ED 602: Final Project

Roland Pendleton
Chaminade University Education Division
EDUC 602



Learning Plan Worksheets

1. Definition of Conceptual understanding:

Conceptual understanding is the ability to make abstract concepts easier to understand by
connecting them with other concepts that you already understand. Conceptual understanding
will allow you to expand your view on a subject. It is the bridge between the old information and
the new information. I believe that a mans past experiences and prior knowledge shapes the way
he views a concept.
Conceptual understanding helps expand a persons thoughts and ideas. It is not just about
knowing a concept that is important. What is important is whether a person knows it well enough
to effectively explain questions about the concept such as: who, what when, where, why, how,
and causes and effects. Conceptual understanding doesnt just deal with the basic details on the
surface; it goes a layer deeper.
An example of a person exhibiting conceptual understanding is when a person forgets a
procedure, but is able to reconstruct the procedure through conceptual understanding. Students
who do not practice conceptual understanding might know that 3x3=9, but they may not know
the why 9 is the answer. If they forget that 9 is the answer, they would not know how to find the
forgotten answer. However, if that student knew the reason why 3x3=9, then that person would
be able to reconstruct the procedure and would just add 3, 3 times (3+3+3=9). For conceptual
understanding, the important part is not about what the answer is, the important part is the
process of getting the answer and the reasons for why that is the answer.

2. How do teachers facilitate conceptual understanding:
An example that teachers can do to facilitate conceptual understanding of a book would be to
have students make connections between the book and their personal experiences. When students
read, they shouldnt just look at the words, but try to find meaning by analyzing and making
assumptions. Instead of describing meaning as the product of a sequential, letter-by-letter,
word-by-word analysis of text, conceptually driven models are based on the premise that readers
expectations about a text, prior knowledge, and activities while reading determine
comprehension processes (Bruning, Schraw, Norby, 2011).
Conceptual understanding occurs when a teacher does more than just lecture. The teacher
teaches in a creative and innovative way that makes a concept more related to their lives. A
teacher may use concrete objects, stories, and group activities to foster conceptual learning.
Teachers should provide students with multiple examples that students could follow, and assess
students and ask questions to see how well the students understand the concept. This style of
teaching helps students realize that learning can occur outside of the classroom. This prepares
kids to be not only successful in the classroom, but in the real world as well.
Teachers can facilitate conceptual understanding by helping students advance and steer their
own education in the right direction. Instead of answering all the students questions, following
them step by step, and coming up with the conclusion; teachers would mainly give hints and give
students the adequate help that they need if they get confused. Teachers would act as a guide and
lead the students toward the right thought process. Through this process, students would be able
to solve their problems on their own and be more independent.

3. Energy Concept Map & one page map analysis:
a. Map:





















b. Analysis:
WIND
GEOTHERMAL
BIOMASS
WATER
NATURAL
GAS
OIL
NUCLEAR
SOURCES
OF ENERGY
NON-
RENEWABLE
SOURCES OF
ENERGY
RENEWABLE
SOURCES OF
ENERGY
COAL
SOLAR
URANIUM
Radiant THERMAL SOUND
ENERGY
TYPES OF
ENERGY
CHEMICAL
KINETIC
ENERGY
POTENTIAL
ENERGY
Energy is an essential ingredient for life. Without energy, none of us would exist. Energy
is used by the plants and animals that we eat, energy turns into heat and makes us warm, and
energy also keeps us functioning throughout the day. My concept map talks about both the
sources and types of energy. I then had four subsections beneath the sources and types of energy
sections. The four subsections are renewable energy sources, non-renewable energy sources,
kinetic energy, and potential energy. Under the non-renewable energy sources subsection, I listed
coal, oil, nuclear, uranium, and natural gas as non-renewable sources of energy. Under the
renewable sources of energy subsection, I listed sources such as wind, water, geothermal,
biomass, and solar. Under the kinetic energy subsection, I listed sound, thermal, and radiant. I
then listed chemical energy under the potential energy subsection.
Coal comes from plants that have been under high levels of heat and pressure. In
America, coal is a very inexpensive source of energy. It is easy to mine and there is much of it.
However, the disadvantage to coal is that mining for coal is very destructive to the environment.
Oil is also easy to access and fairly inexpensive. A large portion of the worlds oil comes from
the Middle East. We learned from the British Petroleum incident that mining oil requires much
care and that mistakes could lead to major consequences.
Nuclear power involves using nuclear fission to generate power. This source of energy is
plentiful, but very dangerous. A disadvantage of using nuclear energy is that it creates nuclear
waste which never goes away. If something goes wrong, there may be a nuclear disaster and
millions could die.

