Disney's Professional Development Activity
District Professional Development in Literacy
Dept. of Education - Hawaii Content & Performance Standards
National Educational Technology Standards
Nu`uanu School Technology Literacy Benchmarks
A'o like o Nu`uanu or "Learning together at Nu`uanu" is an expression that extends beyond the classroom at Nu`uanu Elementary School in Honolulu, Hawaii. The goal of Project A'o like o Nu`uanu is to promote student learning and understanding of the changing needs and concerns of the Nu`uanu community and the responsible actions which communities must take to plan for their future. As the 21st Century approaches, the children of Hawaii will live in an island state that is threatened by pollution, overpopulation, land development and an ever changing environment.
The students of Nu`uanu School need to be involved with their changing community and yet be mindful of the past as it connects them with the present and their future. To achieve this goal, a partnership with a team of teachers, community leaders and parents, experts from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Nu`uanu Elementary School students, and Roosevelt High School students will first hand explore and learn about the Nu`uanu community including: its history and social, economic, geographic and cultural characteristics. They will use multimedia, video, and telecommunication technology to learn about the following inquiry questions: 1) How has Nu`uanu community changed over time? What are the factors which have brought about these changes? 2) What are the values which best exemplify the Nu`uanu community both past and present? What makes our community unique andworth preserving? 3) What is a viable and meaningful vision for the future of the community?
Evaluation of the project will include a community sharing and assessment of: 1) a student produced video documentary and multimedia presentations about the Nu`uanu community 2) electronic portfolios which demonstrate student knowledge and skills acquired through the project 3) teacher, student and community evaluation of project data about the uses of community resources and technology to promote student learning.
Significance
Project A'o like o Nu`uanu is significant because it is a model of systemic educational reform. The project demonstrates 1) how students can be intimately involved in determining the scope and depth of curriculum and learning as students identify and collaboratively solve issues relevant to the Nu`uanu community; 2) how a wide variety of community resources can be used to promote authentic and collaborative student learning as students explore the historical, social cultural, environmental, geographical, and economical issues of their community; and 3) how technology can be used to expand the way we assess and account for student learning.
Specifically, through Project A'o like o Nu`uanu, Nu`uanu students become historians for the Nu`uanu community. They will be engaged in archival research of Hawaiian history, present day research on the Internet and multimedia/video resources, field research and the documentation of oral and visual history from the people of Nu`uanu. Students will study and develop understanding about how Nu`uanu has successfully adapted from a rural to suburban community and, through a video documentary and multimedia presentations, students will preserve the past, share the present and plan for the future of Nu`uanu. Project A'o like o Nu`uanu exemplifies the development of meaningful and relevant work that engages students in their learning and empowers them to make significant and meaningful connections between what they learn and care about to the real world that exists just outside their classroom walls. As members of a team, students and teachers will build links between Nu`uanu's schoolwide themes of interactions and change and the real life issues which face the Nu`uanu community.
By interacting with primary resources in the community, children are actively constructing new knowledge and by not having information lectured to them. This strategy incorporates the "constructionism" theory into learning. They are engaged in "constructing" personally meaningful artifacts and collecting information in their own electronic portfolios.
Demographics
Nu`uanu School was founded in September, 1960. The school is unique in design with multi-unit one-story redwood buildings. Nu`uanu School is nestled in Nu`uanu Valley amid the rising cliffs of the Koolau Mountains and commands a view of Honolulu Harbor to the south and the summit of the Pali to the north. The physical setting makes the school appealing, safe and wholesome - the perfect environment for learning. Within the 400 students in Kindergarten through grade six that the school services, various ethnic groups represented in the population: Asian, Pacific Islander, Caucasian, African American, Hispanic and others. In general, the community is comprised of middle income families with both parents working. Families in the community reside in single dwelling homes, extended family residences, rentals or townhouses with more than fifty percent of our children residing outside of our district.
