“I became interested in educational foundations because I was looking to grow within the teaching profession and further my own education.”

Hometown

Hilo, Hawaiʻi

Department

Educational Foundations

Related Degrees

• MEd, Educational Foundations: Educational Leadership

What are you doing now?
I am a teacher at Keonepoko Elementary School.

How did you become interested in educational foundations and the EdLeads* program?
I became interested in educational foundations because I was looking to grow within the teaching profession and further my own education. The EdLeads program was very appealing to me because I felt that it fit best with my work schedule by not interfering much with the DOE school year.

Why are cultural, historical, and/or philosophical perspectives in education so important?
They serve as the foundation of what we do as educators. They determine how we operationalize the curriculum that we teach our students. They guide the decisions we make every day in our classrooms.

What is your philosophy of teaching?
Teaching needs to follow the progression of relationship, relevance, and rigor. Teaching and learning starts with building a relationship of trust and respect with your students. Without relationship, you won’t be able to reach your students. Once relationship is developed, teaching needs to be relevant. Students need to feel a personal or cultural connection to what they are learning. Lastly, once relationship and relevance are present, rigor can be introduced. Students can be challenged to take ownership of their learning and expand their knowledge.

How has the EDEF program helped you along in your career path?
The EDEF program and faculty have helped me by expanding my knowledge about the education field. They have also guided me in making the most informed decisions to improve my teaching practice.

What are your future plans?
My immediate future plan is to become a curriculum coach or specialist at the school or district level. My long term plan is to teach education courses at the collegiate level in order to prepare future teachers for their careers.

*EdLeads is a 30-credit graduate studies program, leading to an MEd in Educational Foundations. It is designed to enable educators to pursue a master’s degree without career interruption. With an emphasis on the exploration of educational issues from cultural, philosophical, historical, and international perspectives, the entire program may be completed in less than fifteen months (2 summer terms, 5 weeks each) through a combination of online work and on-campus classes. Meet EdLeads professor, Baoyan Cheng.