Natural gas is a gas that is found in deep underground rock formations. The dangerous
aspect of natural gas is that while mining, the odorless gas is toxic and may seep above ground
which is very dangerous. Another source of energy is wind. Humans can harvest wind energy
through windmills. The advantage and disadvantage of wind energy is that it is easy to acquire in
windy areas, but hard to acquire in non-windy areas.
Water is an important source of energy. Because 75% of the Earths surface is made up
of water, water is an abundant resource that can be used in many parts of the world. Geothermal
energy is energy that is produced within the Earths core. Because the Earths core is so hot,
geothermal energy is considered plentiful. Biomass is produced by microorganisms and enzymes
that can come from vegetable oils and animal fats.
Solar energy may be the main source of energy in the future. The harvesting of solar
energy is still in its infancy stage, so using solar energy is currently expensive. However, as
technology becomes advanced, the price of solar energy will decrease. Solar energy might not be
good in places that dont receive much sun such as Alaska; but in areas that are sunny, harvesting
energy from the sun would be very easy and convenient.
Kinetic energy is a very important aspect of energy. It is always moving and at work.
Sound energy is energy from vibrations. Vibrations in the water and air make the sound. Thermal
energy is heat. Thermal energy is what cooks our food and warms us up when we are freezing.
Depending on the type, some forms of radiant energy are visible, and other forms are invisible to
the naked eye. A type of radiant energy is the visible light that we see from the sun and from a
light bulb at night.
Potential energy is the stored energy of position possessed by an object (Potential
Energy, 1996). Chemical energy occurs when a substance has the ability to go through a
chemical reaction. Through chemical energy, the possibility of forming and breaking of chemical
bonds and creating new substances is present. An example of transformation from potential to
kinetic energy can be given through a bow and arrow model. When the archer grabs the arrow
and pulls the string back, force is applied on the bow. That energy exerted on that bow is the
potential energy. When the archer lets go, kinetic energy is transferred from the bow down to the
arrow.
As you can see from my map, there are many different sources and types of energy. The
two types of energy, kinetic and potential, are important concepts when learning about energy.
Learning about these types of energy can be useful when conducting science experiments, doing
construction, working on a car, and many other occasions. Many of sources of energy that we
have are underused; mainly because of cost reasons. However, once technology improves and
the ability to harvest different forms of energy becomes cheaper, we will have an abundant
source of power.









Questions 4 & 5
4: Analysis:
A paragraph is one of the most basic and most important aspects in writing. No matter
what type of writing is being used, each writing sample would be broken up into multiple
paragraphs. To clearly explain what a paragraph is, my concept map is broken into four different
sections: forms of writing, uses of a paragraph, details of a paragraph, and parts of a paragraph.
A paragraph is used in many different forms of writing. Writers may write essays,
articles, and stories. There are many different uses for a paragraph. In an essay, an author would
use a paragraph to change the scene, setting, or time in a story. In other forms of writing such as
essays and articles, paragraphs are used to change ideas. An idea can be described in multiple
paragraphs, but multiple ideas cannot be in one paragraph. Each paragraph can only have one
idea. Having multiple ideas in a paragraph makes a paragraph confusing.
There are different details and aspects in a paragraph. When a paragraph begins, it always
starts with the first ward capitalized and is often indented. There are few details such as commas,
colons, semi-colons, parentheses, hyphens, and quotation marks that help paragraphs run
smoothly and clearly. Each paragraph ends with a punctuation mark such as an exclamation
mark, a question mark, and a period.
A paragraph can be broken up into three distinct parts. There is the introduction, the body,
and the conclusion. The introduction contains the topic sentence; and the body elaborates on the
main idea. Depending on the authors objective, the author would use facts, arguments, and
examples to support the main idea. The conclusion usually summarizes the paragraph and may
sometimes have a transition sentence that leads to the next paragraph.

























