The Regional Educational Laboratory Pacific (REL-P) Technical Working Group (TWG) held their annual meeting at the Honolulu office of Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) on November 17–18, 2008. Sharing their expertise with the REL-P team on the design and conduct of the Pacific Communities with High-performance In Literacy Development (Pacific CHILD) program were distinguished educational authorities Dr. Geoffrey Borman, University of Wisconsin–Madison; Dr. Daniel Brown, University of Hawai‘i at Hilo; Ms. Rosa Palomo, University of Guam; Dr. Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Harvard Graduate School of Education; and Dr. Shuquang Zhang, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Also attending the event were Dr. Karen Armstrong, REL-P Contracting Officer’s Representative of the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C.; and Dr. Carol Pistorino, Vice President, Decision Information Resources.
As part of its work, the REL-P is carrying out a 5-year study on the effectiveness of the Pacific CHILD professional development model involving the implementation of a professional development program for 4th and 5th grade teachers, with a particular focus on English language learners. The study is sampling approximately 50 schools (comprising approximately 250 teachers and 5,800 students) in three jurisdictions across the Pacific region. The model of Pacific CHILD is based on lessons learned from and results of the REL-P’s 2001–2005 Pacific CHILD research on early literacy.
As one highlight to her Hawai‘i visit, Dr. Armstrong met with Ms. Patricia Dang, principal at Kapalama Elementary School, and was invited to tour this exceptional school. Kapalama Elementary School is one of three Hawai‘i schools recognized by the Hawai‘i Department of Education as a 2009 Blue Ribbon School for achieving superior standards of academic excellence.
(Posted December 19, 2008)
Nineteen residents of the U.S.-affiliated Pacific have been selected to attend the 2008 Leaders for Pacific Libraries (LPL) professional development in Yap, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The LPL professional development, funded by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and directed by Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL), will take place November 20–22, 2008, on Yap, as part of the 2008 Pacific Islands Association of Libraries, Archives, and Museums (PIALA) Conference.
The intensive professional development for the LPL cohort will include a 3-day postconference workshop on “The Art of Thinking Big: How to Go From an Idea to a Competitive Grant.” The training will be conducted by Ms. Elaina Norlin, Manager of New Initiatives and Outreach, OCLC Eastern, and Mr. Mathew Bellhouse-King, Research Assistant, PREL. Ms. Stephanie Gerding, coauthor of Grants for Libraries, will provide virtual training materials for the workshop. All LPL awardees will attend the PIALA conference from November 17 to 19, 2008.
By providing targeted professional development in specific areas of library management to this group, all of whom are preprofessional staff working in libraries, archives, and museums in their home jurisdictions, the LPL training seeks to improve library services across the region. The 2008 LPL attendees include: Perise Toilolo from American Samoa; Kieko Kanemoto from Chuuk; Patricia Aguon-Cruz and Erlinda Naputi from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI); Lourdes Nededog from Guam; Michael Williams from Kosrae; Mike Chipen, Jennifer Hainrick, Atarino Helieisar, Dosihner Jose, and Karleen Manuel from Pohnpei; Pearl Anien and Sistina Elbon from the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI); Mary Arius, Sandy Fernandez, Sunshine Garcia, and Imengel Mad from the Republic of Palau; and Erica Ruwepin and Helen Salap from Yap.
(Posted October 27, 2008)
Tom Barlow, President and CEO of Pacific Resources and Education and Learning (PREL), recently announced the nonprofit corporation’s internal operations reorganization “to provide more apparent logic around where programs are managed and how they approach the client.”
Reporting to Tom Barlow are Roger Chesswas, Chief Operations Officer (COO); Paul Dumas, Chief Programs Officer (CPO); Arthur Garbiso, Chief Information Officer (CIO); and Gwen Okamoto, Chief Finance Officer (CFO). These five individuals form the PREL Cabinet, which meets twice a month and functions to examine organizational issues and lead the organization.
