Maui Huliau Foundation offers Summer PDE3 credit courses for teachers

This summer, Maui Huliau Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting environmental literacy and leadership among Maui youth, is offering two 3 credit PDE3 courses for Department of Education secondary educators in Maui County.

Both courses involve virtual or in-person sessions this summer and lesson plan implementation during the first quarter of the 2023-24 school year. 

Their Kūkulu Pilina PDE3 course is back for a third year beginning June 6, with registration closing this Friday, June 2. This course focuses on the Office of Hawaiian Education’s Nā Hopena Aʻo or HĀ framework and how community partnership and ʻāina-based education can strengthen HĀ (BREATH) outcomes.

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 program fee is $50, and need-based scholarships are available.

“We are thrilled to again offer these two unique PDE3 courses for Maui Nui educators along with our program partners,” said Malia Cahiill, Executive Director of Maui Huliau Foundation. “While these courses are very different from each other, they both embody our organization’s focus on community partnership, environmental literacy, and ʻāina-based education as important components in engaging our youth in protecting our island’s unique ecosystems.” 

Maui Huliau’s second PDE3 course is hosted in partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College and funded by NOAA.

The course is called “Engaging Students in Climate Action Problem-based Learning”, and engages teachers in creating an inquiry-based climate change lesson plan utilizing curriculum resources, community partnership, and elements of Problem-Based Learning.

Six live Zoom sessions in June and July will focus on helping teachers develop their lesson plan, which will be implemented during the first quarter of the 2023-24 school year.

The course will draw upon curriculum resources from Maui Huliau Foundation’s Climate Literacy Project and UHMC’s STEMulate and Building Environmental Resiliency Leaders curriculum. Grade 6-12 DOE teachers of any subject in Maui County are eligible to join. The program is free to DOE teachers.

Teachers can find more information on either course on Maui Huliau’s teacher resources page: https://mauihuliaufoundation.org/teachers/ or email [email protected] with questions.