Essays
Change Scene
in Story
Change
Time/Setting in
Story
USES OF A
PARAGRAPH
PARAGRAPH
Starts
DETAILS
FORMS OF WRITING PARTS OF A
PARAGRAPH
Ends
Articles
Stories
Everything
in Between
Period
Exclamation
Point
Question
Mark
Semi-Colon
Parentheses
Quotation
Mark
Colon
Comma
Body
Indent
Capital
Letter
Introduction/Topic
Sentence
Conclusion
Change Idea
5. Example Problem Solving activity: Paragraph Hamburger
a. Materials Needed: Scissors, paper, pencils.
b. Age or grade level of the student
This assignment would be for early teenage students from grades 6-9. My little cousin
and his friend completed his project when they were freshmen in high school. I believe that this
project would be ideal for students who are just starting their training in writing. During this
time, students would often complete book reports and write minor essays. This activity would be
a good way for students to solidify their writing foundation. This basic activity is helpful and
would pave the way for harder and tougher writing assignments.

c. Problem Activity:
This project will teach students how to write a paragraph. I will have them write a
paragraph, analyze and decide which is the intro/topic sentence, which is the body/supporting
details, and which is the conclusion/transition sentence. The students will then cut the different
sentences of a paragraph out and shape it into a hamburger. The introduction and conclusion will
be the two parts of the bun. The body sentences which contain the information and supporting
statements would make up the lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, and meat. When all of the
sentences are cut out and shaped to look like a hamburger, the students would clearly see the
structure of a paragraph. By knowing the structure of a paragraph, students would know if their
paragraphs are complete, or if there is anything thing that is missing.


d. Concept:
This activity of using a hamburger as a model/metaphor is very useful. If the hamburger
was missing any meat or tomatoes, the students would realize that it is incomplete. This activity
will help students learn what the different aspects of a paragraph are. The students would be able
to spot the topic sentence, the main body/ the supporting sentences, and the conclusion/transition
sentences.
