Background History
Cradled in the lush Nu`uanu Valley amongst the rising cliffs of the Koolaus, rests Nu`uanu Elementary School. It commands a sweeping view of the Honolulu shoreline to the south and the mist shrouded summit of the Pali to the north. As it lies peacefully beneath brilliant rainbows and soft drifts of the rain, few would guess its turbulent history. Nu`uanu School was once destined to be built on a two-acre parcel of land adjacent to Queen Emma's Summer Palace, which was the site of the "Battle of Nu`uanu." There, in 1795, Kamehameha I marched his army of 16,000 men and defeated Kalanikupule, Chief of Oahu. This historic battle united all the islands under one ruler in domestic and foreign affairs.
For the past six years through School Community-Based Management, Nu`uanu has focused on the development of curriculum instruction and assessment strategies which empower children to become self-directed, independent learners who are capable of effectively addressing real-life issues and concerns. The support of school administration, faculty, parents, community and state agencies for this type of teaching and learning is systemic and based on a clearly articulated vision for our children. The school's leadership and organizational structure provides teachers, parents and community members with a variety of opportunities to learn about and actively support the type of activities embodied in Project A'o like o Nu`uanu.
Feasibility
Through Project A'o like o Nu`uanu, Nu`uanu seeks to further transform curriculum, teaching and learning to be even more authentic, collaborative and reflective of the challenges students will face today and in the future. The project is designed to push the limits of the traditional design of the school day, requiring that students be involved in-depth field-based learning for extensive periods of time. Through the process of collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data, teachers and students will examine issues of uncensored Internet information, information bias and the power of technology (telecommunications and multimedia production) to influence what is communicated as true information. The project will highlight the effectiveness and efficiency of technology in impacting educational reform. Specifically, using technology to export project results, products or benefits to a broader audience in other schools, Project A'o like o Nu`uanu will disseminate exemplars of: 1) technology integration by students; 2) authentic, collaborative and field-based teaching and learning experiences; and 3) alternative assessment strategies for student learning.
Value
Project A'o like o Nu`uanu will bring significant returns to the educational community by providing a technology-enhanced curriculum and instruction and assessment models. Through the use of technology, students will understand the power of technology to disseminate as well as control information to possess the potential of influencing public perception and understanding of what is. The project will also vividly capture student learning of significance and value that reflects relevant 21st Century learner outcomes. The project will directly impact all students and teachers at Nu`uanu. The evaluation process will generate rich and meaningful data about school and student performance, including how community resources and technology can be used to effectively promote children's learning. Multimedia presentations, a video documentary, electronic portfolios and learning journals will provide measurable outcomes and evidence of 1) student learning; 2) curriculum, instruction and assessment strategies; 3) technology usage; and 4) community partnerships.
Evaluation Plan
The critical questions and objectives of Project A'o like o Nu`uanu will be evaluated as follows:
Critical Question: How effectively did students use community resources to support student learning beyond the limits of the classroom?
The objective of Project A'o like o Nu`uanu is to effectively infuse a wide variety of community resources to help students develop an in-depth understanding about the Nu`uanu community. The project seeks to foster oral, written and technological interaction and communication among students, educators, business and civic leaders, community and environmental organizations, and parents as they build community understanding and consensus about what is valued and worth preserving for the Nu`uanu community.
Data will be gathered by students, teachers and school resource regarding the type and nature of community resources used throughout the project. The data will be presented by students to a panel of community members in December 2002 for an assessment of the quality of community partnerships which occurred during Project A'o like o Nu`uanu.
Critical Question: How effectively did students use technology to facilitate and demonstrate student learning?
A second objective of Project A'o like o Nu`uanu is to facilitate student use of a variety of multimedia, telecommunication and video technology to expand the depth and quality of learning and the creation of powerful student exhibits envisioned by this project. Students will be provided with opportunities to be trained in and use technology as they explore a variety of community/environmental issues, access databases, organize and synthesize information, develop conclusions and present recommendations that impacts on the community's attention.
Data will be collected by students, teachers and community resources on this type and nature of technology used throughout Project A'o like o Nu`uanu. Students will present this data to a panel of community members in December 2002 who will assess the quality of student usage and application of technology.
Critical Question:
How are students involved in formulating and solving problems, working in teams, communicating about their work and reflecting on and revising work in progress? Project A'o like o Nu`uanu seeks to involve students in a process of collaborative inquiry, problem solving and evaluation as they design and carry out an authentic project about the Nu`uanu community. Engaged in a variety of research projects about various aspects of the Nu`uanu community, students will apply what they have learned to create a visionary plan for their community.
