Page 267 - Cultural Studies of Science Education

18 A Case Study of David, a Native Hawaiian Science Teacher 241

the relationships of the kanaka maoli (Native Hawaiians) and their connection to their
ocean, their land, and all the living organisms that share it with them.
David believes that being a Hawaiian science teacher increases his ability to be a role
model for underrepresented minority students. His modeling of indigeneity extended
to extracurricular activities connecting indigenous and school identities. After teach-
ing for 4 years, during which time he and his colleagues succeeded in establishing
Hawaii’s first mandatory 3-year middle-school science program, he started a hula
hālau (school; literally, a branch from which many leaves grow) at the school.
I use my indigenous status to promote a positive role model for my students. I allow my role
as a teacher to mix with my strong image of myself as a kanaka maoli and I share that blending
with my students. I often try to connect to the ethnic background into my teaching. I am always
looking for ethnic and social relevance to my lessons, and try to assure my students that this
connection allows them to learn more about themselves and where they came from.
To give balance to my life and express my love of flora and fauna I incorporated that
knowledge with the arts. I founded a hula hālau with the assistance of a life long friend and
kumu hula (hula master). The hālau was named Kei Ka Nani o Wahi’ika’ahu’ula (How glori-
ous is Wahi’ika’ahu’ula) after Princess Abigail Campbell Kawananakoa, wife of Prince
David Kawananakoa (the namesake of our school). Using my lineage connected to the
Kawananakoa family we received a grant from Kekaulike Kawananakoa who was greatly
touched by our honoring of her grandmother. We returned our aloha by participating in the
State Hula Competition using ipu heke and palapalai fern collected on the slopes of
Wai‘anae. Our young middle school ladies performed a hula honoring Puna entitled Ke Ha’a
La Puna where my family originated. Our young ladies received a first place award and were
jubilant considering they were only 5 girls performing against many larger private school
hālau.

Evaluating Outcomes of a Reformed Middle-School Science
Program

For his master’s research (Hana‘ike 2000), David compared 92 students who had
attended the reformed middle-school science program with 86 students from an
intermediate school about a mile away serving a similar population. David studied
high-school students enrolled in Honors Biology (stanines 7–9) and Physical
Science classes (stanines 1–6). He collected grades and student surveys evaluating
their prior science programs. Like Melissa, he found Honors Biology students from
both schools had statistically identical first through third quarter grades. But his
school’s Physical Science students significantly outperformed peers each quarter
and traditionally underrepresented students enrolled in Honors Biology at higher
rates. Students from the reformed program were also twice as likely to report teach-
ers as their most important motivation to learn and gave higher ratings to their
learning of science content and processes.
David included a case study of a disruptive student with a record for theft and
possession of a controlled substance to illustrate student change through teacher
mentoring. David nominated the student to be a homeroom representative and
accreditation team member (over colleagues’ objections), and became the primary