Former Cabinet members are Robert Allen, Director of Business Development; Jackie Burniske, Director of Communications; Kim Gould, Director of Special Initiatives and Human Resources; Ormond Hammond, Director of Planning; and Scott Keir, Senior Evaluation Specialist. PREL acknowledges and thanks the new and former Cabinet members for their continued leadership in previous and new capacities, helping to guide PREL in the achievement of its mission, Building Capacity Through Education.
PREL has two Centers of Excellence: the Center for Accountability, Research, and Evaluation (CARE) and the Center for Learning and Teaching (CLT). These centers serve as organizing units for PREL’s programs and focus of work.
For additional information about the updated organization, please visit the Organization Profile page.
(Posted October 24, 2008)
For more than 20 years, Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) has invited Pacific educators to participate in its year-long Pacific Educator in Residence (PEIR) program, either in PREL’s Honolulu office or in one of PREL’s Service Centers located throughout the Pacific region. Eligibility for this program is open to any teacher, school administrator, counselor, education specialist, or faculty member at an educational institution within American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM; Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap), Guam, Hawai‘i, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the Republic of Palau.
During their year at PREL, PEIRs work within their scope of educational interest and expertise. They collaborate with educators in their respective fields and receive mentoring and feedback on their work. Many obtain continuing education credits—some apply their experience to earning educational degrees, including master’s and doctoral degrees in education. Upon completing their year with PREL, PEIRs return to their respective communities to share the knowledge and expertise they acquired with their departments and ministries of education. Most have returned to play major roles in education in their home entities.
This year, the 2008–2009 PEIR program welcomes educators Monroe David of Pohnpei, Martha Kintol from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Salavao Savea-Lopez of American Samoa.
Monroe David’s interests are with information technology. Among his many other responsibilities, most recently he has been the leader of the Pohnpei State Government Department of Education’s central office and school Internet access. He has also been in charge of the maintenance of all education computers, including those in the five outer islands of Pohnpei, and the Wave email system, which was obtained with PREL’s assistance through the U.S. Department of Education (U.S. ED). When asked to describe how his proposed PEIR experience will benefit his community upon his return, David responded, “The benefits will be enormous.” Continuing to build capacity for the existing information technology infrastructure and connecting classrooms to the information highway for effective classroom activities are but two of David’s major goals.
Martha Kintol of the CNMI Public School System (PSS) is most interested in English language arts and English language learners (ELLs) for grades 4–5. As Vice Principal for Curriculum and Instruction at Dandan Elementary School, Kintol has worked extensively with PREL on early literacy, writers’ workshop, ELL leadership training, and assessment. She has organized and facilitated professional development addressing the needs of students and teachers. Kintol wishes to return to the CNMI PSS to share the knowledge gained at PREL—adding another member to the CNMI PSS staff who has received extensive professional development in addressing the needs of ELLs.
From American Samoa, Salavao Savea-Lopez’s interests focus on ELLs and English language arts in grades 4–5. Savea-Lopez “believe[s] an effective teacher never ceases to learn and seeks opportunities that will allow him or her to develop and grow professionally in education.” She hopes the opportunities offered by PREL and the PEIR program will equip her with the “experience, knowledge, and skills necessary to perpetuate her commitment to providing quality education, thus ensuring the students of American Samoa are literate and productive members of the local as well as the global community.”
PREL welcomes these accomplished educators to the PEIR program and looks forward to their success in the interests of Pacific children. For more information about the PEIR program visit the homepage for the PEIR program.
(Posted October 13, 2008)
Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) Senior Specialist Dr. Marylin Low has been invited to speak on a panel of Systemic Functional Linguists at the 2008 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Convention, November 20–23, 2008, in San Antonio, Texas.
Themed Because Shift Happens: Teaching in the Twenty-First Century, thousands of K–12 teachers, college faculty, administrators, and other educational professionals will gather to hear award-winning speakers, attend idea-packed sessions, share best practices, and test the latest teaching materials.
According to Low, “Teachers face the problem of assessing what students know from what they say, especially when English is not their first language.” The panel’s presentation, “Assessing Discourse Functionally in Practice and Theory: The Case of Causal Discourse,” will offer “an assessment approach from the perspective of contextualized, content-based instruction in which task, content, and language ability are integrated in authentic communication. [The panel] will explore the assessment of learner discourse functionally as integrated form and meaning (language and content) using a functional model of discourse development, which offers principled criteria for assessment and illuminates learner difficulties at the level of discourse (integration of language and content).”
