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.