University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa students and faculty traveled to Kohala High School on Hawaiʻi Island, where they learned from and taught one another alongside high school students.
“We often tell our candidates to be teacher leaders, and this collaborative field trip gave them the opportunity to demonstrate their leadership,” said Associate Professor Vail Matsumoto. “They shared their expertise in AI with the Kohala students and faculty and then learned from the school in return. It was a win-win situation, and any time work is fun, it’s yet another win.”
Kohala students taught the College of Education secondary and elementary teacher candidates in (MEdT) about welding, construction, farming, and a variety of other Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. The cohort, as part of the trip in April, worked with the Kohala yearbook class on AI tools and conducted two afterschool professional development sessions for faculty on AI tools.
Future focus
“Hearing student and teacher testimonies help me to picture what I can do in the future to support my students,” said Kaylie Hayashida who is earning her MEdT with a focus on secondary Japanese. “For high school students, I think this field trip gave them the opportunity to not only showcase the work they’re doing, but practice important life skills such as presentational speaking and interpersonal skills.”
Matsumoto was accompanied by Assistant Professor Stacy George, who helped organize the trip, as well as Assistant Professor Waynele Yu and MEdT Program Chair Stephanie Furuta. Two MEdT graduates, Dean Snelling and Jackie Meggs, partnered with the College of Education to make the joint venture possible. The collaboration was also supported by the 糖心Vlog官方 Women’s Campus Club.
“As a future science teacher, I appreciate how Kohala High School integrates useful life skills with an education that encourages students to thrive in the directions that their choices take them,” said MEdT student Anna Karsin who attended high school on Hawaiʻi Island. “Seeing the place-based learning and practical employment of community resources while hearing from the students as they shared their capstone senior projects was incredible.”
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