QUESTIONS 6 & 7
6. How do the Cognitive components relate to your activity:
a. Active processing:
This activity will allow students to have an active role in their learning experience.
Students would actively analyze and identify the different parts of a paragraph. When the
students cut and shape the parts of a paragraph and make it look like a hamburger, their minds
would actively process the information and understand the metaphor of a paragraph being a
hamburger. By completing this project, students would identify what a good paragraph looks like
and use the hamburger model to help them decide if a paragraph is good or incomplete.
b. Direct Modeling:
Students will be creating their own paragraph models and shaping them to look like
hamburgers. The hamburger will act as a metaphor and represent the paragraph. The introduction
and conclusion will be the two parts of the bun. The body sentence which contains the
information and supporting statements would make up the lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, and
meat. Students know what a hamburger looks like, so the goal is for the hamburger model to give
students a clear idea of a good paragraph.
Some people many think that the hamburger analogy does not work because it leaves out
some aspects of a paragraph. As we all know, each person has a different writing style and even
though the basic structure may be the same, there are always minor tweaks and differences to
each persons paragraph. The hamburger analogy was designed to help students get an idea of
the basic foundation of a paragraph. I intentionally did not mention the other aspects of a
paragraph because it is up to the students to figure out and add in the details.
Each author may have their own favorite styles, rules, and tricks to writing. It is just like
how every person may have their own favorite hamburger flavors. The way an author tweaks and
embellishes his essay, is the same way a student can add toppings, sauces, and spices to a
hamburger. The cherry on top or the frosting on the cake are all very good additions, but it is up
to the student to decide how they want the finished product to taste.
c. Cognitive load:
Students will make a list of the different parts of a paragraph. As students growing up in a
country rich in fast food chains, a hamburger is a very easy concept to understand. Students
would make connections between sentences and the parts of a hamburger. These relationships
make a paragraph easier to understand. For example, students would learn that the two buns
represent the introduction and conclusion in a paragraph. Since they know that the two
hamburger buns are at the top and bottom of the hamburger, they will remember that the
introduction and conclusion are at the top and bottom of a paragraph. The simple process of
making connections between the parts of a paragraph and the parts of a hamburger makes
learning about paragraphs much easier to understand and remember.
7. Scaffolding questions to address cognitive components:
Please explain to me the relationship between a paragraph and a hamburger and
how the hamburger is a good model for a paragraph? Please describe what each
part of a hamburger represents in a paragraph.
A hamburger without a bun, meat, or vegetables is incomplete. Explain how an
incomplete paragraph relates to a hamburger missing its parts.
Similar to how a hamburger has a correct order, is there a correct way to organize
and structure a paragraph? If there is a correct structure, can you please explain
what it is?
Besides the main ingredients to a hamburger, what are the additional toppings and
spices that you would like to add? What does those additional topping and spices
represent?















Diversity Plan Worksheet

Two ways that students in Hawaii might approach math differently according to our
readings? Explain.
Students in Hawaii might approach math differently by making connections between the
math they learn at school and the math they practice in their daily activities. Through studying
the Hawaiian culture, we learn that students may learn differently by making connections
between the knowledge they learn at school and the knowledge they practice in their daily
activities. Hawaiian students like to approach math through hands on activities. By not only
reading a book but by also interacting, students are able to better understand the concept. This
style of learning not only occurs in the classroom, but can occur at home as well. An example
that we can use is cooking. Cooking is an ordinary every day activity that involves math and
science. When students bake, they have to measure, convert different units of measurement, add,
and subtract. They have to use their critical thinking to analyze whether the dish is too cold or
over cooked. By practicing math through these common activities, students are comfortable with
drawing their own conclusions and making their own connections to help themselves understand.
A second way that students in Hawaii might approach math differently is that they may
be comfortable working in small groups. In the Hawaiian culture, they do not value
individualism as much as westerners. Instead, Hawaiians value the family; so learning on their
own through a lecture is not the best way for students to learn.



How would you address these issues in your teaching practice?

By connecting concepts learned through household activities with concepts learned in
class, students do a much better job in understanding and remembering the classroom material.
The logic behind this is that when the brain connects the new knowledge with knowledge stored
in long term memory, the new knowledge would be remembered much more. I learned that
through culturally relevant approaches, students would be able to make connections between the
knowledge that they already know and the new knowledge that they are learning. By making
connections between their daily activities and what I am teaching them, students would improve
in both their daily activities and the classroom.
I would address these issues in my teaching by adding visual aids to my lessons. Some
students learn more by hearing and others by seeing. I believe that if these students are able to
see something, their minds would process information better and they would have a better
understanding of the material. Pictures would be very helpful tools in helping students visualize
concepts. It may be even better if I brought a model that they could touch and feel.
Many students practice math concepts not just in the classroom, but at home as well.
Basic activities such as shopping and baking deal with math. I can connect the concepts learned
from their daily house chores with the concepts that I am trying to teach them. Teachers can
organize special lessons that involve cooking Hawaiian food in class. By cooking in class,
teachers would inform the students how much they can learn from cooking. By making the food
Hawaiian, teachers would both show that they value the Hawaiian culture and also have the
chance to teach a little about the Hawaiian history and culture through the food. Learning
through these daily activities encourages students to be comfortable with drawing their own
conclusions and making their own connections to help themselves understand.
Since Hawaiians do well working and interacting with others, I would encourage my
students to practice cooperative learning strategies. I could break my students into small groups
and see how well they work together. My goal is to improve classroom unity and make sure that
all the members are contributing to the group (Meyer, 2003).