A video documentary, electronic portfolios and learning journals will be used as evidences of students' learning. These exhibitions of learning (data) will be evaluated by a community panel when presented by the students in December 2000.
Critical question:
What is the quality of student understanding about the forces driving change in communities and strategies for planning for change?
The 21st Century mandates that students have a deep understanding about the forces, influences and impact of change and, therefore, a critical objective for Project A'o like o Nu`uanu is to facilitate students understandings about change. The project will engage students in an authentic opportunity to gain understandings about the forces of change and to use these understandings to plan for the future growth and development of the Nu`uanu community. Student presentations/exhibits regarding their research, results and recommendations to the Nu'uanu community will be made to a community panel and will be the primary method for evaluating this project objective. Through an inquiry process, based on essential questions of content learning and understanding (being able to do) and the application of this knowledge to generate new questions and answers, the nature and quality of student understandings about change and communities will be assessed. By December, 2002, dimensions and rubrics to assess student understandings and applications of key project concepts will be developed and adopted by teachers, student and the community.
Benchmark Activities:
Project A'o like o Nu`uanu is aimed at building an appreciation for our environment by uniting a community of active and concerned citizens. The project incorporates the Success Compact literacy beliefs, comprehension and critical thinking strategies applied to our land and water resources. In island ecosystems, our drinking water (wai), our most precious natural resource, literally floats on sea water. In this study, students will develop an appreciation for their island environment by gaining an understanding of our water cycle, and learn that they need to protect this fragile supply as they grasp the relationship between the quality of their lives and the quality of our natural resources.
Students will engage in self-initiated inquiry and problem-solving as they are provided opportunities for field experiences and cooperative learning. Following the paths of the streams and pre-historic waterways in Nu`uanu, they will collect specimens for analysis from streams and reefs, conduct scientific investigations, and compare and share their findings with other learners in the global community. In their own valley, within a mesh of disciplines woven in a unique ambiance, they will hear of the importance of water in the chants of the old farmers and in the songs of a more recent past. They will live the legends and myths of the ancients as they follow the waterways in their valley - created overnight perhaps, by the menehune (little people). And they will return to the present and express what they have seen and heard, in their artwork, displayed so that the entire community can be enriched by the experiences of their students. In their study, our students will deal with water issues of the past and present, analyze news articles, and write editorials or letters to the state legislature or other agencies.
With the use of our video and Apple computer technology, students will work on their research projects, data summaries, and art works. Some of the software to support the project include: ClarisWorks 5.0, Netscape, Kid Pix and HyperStudio. The Apple equipment will empower our students with access to telecommunications and the World Wide Web. The video equipment will record visual images of the field trips and interviews. During the second year of the grant implementation, project teachers will assist students to post their literary works, scientific findings, art and other multi-media projects on the Web. Student products will also be shared at technology fairs or at learning centers. During the second and third year, grade levels will participate in this project so that we can realize a K-6 or possibly a K-12 environmental awareness continuum that transcends school boundaries.
With the assistance of the Project A'o like o Nu`uanu grant, we hope to showcase these projects with Department of Education schools so that the vision of developing a learning society is realized. We envision a society where schools use technology to teach, to create new knowledge, and to engage the minds and imagination of all learners - students, teachers, parents, community members.
Teachers' support will be in the form of online tutoring and response services, onsite meetings to involve, link, contribute to, and build on each other's work. Teacher training will be through inservice programs which emphasize the integration of technology into a student-centered curriculum that addresses a diversity of learners.
¥September 1999-January, 2000
Students will learn basic literacy concepts in technology, researching, and writing. Contact and planning will be made with the Public Information Office, Department of Land and Natural Resources.
January 2000-June 2000
Exploratory Phase - Each grade level will have an identified area of inquiry.
Exloratory Phase - Each grade level will have an identified area of inquiry.
Overall:
Teaming with directed studies high school students and technology club for web page production and sharing of curriclum through weekly interactive broadcast over closed circuit tv.
