The goal of the study was to compare the readability level of integration of various representations in the US and Turkish textbooks used in the biology. Data was collected from 6,7 and 8th grade middle school topics common to both US and Turkey. Content analysis was used to analyze visual representations. The visual representations were coded into five categories representative of the level of readability. Findings of the study reveal that many representations in Turkish textbooks were not designed with enough labels and captions compared to the US one. This limited the function of the images in the textbook. The study provided implications for textbook revisions aimed at improving the use of visual representations in the classroom. STEMS² Pillars: Aʻo

This presentation will share a three part pedagogical strategy for learners to investigate local scientific issues. The first part will develop critical thinking skills. The second part will highlight how learners can drive their own investigation on issues that matter to them and their local community. The third part will offer suggestions for how learners can reflect on their work in order to foster meaningful and lasting engagement/agency. STEMS² Pillars: Aʻo, Makawalu, Sense of Place, Advocacy

Follow this first year teacher’s humbling and enduring journey in bringing a PBL curriculum to a STEM classroom filled with culturally and linguistically diverse students. STEMS² Pillars: Aʻo, Makawalu, Moʻolelo, Sense of Place, Advocacy STEMS² Pillars: Aʻo, Makawalu, Moʻolelo, Sense of Place, Advocacy

Shifting from the current educational system in Hawai'i public schools to place-based, transdisciplinary teaching and learning spaces is difficult. There are many steps to take towards making this change, and each place will look a little different. This presentation is about how a teacher in a public school on Kaua'i explores how to navigate making this transition.   STEMS² Pillars: Aʻo, Makawalu, Moʻolelo, Sense of Place, Advocacy

As a first year teacher, I was interested in looking at my practice and how incorporating my experience and understanding in STEMS^2 as a 6th grade math and science teacher. I designed a unit around the student's shared school space and the systems and relationships surrounding the school and how those systems and relationships affect one another and their space through food. Students were given opportunities to provide feedback and share their experience through working on the unit. This has allowed me to see how students view their place and how I can incorporate in future units additional opportunities for student’s using STEMS^2 pedagogy.   STEMS² Pillars: Makawalu, Sense of Place, Advocacy

Informed by the ʻike (knowledge) from Heʻeia community educators, ʻike kupuna (ancestral knowledge), and developmentally appropriate practice, a compilation of foundational components of an ʻāina-based early childhood curriculum is presented. As these concepts are necessary for effective and relevant learning experiences, the design of my curriculum utilizes these aspects to create a "menu" of lessons to build for and with Papahana Kuaola, a non-profit mālama 'āina-based organization located in Waipao, Heʻeia, Oʻahu. Just as each element in a lei is intentional, every element in the creation of this curriculum was hand-picked to include perspectives from the stewards and educators of this space. STEMS² Pillars: Aʻo, Makawalu, Moʻolelo, Sense of Place, Advocacy

This project focuses on the design and usability of a place-based inquiry website around Kawainui, a wetland of international importance. The intent of this website is to introduce teachers and students to Kawainui and illustrate Kawainui’s function and value to the surrounding community through the multiple lenses of mo'olelo, geology, flora, fauna, history and restoration. Additional website purposes include engaging teachers & students in inquiry based learning focused on Kawainui, encouraging teachers and classrooms to connect with community partners, and become stewards of Kawainui. I discuss findings related to the difficulty of creating one website with multiple purposes of place awareness, inquiry, and advocacy and identify support needed for teachers to implement place-based inquiry around Kawainui in their classrooms. STEMS² Pillars: Makawalu, Moʻolelo, Sense of Place, Advocacy

This session will address the steps leading up to, the need for and the impetus that lead to the creation of a problem solving process based on primary source material to be primarily applied in the Hawaiian Immersion setting.   STEMS² Pillars: Aʻo, Makawalu

Teaching Clinics are designed as semester-long courses in which teachers in training collaborate with practicing teachers on pedagogical innovations in the teachers’ classrooms through design-based research (Bakker, 2018). They can be seen as instances of service learning in the domain of teacher education (Stoecker, 2016). TCs tackle the combined needs of students, such as the wish for more formal experiences directly in the school-context and obtaining well-transferable competences and knowledge, and teachers, who may want a more direct access to state-of-the-art knowledge and support in implementing pedagogical innovations. Specifically, we present one exemplary project that was conducted within the TC and showcase the reflections from students, teachers, and the course facilitator (Froehlich et al., 2021). References Bakker, A. (2018). Design research in education: A practical guide for early career researchers. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. Stoecker, R. (2016). Liberating service learning and the rest of higher education civic engagement. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. Froehlich, D.E., Hobusch, U., Moeslinger, K., 2021. Research Methods in Teacher Education: Meaningful Engagement Through Service-Learning. Front. Educ. 6. STEMS² Pillars: Aʻo

I will share my journey into education from being a contractor to my transition into the wonderful field of education, receiving my education degree at St. Joe University to teaching in NY to the opportunity to educate in Hawaii to entering into STEMS^2 program at UH Manoa. STEMS² Pillars: Sense of Place

Strengthening foundations and embedding HĀ into school design by engaging in collaborations with community and Hawaiian-cultural practitioners to develop, implement, and sustain the use of culturally relevant and responsive teaching and learning. STEMS² Pillars: Aʻo, Makawalu, Moʻolelo, Sense of Place, Advocacy