How would you demonstrate Hooulu in your classroom?
Hawaiians value the family. Bringing a sense of community and a feeling of belonging
would help the classroom environment. As a teacher, I would work to make each student feel
welcome and respected. Even though students may not get along all the time, they need to
remember that in class, they are all family. Watching students work together and help each with
their problems is probably one of the greatest joys a teacher may have.
I would demonstrate Hooulu in the classroom by showing Aloha. I will try to be positive
around students, encourage communication, and encourage class participation. I will work to
teach my students to be kind, share, and treat each other with respect. While working together
and staying positive, students would realize that cooperation and learning to work well with
others can be applied not just in the classroom, but in life in general.



Given our reading give two ways that pacific island parents might hold differing views
from mainland parents.
Pacific island parents might hold differing views from mainland parents when it comes to
the importance of family. Mainland parents value family, but not as much as Hawaiian families.
In Hawaii, the family is more important than the individual and each individual has to work to
make sure that the family stays intact. Pacific island parents believe that if necessary, individual
sacrifices should be made for the good of the family. Sadly, because family is valued more than
education, many students may drop out of school in order to earn money and support their
families.
A second way in which pacific island parents might hold differing views from mainland
parents is that pacific island parents hold teachers in very high regard. They believe that children
should show great respect for their teachers. Mainland parents understand that parental support is
an important part in helping students learn. However, pacific island parents fail to understand the
importance of their role in helping their children learn. Pacific island parents believe that the job
of educating their children rests entirely on the teachers.

What are two ways that you might consider trying to interact with pacific island parents
differently to help their children succeed?
Before I interact with pacific island parents, I will to learn about their culture so that I
would be able to connect with them and wont accidently offend them. If I am able to find
something in common with them, I might have a better chance of seeing eye to eye and
understanding each other. I will talk to them in person in a one on one setting. Because pacific
island kids are different from kids of other cultures, I would talk to the parents and to try to
understand what they are going through. I would try to learn as much about the childs
background as possible so that I would be able to connect with them and teach them better. By
knowing as much as possible about a childs family, I would be able to adjust my lesson plans in
order to better cater to my students needs.
When interacting with pacific island parents, I would show them how my teaching style
works well with their cultural values. I will tell them how I try to imbue in my students the
importance of family and respecting their elders. Because Hawaii has a high dropout rate, I
would put great emphasis on students staying in school and getting a good education.

What is one of the ways that you would demonstrate the Hawaiian values (Hooulu) outside
your classroom?
I would demonstrate the Hawaiian values of Hooulu outside of my classroom by
working with others and caring. I will work to help my community realize that this land does not
belong to us, but to everyone. If we take more care of the land and treat it with respect, this land
would be available for the next generation. We need to teach our children that we must respect
each other and the land. Small things such as picking up trash, recycling, and growing plants
have a great impact.
Hooulu also pertains helping a friend in need. The whole community could work to
become good neighbors. A random act of kindness can go far. What may seem as something
small can have an unimaginable impact. Working at a homeless shelter is a good way to help
others. If a person needs a place to stay, we can work to house them, if a person is hungry, we
can feed them, and if a person is naked, we can cloth them. I believe that a great person who
demonstrates Hooulu to the best of his abilities would not only demonstrate Hooulu when it is
easy, but also when it is difficult. It is easy to be kind when you are in a good situation, but it is
much harder to be kind when you are not. The ultimate showing of Hooulu is showing Hooulu
even when we do not want to. Being willing to turn the other cheek and forgiving is one of the
greatest acts of love a person can do.