Electronic Portfolio for all students, faculty and staff ...
Kindergarten - Culture
ex. Chinese New Year
Video production
First - Ocean,
Kid Pix
Video Story telling
Second - Streams & Ocean Reef
Internet search on reef creatures
Development of video on the Nuuanu community
Third -
African Exploration
Compare with Hawaii
Presidents
Character Development Video
Community
Technology Resources:
Internet exploration
Video Production
Hyperstudio
Fourth -
Character Development
Hyperstudio
Hyperstudio
Communicate with big island class through email
Nu`uanu Watershed
Fifth - Rain Forest
States / Weather / Kites / Aerodynamics
Camp Erdman
Internet Searches
Hyperstudio/ video production, web pages
Sixth - Malama I ka Vai(Care for the water and the sea)
Electronic Portfolio on self reflection throughout the years at Nuuanu School
Science Fair Project: Example
Create web pages
The students will be collecting information on their areas through: library research, internet access, oral histories, interviews, observations (video taping), hikes, field trips and guest speakers, etc.
¥January-April:
Students will explore the Nu`uanu community, including its history, geography, culture, economics, and politics. Activities include community trips and neighborhood walking tours of Nu`uanu businesses and landmarks, learning the significance of Kaniakapupu, Nu`uanu Pali, Oahu Cemetery, Royal Mausoleum, Chinatown, petroglyphs, general discussions of the ahupua`a concept creating models and maps of the community, and interviewing business, civic and political leaders.
¥April-June:
Students will document and preserve the oral history of the old timers of Nu`uanu whose voices will be lost in the next 10-15 years. Internet, pamphlets, maps, newspapers, magazines, and books will also be used to expand the scope of student research.
Personal and social development, technology and other learning skills will be integrated into the environmental theme throughout the year. Students will discover information from primary resources through interviews of their kupuna (elders) and others and observe plants, animals and other factors of the environment. They will use technology to record, present, and share previously learned as well as new material. Each student will have an electronic portfolio to collect his data.
Groups will be heterogeneous and at times learning with other grade levels. High school directed studies students will also provide technological support to Nu`uanu School students and teachers. Collaborative groups will plan, implement and record their community trips.
A variety of members will be collaborating with this project. Members from the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources have already consented to this project and proposal. This include `Aulani Wilhelm from the Public Information Office, and Clifford Inn from the Historic Preservation Office. The Department of Education, Honolulu District, School Renewal Specialist, Mrs. Milli Asari, will assist with the curriculum guidance and communication with other schools in the Roosevelt Complex. Other educational resources that may be consulted are the State Environmental Educational Specialist and the State Science Educational Specialist. The principal, Mrs. Fujioka will be the liason between school, district, state educational offices and agencies. The technology teacher, Mr. Chun and a part-time technology teacher will guide students in the usage of multimedia and the internet. Classroom teachers will guide their students in the curriculum aspects while working with their classes and other classes.
¥September, 2000-June 2001
Identifying Issues and Trends Phase - The students will organize their information to identify problems and developing trends. They will also examine the ethics and values that are relevant to these issues which which will be integrated into the school's Value Education Program.
Students will explore and research the history of the Nu`uanu community including the history of Nu`uanu School. They will go on field trips to the Bishop Museum, libraries, and other places where they can collect historical photographs and data about their community. Resource speakers will share information about the history of the communities economics, culture, geography and politics and its influence on today's Nu`uanu community. Speakers will share information on forestry and wildlife - watershed management, historic trails, Hawaiian land snails, Water Resource Management - hydrology of the area `auwai [freshwater ditch system] and aquifer management, Aquatic Resources - Nu`uanu Reservoir as a freshwater sportfishing fishing area, native stream species, alien aquatic species(introduced aquarium fish is a big issue), and water quality. Students will use the Internet, research studies and reports from different government agencies and conduct interviews to broaden their field-based research.
¥September 2001-May 2002
Making Recommendations for the Future Phase - Students will analyze their information and use it to make recommendations for preventive actions needed to improve the community, environmental and community maintenance and make predictions about how problems/issues may be handled in the future.