Each panel member’s presentation is based on a chapter in a book entitled Testing the Untestable, which will be published by Multilingual Matters in 2009.
Since 1911, the NCTE has worked to advance teaching, research, and student achievement in English language arts at all scholastic levels. With more than 60,000 members and subscribers in the United States and other countries, NCTE members are teachers and supervisors of English programs in elementary, middle, and secondary schools, faculty in college and university English departments, teacher educators, local and state agency English specialists, and professionals in related fields. As its mission statement explains, "The Council promotes the development of literacy, the use of language to construct personal and public worlds and to achieve full participation in society, through the learning and teaching of English and the related arts and sciences of language."
To learn more, please see NCTE President-Elect Kylene Beers’ welcome statement and the 2008 NCTE Annual Convention website.
(Posted October 01, 2008)
Two reports recently prepared for the United States Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) by Regional Educational Laboratory Pacific (REL Pacific), administered by Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL), focus on the status of large-scale assessment and the status of the preparation and hiring of school principals in the Pacific region.
Prepared by Jennifer Ryan and Scott Keir, PhD, “The Status of Large-Scale Assessment in the Pacific Region” addresses the need for effective large-scale assessment as a major priority for improving student achievement in the Pacific region jurisdictions: American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM; Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap), Guam, Hawai‘i, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the Republic of Palau.
The primary purpose of large-scale assessment is accountability and the provision of information to the federal government, state education agencies, key stakeholders, and the public on whether and how well schools are meeting achievement standards.
The chief state school officers and curriculum and instruction chiefs and directors of research and evaluation made it clear that educators want information related to the adoption, development, and revision of large-scale assessment for use with the culturally and linguistically diverse students in the Pacific region jurisdictions. This technical brief responds to that identified need.
“The Status of the Preparation and Hiring of School Principals in the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Region,” prepared by Sharon Camblin, EdD, and Scott Keir, PhD, responds to the requests of regional state education agencies and the urging of REL Pacific advisory groups to build on the recently published Issues & Answers report, “Preparing and Licensing High Quality Teachers in the Pacific Region Jurisdictions.”
The REL Technical Brief describes the current status of the preparation and hiring of school principals and answers a central question: What academic, practice-based, and standards and policy criteria are used in the preparation and hiring of principals in the Pacific region?
It was found that many jurisdictions had established certification standards and policies relatively recently, and that the procedures and criteria for preparing and hiring school principals vary across jurisdictions in model, requirements, and implementation level. The only requirements common to all 10 jurisdictions are that principals must complete some college-level coursework and have teaching experience.
To read the newly published REL Technical Briefs, visit the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education at the following locations.
“The Status of Large-Scale Assessment in the Pacific Region”
“The Status of the Preparation and Hiring of School Principals in the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Region”
REL Technical Briefs is a new report series from Fast Response Projects that help educators obtain evidence-based answers to their specific requests for information on pressing education issues. REL Technical Briefs offer highly targeted responses across a variety of subjects, from reviews of particular studies or groups of studies on implementation issues for the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, to compilations or quick summaries of state or local education agency data, to appraisals of particular instruments or tools, and to short updates of Issues & Answers reports. All REL Technical Briefs meet Institute of Education Sciences (IES) standards for scientifically valid research. For more information about IES, please visit http://ies.ed.gov.
(Posted September 26, 2008)
Jane Barnwell, Director, Pacific Resource Center, Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL), will participate in the Ninth PRIDE Regional Workshop to be held September 8–13, 2008, in Nadi, Fiji Islands.
Supported by Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS); Secretariat for the Pacific Community (SPC); United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); and PREL, the Pacific Regional Initiatives for the Delivery of basic Education (PRIDE) Project seeks to enhance student learning by facilitating the development of national educational plans.
