Creating
Hands-on Learning Inspires Hands-on Career Dreams
CHANGE For All…
The human hand has twenty-seven bones—and learning about them inspired one South Kona eighth grader to set her sights on medical school one day. When Nick Bahrdunn And for always heard about his student’s new ambition, he knew that purchasing a life-sized skeleton model for the classroom, had been a solid choice. “Without the The Kona Pacific Public support, my students Charter School (KPPCS) would have completed science teacher began this work using pictures or the school year with worksheets. Now, they’re able to an enthusiastic group gain experiences and knowledge of eighth graders, that will last them their interested in science, entire lives.” and deserving of Nick Bahrdunn, engaging lessons in science teacher physiology and anatomy. at Kona Pacific Public Charter School He wanted to give them a learning experience more concrete than coloring worksheets of skeletons. So he set out to find a full-size skeleton model. But with a price tag of $835, the model “was a far reach, and the most
expensive project I had ever started,” he admits. Still, he knew the skeleton would last far beyond this school year, and it would provide tangible lessons to future students as well. If he could find the funding, the expense would be worth it. Nick found out about DonorsChoose. org, a website where teachers can apply for classroom grants, and he received funding from the THINK Fund at the Hawai’i Community Foundation. THINK Fund classroom grants provide materials for classrooms all over
Hawai‘i, from microscopes to robot kits that will bring STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) to life. When the skeleton arrived at KPPCS, the engagement in Nick’s anatomy class skyrocketed. “The skeleton really set the tone for the seriousness of my lessons and the students were more responsive,” he says. “They were enthralled to have an example they could touch, move, and see. Many students spent their free time moving the bones of the hand and foot, and were surprised to see how many bones there are. Even now, when you talk to them, the students have a deep connection with the bones of their own body and can visualize them.” One student, having difficulty with understanding that the cranium is made of multiple bones, ran his fingers over the joints on the model’s head to get a better sense for how they fit together. He even used tracing paper to trace some of the joint connections and remarked that
they looked like “beautiful” art. Without this real-world experiential lesson, Nick’s students “would have completed their work using worksheets,” he says. Now, thanks to his classroom’s skeleton, at least one student can picture what it’s like to use all twenty-seven bones in her hand as a surgeon one day.
DID YOU KNOW: THINK Fund, created by Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), provides materials and equipment for classrooms all over Hawai‘i Island – from robotics kits to iPads to school garden tools – giving students the chance to use today’s technology.
Learn how to transform your generosity into lasting change at HawaiiCommunityFoundation.org