Motivation Plan Worksheet Phase III

Learning activity:
The goal of my learning activity is to teach students how to write a paragraph. I will have
them write a paragraph, analyze and decide which is the intro/topic sentence, which is the
body/supporting details, and which is the conclusion/transition sentence. The students will then
cut the different sentences of a paragraph out and shape it into a hamburger. The introduction
and conclusion will be the two parts of the bun. The body sentences which contain the
information and supporting statements would make up the lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, and
meat. When all of the sentences are cut out and shaped to look like a hamburger, the students
would clearly see the structure of a paragraph. By knowing the structure of a paragraph, students
would know if their paragraphs are complete, or if there is anything thing that is missing.
This activity of using a hamburger as a model/metaphor is very useful. If the hamburger
was missing any meat or tomatoes, the students would realize that it is incomplete.
This activity will help students learn what the different aspects of a paragraph are. The students
would be able to spot the topic sentence, the main body/ the supporting sentences, and the
conclusion/transition sentences.
From this project, many motivation challenges may arrive. The first and most obvious
challenge is that students may be bored or disinterested. It is crucial for students to stay focused.
In this assignment, some students may lose interest in this activity. Some students may think that
this activity is not fun at all and that they should be doing much more interesting and fun stuff
instead. It may be very difficult to get kids to pay attention.
As we all know, each lesson is important and has a reason for being taught. Some
students may not understand why they are being taught and they may not understand the
importance of the lesson. They may think that the lesson is useless and that it is not important for
them to learn. They may wrongly believe that what they are learning will never be used in the
future.
Another motivation problem that may arise during the lesson is that students may get
distracted. The smallest of things could cause students to lose focus on the lesson. Students may
want to socialize or play instead of doing work. These distractions would keep students from
staying on task.
Another motivation problem that students may encounter is that they may think that the
assignment is too hard, so they wont try and will just give up. While facing difficulty and
pressure, some students may not know how to keep their heads in the game and stay focused. I
would tell students that all they need is a little motivation. No matter how hard an assignment
may be, students need to understand that nothing is impossible. If they work hard and try their
best, they would be able to be successful.

Motivation plan:
I believe that students may face challenges when it comes to the mental part of the lesson.
Cutting, gluing, and pasting the paper is the easy part, but actually thinking of what they are
doing is the hard part. Finding the connections between the parts of the hamburger and the parts
of a paragraph may be difficult for a young teenage student.