Attendees of the workshop have been invited from participating PRIDE Project countries, including the Commonwealth of Australia, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap), the Republic of the Fiji Islands, the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru, Niue, New Zealand, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), the Republic of Palau, the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, the Independent State of Samoa, the Solomon Islands, the Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu, and the Republic of Vanuatu.
PREL has supported this project by contributing to the development of the plans for the RMI and Palau and supporting and participating in annual PRIDE workshops. The multiyear project is funded by the European Union (EU) and the New Zealand Agency for International Development (NZAID). It is implemented by the Institute of Education at the University of the South Pacific.
The Ninth PRIDE Regional Workshop is targeted at education policy makers and practitioners responsible for the development, management, or delivery of resources and services that support teaching and learning; specifically, it is for professionals working in school libraries, information and communication technology (ICT), and information literacy (IL).
A unique feature of the 2008 workshop will be access to an “E-Village,” or school e-learning center. This workshop venue will demonstrate a best practice example of a school’s e-learning center. The “E-Village” will integrate ICT and traditional learning resources in a modern and comfortable environment.
For additional information, please visit the Ninth PRIDE Regional Workshop website.
(Posted September 02, 2008)
Peace Corps volunteer teachers throughout the Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap) and the Republic of Palau will receive a donation of educational resources from Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL).
The Peace Corps volunteers teach various subjects from grades 5 through 12, as well as at the college level. All of them teach English as a second language (ESL) in their respective entities.
As a leader in reading and literacy development in the Pacific region, PREL is proud to provide resources and assistance to this fine group of dedicated volunteer teachers.
(Posted August 25, 2008)
Sonja Evensen, Evaluation Specialist at Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) and Vice President of the Hawai‘i-Pacific Evaluation Association (H-PEA), has announced that the 3rd annual H-PEA conference, to be held at the Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio Hotel, will take place on September 4–5, 2008.
H-PEA is the official local affiliate of the American Evaluation Association. According to H-PEA’s Web release, “Conference highlights include panel presentations by internationally renowned evaluators and researchers in the Pacific region, poster presentations of local evaluation work, thematic conversation tables, and the election of association officers.”
Three half-day preconference workshops will be held on Thursday, September 4, followed by an all-day conference on Friday, September 5. This year's conference theme, Evaluating to Learn; Learning to Evaluate, is on evaluation capacity-building. In response to requests from H-PEA members, paper presentations and a poster session are being planned.
A very exciting lineup of workshop presenters and conference keynote speakers include Hallie Preskill, professor at Claremont Graduate University and former president of the American Evaluation Association; and Tom Kelley, evaluation manager at the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Maryland. Both are engaging speakers with extensive hands-on experience in evaluation and evaluation training.
PREL’s Director of External Evaluations, Chuck Giuli, will participate in a panel entitled "Insights on Evaluation From Program Funders, Managers, and Evaluators."
Adding to the knowledge sharing of this dynamic conference, PREL staff, among others, will be offering poster presentations.
For additional information, please visit the H-PEA website.
(Posted August 08, 2008)
Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) has begun implementation of the Enhanced HIV/AIDS Prevention in the Pacific project. This project is supported by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and focuses on community information outreach and training. The purpose of this project is to provide librarians, educators, public health personnel, and other community members in the U.S.-affiliated Pacific with training on how to access and retrieve reliable HIV/AIDS-prevention-related information, specifically from NLM databases and other information resources including EBSCOHost databases and STAT!Ref.
Among other outreach activities, training sessions will be presented for educators attending this year’s Pacific Educational Conference (PEC) in Pago Pago, American Samoa, held July 14–17, 2008. Training sessions will also be offered to public health staff at the LBJ Tropical Medical Center in American Samoa during the same week. Additionally, library staff will be able to attend sessions during the annual Pacific Islands Association of Libraries, Archives, and Museums (PIALA) conference to be held in Yap, the Federated States of Micronesia, in November 2008.
(Posted August 08, 2008)
The Pacific Educational Conference (PEC) will celebrate its 25th anniversary July 14–17, 2008, in American Samoa. Cohosted this year by the American Samoa Department of Education, American Samoa Community College, and Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL), the PEC is one of the largest gatherings of educators in the Pacific region. A highlight of the PEC is the honoring of the Pacific Teachers of the Year (TOYs).
