From left to right: Tiana Henderson, Kealohi Perry, Patricia Yu, Christy Mello,
Melissa Saul, and Michael Hayes at the National Summer Institute on Learning Communities in Olympia, Washington.
A team of UH West Oʻahu faculty, advisers, and administrators attended the National Summer Institute on Learning Communities in Olympia, Wash., this summer and developed plans to implement two pilot learning communities at UH West Oʻahu this fall.
Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology, Christy Mello, Associate Professor of Education, Michael Hayes, and Economics Instructor, Patricia Yu, attended the institute and took away ideas on how to implement successful learning communities at UHWO. Tiana Henderson, program coordinator for the PIKO Project and Kealohi Perry, Native Hawaiian student adviser, also attended the institute and contributed ideas for great student success.
PIKO Project Director, Melissa Saul, worked with the UHWO team to complete a strategic plan for the implementation of a learning community model at UH West Oʻahu.
“Implementing the learning community model is an effective way to work on student success strategies for incoming students and helps address student satisfaction and retention,” explains Saul. “The PIKO Project Title III grant has provided funding support for faculty to pilot two upcoming fall learning communities focused on Native Hawaiian health, wellness, and well-being.”
In spring 2015, Dr. Manulani Aluli Meyer worked with faculty on developing learning communities at UHWO. Three Hawaiian themes were chosen by the faculty for integration into the blocked learning community courses including:
- Auamo Kuleana – collective transformation through individual excellence
- ʻIke ʻĀina – knowledge learned from connection to land
- Aloha ʻĀina – love and commitment to land
The UHWO PIKO Learning Community hui (group) participated in a three-day retreat at UH West Oʻahu on August 10-12 to continue their collaborative plans and work on ways to integrate and ground their teaching in the three themes for the semester.
From left to right: UHWO PIKO Learning Community hui members Kim Reed, Pohai Medeiros, Masahide Kato, Natalie Szymanski, Michael Hayes, Melissa Saul, Loea Akiona, Kealohi Perry, Manulani Meyer, Christy Mello, Kaliko Correa, Esther Widiasih, Puʻu Zablan, Lokelani Keniolo, Albie Miles, and Lehuanani Akua.
Stay tuned! The UH West Oʻahu PIKO Project is planning a Learning Community Conference aimed at gathering Learning Community practitioners and administrators throughout Hawaiʻi in spring 2016.
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