What I can do to keep students motivated is that I can break up the assignment into
smaller and simpler to understand sections. By doing this, students would have more time to
think and understand the content that I would be trying to teach them. I can have one section
devoted entirely to cutting paper into hamburger shapes; one section devoted to knowing what
each part of a paragraph does; and one section making connections between a hamburger and a
paragraph.
To make my expectations clear, I will clearly show my students what their finished
assignments should look like. I will show my students examples of sloppy work, average work,
and good work. From these examples, students would have an idea of the quality of work that
they are doing. Class involvement is an important part in education. I will have a talk and let
students decide what their goals are for the assignment. I will develop a rubric so that students
would know and remember what to do.
It would be beneficial for me to teach students that they have great potential. With work,
they can become great writers. For students who are more interested in playing and socializing, I
will explain to them that working on this assignment can be fun. Even though doing this
assignment is considered hard work, work can be exciting if they give it a chance and try to
make it fun.
Each student is different and has different needs. My goal is to try to increase students
competency in various tasks. I will work so that students will do the best work that they possibly
can. I understand that when it comes to some aspects of learning, some students are not as
advanced as others. However, even though some students may be behind and may not be able to
catch up to the other students; my goal would be to push the students to become the best that
they can be regardless of their intellectual capabilities.
Because many students do not know that what they are learning is important, my goal is
to describe to my students in detail the importance of my lesson plan. I will explain to students
that what they are learning is important and will help them in the future. What they are learning
about a paragraph is the foundation that will help them become better writers in college. What
they do to improve their writing now will carry over into their future studies and careers.
No matter how good a lesson plan may be, pitfalls to behavior approaches may occur.
Each student is unique and may act differently. The gluing, cutting, and pasting are the easy parts
of the lesson. However, students may have trouble with analyzing and making connections
between a hamburger and a paragraph. There might be some students who feel that this work is
too hard and may feel like giving up. With this attitude, students might get rowdy and become a
classroom distraction. If this problem occurs, I will try to keep the students calm and encourage
them. I will explain to them that most things in life do not come easy. They have to work hard in
order to get results. I will try to motivate students by telling them that even though what they are
doing is hard, learning and studying now would make life easier in the future. I would tell
students to think of what they are doing now as an investment in the future.
For efficacy, I believe in working my hardest and reaching for my potential. I will use
this same thinking to push my students to work hard and do the best they can. I believe that all of
my students are competent enough to produce quality work. I plan to congratulate and give small
rewards to my students for each time the correctly complete a step. By doing this, students would
be able to see how well they are progressing. If I am able to successfully motivate them, I will
able to have them produce the desired result. I believe that efficacy is not something that they
are born with, it is something they work towards. I hope that through this lesson, my students
will become better writers.
I understand that in order to motivate my students, I will need to satisfy some of their
needs. In Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, he explains how people need to satisfy their most basic
needs before trying to satisfy their more complex needs (McLeod, 2007). I will use this
knowledge to help motivate my students to always try their best. As a teacher, I hope that my
students have families that are willing to cater to their childrens basic needs. Sleep, food, water,
security, and health are all important needs that parents should provide for their children.
As a teacher, I will work to cater to my students more complex needs such as friendship,
self-esteem, confidence, achievement, and respect. Through my lesson plan and teaching style,
these needs will be met because through cooperative learning and built friendships. I will teach
my students to respect themselves and respect others. With respect and praise, my students will
have a high self-esteem, be confident, and have a great sense of achievement. After I have
catered to those needs, I will start working towards the highest of needs. My lessons will help
students become more creative and better problem solvers. As a teacher, I will teach my students
the importance of having morals and being accepting and not prejudice (McLeod, 2007). It is my
hope that this lesson would not only teach them how to write a paragraph, but to also teach them
how to reach self-actualization and become better people.






Conclusion/ Reflections:
Learning Plan:
My ideas about learning evolved in many ways. At first, I did not know about the
different ways that students learned and I didnt know that there is a special mental process for
learning. Before this project, I did not think that the learning process was so complex. But after
this project, I realized how complex learning could be. Before this project, I did not think that
one learning style was better than another. I did not think that the way a student studied made a
difference. However as time went on, my views changed and I started to have great respect for
different learning strategies.
My first view on learning is that students could just pick up a book and read. That way of
learning works, but I later realized that students learn better when they are able to connect the
content to knowledge that they already know. The connections that occur while learning are
crucial. I learned from this class that Culturally relevant approaches are important in teaching.
Professor Gloria Ladson-Billings three year study concluded that teachers successfully taught
minorities through culturally relevant approaches (Bennett, 2011).
Professor Gloria Ladson-Billings study showed that these successful teachers were
aware of the societal conditions of discrimination and injustice, avoided assimilationist
approaches to teaching and wanted to prepare their students to become change agents, not just to
fit into mainstream society (Bennett, 2011). Lastly, these teachers capitalized on their students
home and community culture by creating a flexible, fluid, and collaborative learning climate
where everyone learned from everyone else (Bennett, 2011).
A students culture and the way a family deals with their culture has a great influence on
the way a student thinks and views the world. To be better teachers, I learned that we must
understand that learning does not only occur in the classroom, but at home as well. Each student
learns differently, and a way a student learns is greatly influenced by a students culture.
Teachers need to recognize the Hawaiian values and try to adapt our education programs to
better educate Hawaiian students. Through studying the Hawaiian culture, I learned that students
may learn differently by making connections between the knowledge they learn at school and the
knowledge they practice in their daily activities.