The Pacific Teachers of the Year recognition program, sponsored by Pacific corporate partners Continental Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt International Publishers, and PREL, is a conference tradition that began in 1996. This program provides an opportunity for outstanding teachers from American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia (Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk, and Yap), Guam, Hawai‘i, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau to attend the 3-day conference. The TOYs are honored at a reception with their chief state school officers (CSSOs), traditional chiefs, government officials, and other dignitaries. They are introduced by their respective CSSO and receive gifts of educational materials. The opening general session of the PEC is their moment, as the outstanding teachers are recognized by all conference attendees. At the PEC, the TOYs not only pursue their own professional development, but also share their successful teaching strategies with other conference attendees. In their workshops at the PEC, the TOYs share “what works” in their classrooms, from lesson plans to instructional strategies in the Teacher of the Year presentations.
The 2008 Pacific Teachers of the Year are as follows:
Mr. Ron Canos, Simon A. Sanchez High School, Guam. Canos has been a teacher for 10 years and currently teaches art in grades 9–12.
Ms. Raisa Chiwi, Weno High School, Chuuk, the Federated States of Micronesia. Chiwi has been a teacher for 3 years and currently teaches English reading and English writing in grades 9, 10, and 12.
Ms. Pelsihner Elias, Madolenihmw High School, Pohnpei, the Federated States of Micronesia. Elias has been a teacher for 1 year and currently teaches algebra I in grade 10.
Ms. Patricia Fuiava, Manu‘a High School, American Samoa. Fuiava has been a teacher for 13 years and currently teaches English in grades 9–12.
Ms. RosaLynne Florendo, Koror Elementary School, Republic of Palau. Florendo has been a teacher for 9 years and currently teaches math, English, Palauan studies, social studies, science, and health in grades 3–5.
Mr. Andrew Golden, Saipan Southern High School, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Golden has been a teacher for 5 years and currently teaches physics and chemistry in grades 10–12.
Mr. Damian Jetnil, Assumption Elementary School, the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Jetnil has been a teacher for 9 years and currently teaches all subjects in grades 1 and 4.
Mrs. Pascale Creek Pinner, Hilo Intermediate School, Hawai‘i. Pinner has been a teacher for 21 years and currently teaches earth & space science as well as gifted & talented science in grade 8.
Mr. Dominic Tachielig, Ifalik Community School, Yap, Federated States of Micronesia. Tachielig has been a teacher for 18 years and currently teaches all subjects in grades 5–9.
Mr. Annang Welly, Sansrik Elementary School, Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia. Welly has been a teacher for 8 years and currently teaches math and social studies in grades 7–9.
Along with the Pacific partners of the TOY program, the PEC attendees and their individual communities, PREL would like to congratulate these exemplary teachers and wish them continued great success in their work on behalf of Pacific children.
Please visit PREL’s website to learn more about the PEC.
(Posted August 08, 2008)
Pacific Communities with High-performance In Literacy Development (Pacific CHILD) is a rigorous regional research study of a principles-based professional development program. Regional Educational Laboratory Pacific (REL-P), administered by Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL), is conducting the study in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and Hawai‘i. The professional development program focuses on literacy development for English language learners.
The professional development program includes annual institutes conducted for participating project teachers. The purpose of the annual institutes is to introduce teachers to various research-based strategies for effectively teaching and learning reading comprehension, which teachers will use throughout the 2-year research study. The institute is designed so that topics introduced in the 1st year are revisited and extended in the 2nd year in order to consolidate learning. The CNMI is in its 2nd year of participation in the study.
On June 9–20, 2008, thirteen 4th- and 5th-grade teachers from Dandan Elementary School, Koblerville Elementary School, Kagman Elementary School, and WSR Elementary School participated in the Pacific CHILD annual institute 2. In its 2nd year, the annual institute focused on deepening teachers’ knowledge and skills in teaching reading comprehension for all students—especially English language learners (ELLs)—and improving student achievement in reading. REL-P Program Specialists Susan Hanson, Evelyn Ooka, and Josi Jones-Lizama conducted this second Pacific CHILD annual institute in the CNMI.