After learning about the environment, students will plan steps in preserving the past and laying the foundations for the future by arranging for speakers on Conservation and Resources Enforcement. Students will design and create multimedia presentations and a video documentary to present information they have learned about the Nu`uanu community and share their vision for the future of the community. Students will use a wide variety of software programs, scanners, video and still image cameras, tape recorders, and computers to help them capture and present what they have learned to a larger audience.
Conclusion
In a time of unprecedented change, technology has influenced what we know and value in education, the work force and everyday life. Individuals who understand and use technology to access information, solve problems creatively, network and collaborate with others and use collected data to make connections and predictions about future events will be part of society's "have" group. Strands that run through Project A'o like o Nu`uanu include: 1) bridging teaching and learning through technology 2) cultural, economic and social perspectives 3) community partnerships 4) authentic assessment of student learning through exhibitions and demonstrations and 5) the engagement of students in creating their own learning. Through the process of creating their multimedia products, students will learn to become reflective practitioners and self-assessors of their own learning. Presenting their works to Nu`uanu's community, students will have an opportunity to inform and influence the future direction of the community based on the student's study and vision of Nu`uanu's future. In this process, students will begin to understand the potential power of technology and the media which influences people and communities. In this project, connecting Nu`uanu's past and present and using technology as learning tools, we hope our students develop intellectual habits to be used by students, no matter what they are studying. These habits include concern for evidence (how do you know that), viewpoint (who said it and why?), cause and effect (what led to it, what else happened), hypothesizing (what if, supposing that), and the most important habit, "who cares?" For knowing and learning takes on importance for the students only when they know it matters, it makes a difference. When students are given opportunities for choosing their own individual activities/projects that support Project A'o like o Nu`uanu, their learning takes on personal meaning about what matters to them, to the group and to the community. In order to influence systemic change, schools must demonstrate how student learning has changed based on new ways of doing things. Through Project A'o like o Nu`uanu, the students and teachers will share with the larger community how technology can be used to demonstrate and authenticate student learning as well as foster an idea that develops into a community vision for the 21st century.
The high expectations that the school places in the area of basic skills has been recognized in many ways. In the 1983-84 school year, Nu`uanu School received the Sustained High Achievement Award from the Honolulu District. A National Award for Excellence in Education was granted to the school in 1985-86. Honolulu District honored Nu`uanu School in the 1986-87 school year with an award for Sustained Superior Achievement. Nu`uanu School was a Honolulu District recipient in the 1991-92 Elementary School Recognition Program and commended as one of six elementary school finalists in the Hawaii State Recognition Program sponsored by Frito-Lay of Hawaii, Inc.
Nu`uanu School continues to maintain its reputation for providing quality instruction for its students in a nurturing and caring environment. The teachers continue to work on curriculum alignment projects matched with the National Goals 2000 and Hawaii State Goals, Hawaii State Commission on Performance Standards and the Essential Content and recently completed a grading criteria project. The faculty received inservicing on effective teaching and learning strategies and in the 1994-95 school year, Nu`uanu School was selected as a Success Compact literacy school. Faculty training on the Success Compact process continued into the next three years.
Nu`uanu School's School/Community Based Management (SCBM) proposal was accepted by the Board of Education in November, 1993. During the 1994-95 school year, the Hawaii School Leadership Academy (LEAD) trainedthe SCBM Council on various teaming skills and group collaboration processes -- Facilitative Leadership (FL), Concerns Based Adoption Model(CBAM) and Total Quality Management (TQM) as applied to the learning environment. The Nu`uanu SCBM Council supports the Success Compact literacy improvement process and will be sponsoring parent workshops supporting literacy in the home environment. In addition, the SCBM Council in joint effort with Aikane 0 Nu`uanu is working with the school in developing a Technology for Learning Plan preparing the children to be technologically literate for the 21st century. The rich school background and improvement efforts reflect an era of progressive and positive changes in the teaching and learning environment of the children in preparation for America 2000.
In the 1995-96 school year, Nu`uanu School along with the nine schools of Roosevelt Complex initiated a collaborative undertaking of inquiry-based learning as they pursued a "Honolulu Harbors" project study. This study was a Goals 2000 federally funded project and involved Roosevelt Complex schools and other schools abroad to share learning with each other via telecommunications.