Motivation Plan:
My ideas about motivation evolved in many ways. I at first thought that motivation was
just something that caused people to do things. I later learned that motivation was much more
complex than that. From this class, I learned what helps motivate students.
Before starting this project, I did not know how crucial having clear expectations is to the
motivation of students. I just thought that students would do the best work they could and that
they would already know the how they are progressing. Now I know that I actually have to
complement them and encourage them in order for them to keep pushing themselves. I now
know that having clear expectations would help students monitor their progress and see where
they are in their quality of work.

My ideas of motivation evolved in my view on Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. At first I
did not realize the importance of Maslows theory. But as I continued this project, I slowly begin
to understand the importance of fulfilling students needs. I learned that in order for students to
be successful, it is crucial for me to fulfill needs such as friendship, self-esteem, confidence,
achievement, and respect. My ideas of motivation evolved from being more self-centered to
being more student centered. I realized that motivating students would require much more than
me just telling students what to do, motivation requires me to work with students step by step
and help them reach self-actualization.

Diversity Plan:
At first, I did not know how influential diversity was to education. However, after this
project I now know that diversity greatly affects education. Before this class, I thought that
Native Hawaiian students comprised only a small part of the public school population. However,
I now know that there is a huge amount of Native Hawaiians in our public schools. About16.6
percent of schools in Hawaii have a predominantly Native Hawaiian student population.
(Kekahio, 2007). With this large portion of our students being Native Hawaiian, I realized that
we have to cater to their needs more.
I learned that a students culture and the way a family deals with their culture have a
great influence on the way a student thinks and views the world. Culture is greatly cherished in
the hearts of Hawaiians. To be better teachers, we must understand that learning does not only
occur in the classroom, but at home as well. What goes on at home greatly impacts a students
education. It is sad to know that many Native Hawaiian students come from broken families.
Some of their parents may be unemployed or have drug and alcohol problems. Native Hawaiian
students have the highest rates of drug and alcohol abuse in the state of Hawaii (ECS, 2012). A
significant part of the reason for the high rates is due to parental influence.
Through my studies, I slowly began to realize that Native Hawaiians are very family
oriented. I now know that in order to teach all my students, I should have my lessons relate better
to their cultures. By doing this and encouraging cooperative learning techniques, classroom unity
will be achieved. Practicing cooperative learning strategies and using culturally relevant
approaches are a great way to teach Native Hawaiian students. The lessons that students learn are
not only applicable to the classroom, but to life in general. As teachers in Hawaii, it is always
best to teach with Aloha and understand that todays keiki are the leaders of tomorrow.









References
Bennett, C. I. (2011). Learning Styles and Culturally Competent Teaching.Comprehensive
multicultural education: theory and practice (7th ed., p. 236). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Bruning, R. H., Schraw, G. J., & Norby, M. M. (2011). Reading to Learn. Cognitive psychology
and instruction (5th ed., p. 262). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Merrill.
ECS (2012). Education Policy Issue Site: Minority/Diversity Issues--American Indian / Alaska
Native /
Native Hawaiian. Education Commission of the States--Helping State Leaders Shape
Education Policy. Retrieved September 9, 2012, from
http://www.ecs.org/html/issue.asp?issueid=84&subissueID=287
Kekahio, W. (2007, May 1). Native Hawaiians in Public Schools: Implications of AYP Status in
Predominantly Native Hawaiian Schools. Public Education Brief Series.
Retrieved September 5, 2012, from www.ksbe.edu/spi/PDFS/Reports/K-
12/ayp_200705.pdf
McLeod, S. (2007, January 1). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Simply Psychology - Psychology
Articles for
Students. Retrieved September 10, 2012, from http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslo

Meyer, M. A. (2003). Hooulu: our time of becoming : collected early writings of Manulani
Meyer. Honolulu, Hawaii Ai Phaku Press.
Potential Energy. (1996, January 1).The Physics Classroom. Retrieved September 10, 2012, from
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/ener