'A'ohe pau ka 'ike i ka hālau ho'okāhi: All Knowledge Is Not Taught in One School

• In Event: 68.017 - Equity-Focused Implementation of Next Generation Science Standards: Exploring Models of Hope and Possibility

Abstract

Purpose
This design-based implementation research (DBIR) project integrated indigenous Hawaiian and 21st Century STEM in a professional development program to transform instruction to engage underrepresented Native Hawaiian (NH) students.
Theoretical Framework
Sewell’s (1992) theory of structure and agency and Moll, Amanti, Neff, and Gonzalez' (1992) theory of "funds of knowledge” recognize that the heterogeneity of culture and identity at individual and group levels holds the potential for agency and transformation. Sewell writes, “Knowledge of a rule or a schema by definition means the ability to …apply it creatively… [A]gency…the capacity to transpose and extend schemas to new contexts, is inherent in knowledge of cultural schemas” (p. 18). But teacher agency to transform instruction often runs counter to administrators responding to policies mandating high stakes tests. In 2015 Hawaii’s Board of Education adopted new General Learner Outcomes, Nā Hopena A‘o, a “framework to develop the skills, behaviors and dispositions…qualities and values of the indigenous language and culture of Hawaiʻi (HIDOE, n.d.) and in 2016 adopted NGSS with Crosscutting Concepts spanning natural and cultural worlds (NSTA, n.d.). These provide new educational schemas that support DBIR oriented to social justice focusing on “persistent problems of practice from multiple stakeholders’ perspectives; iterative, collaborative design; developing theory through systematic inquiry; and sustaining change in systems” (condensed from p.331, Penuel, Fishman, Chen, & Sabelli 2011).
Methods
Curriculum design integrated Native Hawaiian and 21st Century STEM through the lens of culturally significant plants, animals, places, and earth science phenomena. Scientists, Hawaiian language translators and science educators addressed intersections of NGSS Crosscutting concepts, Hawaiian knowledge and place-based STEM research and issues. PD took place in laboratories, classrooms and field in diverse communities of practice. Teachers created STEM curricula intersecting science, culture and community concerns and co-developed student assessments addressing learning, engagement, and Nā Hopena A‘o’s General Learner Outcomes.
Data Sources
Data sources included field notes, team and teacher lessons and reflective journals, records of meetings and emails, written evaluations of PD sessions, and student artifacts and assessments.
Results
Our findings suggest NH perspectives on sustainability led to instructional change and increased student engagement. Lessons on invasive species, soils, and food webs integrated cultural and STEM knowledge systems. Assessments with Nā Hopena A‘o and student interest survey show students learned key Hawaiian words and phrases, distinguished between native and invasive species, cared more about their communities, and greatly preferred field-based learning. Agency to sustain change is seen in teachers in a predominantly NH, rural district recruiting colleagues to develop place-based STEM curricula for their students and communities.
Scholarly/Scientific Significance
This study suggests place-based STEM PD delivered in diverse communities of practice that intersect educational, 21st Century and Hawaiian STEM systems: 1) engages teachers in these practices, 2) contributes to teacher agency and 3) develops new tools, inquiries, science knowledge and alliances with the potential to shift STEM education towards an equity and sustainability science orientation.

Authors

• Pauline W.U. Chinn, University of Hawaii - Manoa

• Chanel Wong, University of Hawaii - Manoa