Pixel International Conferences

The University of Hawaii Master of Education in Teaching program and K-12 partnership schools are committed to all of the nine essentials of Professional Development Schools as the foundation for effective collaboration.  Kessler, Zuercher and Wong illustrate one specific example of how the University of Hawaii practices the nine essentials in their recent publication in The Journal of the National Association for Professional Development Schools (2013).  In the Pacific partnerships with Hawaii and Samoa, the university faculty and K-12 staff have observed teachers struggling to transition from direct instruction to Common Core standards-based instruction, particularly when working with English Language Learner populations. The Common Core College and Career Standards have outlined a comprehensive mission that is broader in scope than the mission of partners and that challenges the education profession and its responsibility to advance equity within schools and the community (Essential 1).

The goal of this presentation is to demonstrate how the University of Hawaii is partnering with K-12 schools and the Pacific Regional Comprehensive Center to enact the nine essentials to support teachers and teacher candidates in the transition to culturally relevant and project-based Common Core lesson planning and differentiated instruction.   Technical assistance and funding are available from regional comprehensive centers across the nation; professional development to unpack the Common Core standards and instructional resource design are provided by the university instructors; and on-site mentoring of teachers and adaptation of current textbook-based materials are facilitated by K-12 staff. 

References
Kessler, C., Zuercher, D.K., & Wong, C. S. (2013). Thinking maps: Research-based instructional strategy in a PDS. School-University Partnerships: The Journal of the National Association for Professional Development Schools, 6(1), 33-46.