Harbors Project was an assemblage of nearly 60 Honolulu educators and administrators of 10 public schools in the Roosevelt High School Complex. The public schools consist of six elementary, one K-9, and three secondary schools. In their desire to restructure curriculum, administrators in the Roosevelt Complex met on December 1, 1994. From a grant, funded by the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, the Goals 2000: Harbors Project was conceived. The group felt that a comparative study of harbors around the world would be an appropriate vehicle to actuate a restructured curriculum through given key elements:
¥Improvement of Teaching and Learning Integration of Content Areas
¥Development of a Community of Learners
¥Use of Technology
¥Assessment and Evalution
Project teachers met at Honolulu Harbor, the site of the Aloha Tower, Honolulu's renowned landmark. It was there that they established the areas of study: Arts and Culture, Economics and Trade, Envrionment and Marine Science, Hawaiian Studies, History, and Literature. During the 1995-96 school year, the Goals 2000: Harbors Project group met to collaboratively plan lessons, share ideas, visit sites and learn from resources in the community. From their inspiration and insight, teachers designed and implemented lessons which reflected the first steps toward curriculum restructuring.
Nuuanu School also received the 1996 Recipients for Apple 'Partners in Education' Grant. Students in grades four through six will pursue an interdisciplinary study of water, including the collection and analysis of water from local streams and reefs. They will also study the role of water in the myths and legends of their local culture. Students will then plan, implement, and share their findings via telecommunications and multimedia projects both within their own community and around the world.
The Honolulu District and state offices provide support through curriculum and funding. The funding is used to support the increased technology and curriculum infrastructure. The Department of Education provides the Roosevelt Complex in the Honolulu District with a School Renewal Specialist, Mrs. Milli Asari, to assist with curriculum guidance and communication with other schools in the complex.Community
We have been supported by a non-profit organization, Aikane 0 Nu`uanu, Inc., founded in 1975 and made up of parents, community and faculty members. The goal of our parent organization is to offer support to the school with improving and assisting the school's activities, programs, policies and community relations by providing funds and volunteer assistance to enhance the quality of education at Nu`uanu School. Recent support included updating the technology infrastructure and providing supplies and materials for every classroom. Parents volunteer to be facilitators on fieldtrips and provide support in the classrooms.
State Agencies Support:
State Historic Preservation Division:
Historic sites in our islands are tangible evidence of a colorful, rich heritage and provide our society with a sense of continuity. The State Historic Preservation Division of DLNR works to preserve and sustain reminders of earlier times which link the past to the present. SHPD's three branches, History and Culture, Archaeology, and Architecture, strive to accomplish this goal through a number of different activities.
Forestry and Wildlife Division:
The Division of Forestry and Wildlife has a legal mandate to manage public lands for social, environmental and economic purposes. It is the largest land management entity in the State of Hawai`i and manage one of the largest state-owned forest and natural area reserve systems in the United States. Water quality, endangered species, recreation, land development, and rural economic opportunities are some of the many issues now affecting forest and wildlife management strategies.
Aquatic Resource Division:
The Division of Aquatic Resources manages the State's marine and freshwater resources through programs in commercial fisheries, aquaculture, aquatic resources protection, enhancement in education and recreational fisheries. Major program areas include projects to maximize commercial fishery and aquaculture productivity, protecting native and resident aquatic species and their habitats, and providing facilities and opportunities for recreational fishing consistent with the interests of the State.
Conservation and Resources Enforcement Division:
The Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) is responsible for the enforcement activities of the Department of Land and Natural Resources. The division, with full police powers, enforces all State laws and rules involving State lands, State parks, historical sites, forest reserves, aquatic life and wildlife areas, coastal zones, Conservation districts, State shores, as well as county ordinances involving county parks. The division also enforces laws relating to firearms, ammunition, and dangerous weapons.
Bishop Museum:
Bishop Museum is more than just a fun place to visit. It's a place to explore the many wonders of our world. Students are invited to share in a fascinating educational adventure at Bishop Museum. Dozens of special exhibits, tours and programs are available for students from pre-school through high school.