Kūkulu Pilina: Professional Development
Kūkulu Pilina is a professional development series and PDE3 course for Maui DOE secondary school teachers focused on the potential for community partnership and ʻāina-based education to deepen HĀ (BREATH) through ʻāina aloha practices contextualized to their particular place and community. Both the PD series and the PDE3 course are facilitated by Maui Huliau Foundation staff in partnership with various ʻāina-based organizations on Maui. The program was created under the guidance of the Office of Hawaiian Education and centers around their Nā Hopena Aʻo (HĀ) framework.
Kūkulu Pilina Professional Development Series
After facilitating our Kūkulu Pilina summer PDE3 course for two summers, teachers in our 2022 program made clear that more support was needed during the school year to facilitate continuous and meaningful school-wide conversations on opportunities to implement HĀ-strengthening practices. Therefore, with the support of the Office for Hawaiian Education, we launched our Kūkulu Pilina Professional Development Series during the 2022-23 school year, working with four intermediate and high schools, and focusing on the potential of ʻāina-based learning and community partnership to expand HĀ-strengthening practices. The program consisted of three on-campus sessions during the 21 hours of allocated PD time at each school, and one ʻāina-based off-campus session hosted by a community partner. You can read a two page overview of results from this first year here, including common HĀ-strenghening practicies identified by each school. During the 2023-24 school year, we plan to support these schools in implementing some of the HĀ strengthening practices they identified last year, while also beginning to work with two new schools. Interested schools can contact kapono<at>mauihuliaufoundation.org
Kūkulu Pilina PDE3 Course
Our Kūkulu Pilina PDE3 course is back for a third year as an expanded summer hybrid course with quarter one lesson plan implementation! Through this course, educators will explore the potential for community partnership and ʻāina-based education while deepening their personal sense of HĀ. They will also learn ways to leverage the strengths of the community in order to deepen their students’ sense of HĀ through ʻāina aloha practices contextualized to their particular place and community. Our staff is teaching this hybrid course along with community partners in June. The summer portion of the course will consist of seven two hour live zoom sessions, as well as all-day in-person sessions at Nohoʻana Farm and Kīpuka Olowalu. During the course, teachers will work to create their own lesson plan involving a community partner, which they will implement during quarter one. Grade 6-12 DOE teachers of any subject (including counselors and support staff) in Maui County are eligible to join. The course is sponsored by the Office of Hawaiian Education and utilizes their Nā Hopena Aʻo Framework and other OHE resources. Course #IS187945 This course has been approved and registration is open on the PDE3 site!
Additional Resources for Teachers
ʻĀina-based Resources for Teachers
During the 2021-22 school year, we launched a new page on our website to provide resources to promote community partnership and ʻāina-based learning both in the classroom and in our Maui community. On that page you will find virtual huakaʻi (field trips) and online activities created with program partners during the 2020-21 school year as part of our Maui Aloha ʻĀina Virtual Classroom. We also added a list of community partners and teachers professional development resources.
Teacher Resource Page
Our teacher resource page contains information on all the support that we can offer teachers, from filmmaking, to climate change curriculum, to conservation career events.
Office of Hawaiian Education Hub
The OHE Hub website includes a large collection of resources for teachers related to Nā Hopena Aʻo, ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and resources for rooting learning in Hawaiʻi.