AMERICAN SĀMOA ECOLITERACY
Teachers work in teams at a Climate Science Teacher Institute Workshop. PHOTOS COURTESY DAN LIN
T
he historic, three-year global journey of the Polynesian voyaging canoe Hōkūle‘a provided an exciting opportunity for PREL to work alongside the American Sāmoa Department of Education and other community partners to bring science, technology, engineering, and math concepts to life for young learners. Over the past two years, the “STEM Education and Voyaging” initiative has provided teachers with a series of workshops and tools to plan, create, deliver, and assess project-based lessons and units utilizing the “Mālama Honua” worldwide voyage as a rich, culturally relevant example. These lessons and units are also tied to Math and ELA Common Core State Standards, as well as Next Generation Science Standards—ensuring that students are on track with established guidelines. To increase local ownership and ensure the long-term sustainability of these efforts, PREL is transitioning to a supportive, capacitybuilding role—clearing the way for the Department of Education, non-profit organizations, and community members to take the lead. Most recently, PREL’s Pacific islands Climate Education Partnership funded COSEE Island Earth to host a Climate Science Teacher Institute in Pago Pago. Over five days in August, approximately 25 high school teachers participated in an intensive hands-on training on climate science, coral ecosystems, scientific practice, and climate impacts in American Sāmoa. The workshop built on previous Voyaging for STEM initiatives, ensuring that teachers have regular training on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. A follow-up STEM Summit is scheduled for 2017.
A crew member of the Hōkūle‘a Worldwide Voyage speaks to students in American Sāmoa.
PREL 2016 ANNUAL REPORT • 17