ALOHA E Institute for Professional Development

THE EXPERIENCE: HANDS-ON, COLLABORATIVE, MEANINGFUL

Dr. Gail Grabowsky, dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at Chaminade, says, “Real-world projects and partnerships like the Innovation Moku get our students involved and allow them to apply their data science skills in a collaborative environment to address the wellbeing of their communities.” Chong adds, “the Wai'anae Coast Community Scorecard and Dashboard project is about providing the students with a taste of what data science can actually do and the positive impacts they could have in the Data Science discipline.”

Students participating in this project say the effort has been fulfilling.

“My biggest takeaway from the project was how far-reaching an effect data science can have,” Chaminade Data Science senior Aaron Walden said. He assisted with the effort in Fall 2020 and said it helped him understand how “data science can be used to identify community initiatives.” The scorecard, he said, “is a tool to visually see trends to support prioritization of the community initiatives.”

Senior Hunter Yamanaka, who is majoring in Biochemistry with a minor in Data Science, also participated in the scorecard and dashboard project in Fall 2020. He said working with the community while digging into the numbers helped him understand how similar efforts could benefit organizations and the public. "Data Science has endless ways of improving society,” he said.

“For instance,” says Data Science major Taylor Ishisaka, “Data science can turn lists of data points and numbers into something visual and meaningful that everyone can understand. It can shape how we see the world.” Ishisaka, who participated in the scorecard and dashboard project Spring 2021, said, “It has been eye-opening to see how much work and collaboration goes into a project like this.”

Data science in Hawai'i and the Wai'anae Coast Community Scorecard and Dashboard project is more than collecting data, programming and analyzing data. When data science is applied to this project, it’s clearly a powerful discipline that can be applied to any field, provide a platform for a community to voice their opinions, inspire discovery and innovation, connect communities, and has the potential to confirm or make ethical societal or policy changes. As Ishisaka and Lapilio said, “When it comes to data science, the possibilities are endless, with real potential for inciting action and implementing positive change in our communities.”

ALOHA E

INSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

INCORPORATING “ACTIVE LEARNING” INTO CLASSROOMS,

TAKING ONLINE LEARNING TO THE NEXT LEVEL,

AND EMBRACING PLACE-BASED EDUCATION.

Those were some of the central themes tackled in a recent week-long professional development workshop for faculty and staff members from Chaminade University and Kapi'olani Community College (KCC).

Chaminade’s Center for Teaching and Learning hosted the ALOHA E Institute from August 9 through August 13 as part of their ongoing efforts to help faculty members reflect on their own practice, advance engaging pedagogy and instructional design, and bolster engagement to enhance student success.

The inaugural ALOHA E Institute included 60 participants—30 each from Chaminade and KCC. The workshop sessions were delivered online, in both synchronous and asynchronous formats. Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng, who has helped launch peace education initiatives in the islands and is an adviser to the Obama Foundation, delivered a talk at the institute on the critical importance of inspiring students.

ALOHA E Institute enrollees selected from one of three possible tracks: • Active learning, which focused on how faculty members can intentionally design course materials and activities to improve student engagement. Participants brought current syllabi so they could redesign their courses to incorporate key elements of what they learned; • Online hui, which sought to help faculty members transition from “surviving” in an online classroom format to thriving in one. Participants created classroom-ready materials designed to maintain the instructor presence and cultivate a warm, welcoming learning environment; • And 'āina-based education, which offered participants opportunities for employing a culturally responsive approach, enabling them to ground their course content in Native Hawaiian traditional knowledge with strategies for activities, assignments and assessment.

The ALOHA E Institute was made possible in part by a federal Title III grant. The funding helps cover programs for strengthening peer mentorship and experiential learning opportunities, and includes a focus on faculty professional development. The Center for Teaching and Learning plans to coordinate future institutes for Chaminade and KCC faculty and staff members.