I have always had a strong sense of place. I spent most of my childhood exploring the different spaces and places I lived. When talking to friends, some have a few experiences they can remember and connect with, but I can remember experiences from throughout my childhood and adult life. I wondered about my students’ sense of place. My research intended to determine if my students had a sense of place and, if not, could they develop a sense of place by being immersed in a space and then create art to share its story with others. I designed and implemented a unit based on our school’s campus and ahupuaʻa (land division). Then I studied my students as we went through the unit, from discovering the space to creating our art piece and using that piece to tell the story of our campus and ahupuaʻa. Sense of place, is it something that you have or something that you develop?

STEMS² Pillars: Aʻo, Makawalu, Moʻolelo, Sense of Place