elements with which we deal – children, environment and civilization or culture. This should not indicate instability or following fads, nor change of fundamental principles. But it does indicate a readiness to accept a new viewpoint when the need for it arises; it does indicate watching life and children alertly – not passively as so much former education has done (Palmer, 1937).
The Promise of Culturally Responsive Teaching and Geography in Social Studies And Beyond
The following blog post provides a brief summary of Parker Tuttle's final research project for the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM) College of Education (COE) Master of Education in Teaching (MEdT) program. This two-year, field-based program is designed for those pursuing a career in teaching who have earned prior baccalaureate degrees in fields other than education. His project is titled, “Tracing the Loss of Native America: Integrating Geography and Culturally Responsive Teaching into Secondary Social Studies in Hawaiʻi.”
Reflections From A Teacher Philosopher: Integrating Care Ethics and Epistemology into the Work We Do In Schools
At the end of each school year, I always look back and reflect. I think about what was learned, how our community formed, and the unforgettable moments I want to celebrate. While there were many things I remember about this particular year (2023-24), it was a moment during the last three weeks of school that sparked the inspiration for this blog. As a teacher and philosopher, I’ll share what I learned about the powerful ways in which “care ethics and epistemology” can be integrated into the work we do in schools. I’ll also make some suggestions for how we can promote the development of care ethics and epistemology in our students and lay the foundation for a thriving and meaningful classroom community like the one that I was able to cultivate and nurture with my students during this school year.
Representation Milestone: Supporting the 2024 Debut of the First Filipinx History Curriculum Course in the United States
Talofa lava, ‘o Kiara-Jeané Kamāli‘i Alcaide ko‘u inoa. Ako ay isang guro sa DreamHouse ‘Ewa Beach Public Charter High School. Hi, my name is Kiara-Jeané Kamāli‘i Alcaide. I teach at DreamHouse ‘Ewa Beach Public Charter High School. I write this blog to share that despite the number of current efforts that are being made in the United States to restrict what students learn about the diverse history of this country – I am proud to be the first public charter school teacher in the state and country at-large to teach a Filipino history course to my students next fall. Part of a larger project aimed at integrating Filipino history and culture into the K-12 American school system, I am part of an inaugural cohort of teachers who are now being prepared to be instructors for this course. In this blog, I reflect on what this experience means to me both professionally and personally.