The 1st week of the institute began with a brief overview of the Pacific CHILD study. The program specialists then delved into deepening the teachers’ knowledge, which included techniques for teaching vocabulary, comprehension strategies, and pedagogy. Participants learned about research supporting effective teaching and learning in reading comprehension, observed demonstrations, and had the opportunity to practice the techniques.
During the 2nd week, the program specialists focused on classroom lesson demonstrations with 45 5th-grade students, 15 in each class. According to research about how teachers learn, opportunities for teachers to discuss instructional strategies and techniques together assist their ability to plan and implement lessons more effectively. Therefore, following the demonstrations, the specialists and teachers would debrief to share their thoughts on the lesson. Participating teachers also taught with specific reading components and focused instructional formats each day, after lesson demonstrations by the program specialists. These lessons were observed by the program specialists, who would then hold debriefs with the teachers. Teachers spent the afternoons of the institute working in collaborative groups called Cooperative Lesson Planning (CLP) groups, where program specialists provided more information, activities, and guidance for teachers as they prepared their lessons for the following day. Each CLP group had four to five members, one or two from each of the above mentioned schools. Additionally, the teachers were able to meet in their peer groups to share insights from their CLP group.
The intense 2-week annual institute ended with an award ceremony, honoring each 5th-grade student and teacher with a certificate of participation. As one teacher commented, “It’s the best professional development I’ve ever attended in my years as a teacher for the public school system.”
(Posted June 25, 2008)
At the invitation only symposium, Javier Elizondo, Director, and Meagan Rothschild, Instructional Designer, presented the beta version of the PREL-developed Cosmos Chaos!™, a handheld role-playing game (RPG) for the Nintendo DS that helps struggling readers learn vocabulary and reading strategies. At the symposium were over 150 leaders in academic research, policy, philanthropy, education, and the high tech and children's media industries. The purpose of the symposium was to feature cutting edge research, demonstrate emerging best practices in digital media for children, and develop an action agenda for the field. For a complete agenda of the event, visit the Joan Ganz Cooney website.
Cosmos Chaos!™ was developed through the funding of a U.S. Department of Education (USED) Star Schools grant, JUMP Into Reading for Meaning (JUMP) awarded to PREL in 2005. By combining the talents of artists, game developers, and educators, Cosmos Chaos!™, a handheld role-playing game (RPG) that helps struggling 4th grade readers learn vocabulary and reading strategies, brings the latest educational research to the Nintendo DS system. Cosmos Chaos!™ gives players a gaming experience in which they will have fun exploring diverse environments; overcoming wacky robot challenges; completing engaging quests; solving thought-provoking puzzles; and earning new abilities and skills by collecting words, understanding their meanings, and using them to solve problems. Using the Nintendo DS, a game delivery system well-liked by the target population, Cosmos Chaos!™ actively engages players in word learning activities that allow them to take ownership of their learning. Educational concepts align to 4th grade standards in math, science, and social studies, and teaching methods embedded in the game are grounded in current vocabulary research. Add all of that to a dynamic storyline and a fantastical world in which players take center stage. Cosmos Chaos!™ has merged research-based curricular content with sound game design to please kids and grown-ups alike. Cosmos Chaos!™ is in the final stages of development and is not yet available to the general public.
The following publications provide more information about Cosmos Chaos!™:
Cosmos Chaos!™ Flyer
Cosmos Chaos!™ Overview
(Posted June 05, 2008)
Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) Director of the Mathematics Education for Novice Teachers: Opportunities for Reflection (MENTOR) Project, Dr. Sandy Dawson, will be making a trip across Micronesia this May, and he hopes to distribute reading glasses through PREL Service Centers and prescription glasses to hospitals, for those who have difficulty in obtaining them. This year, Micronesian students from McKinley High School and Waipahu High School were able to collect over 100 pairs of glasses.
PREL is seeking additional donations to meet the great need in the region, especially on remote islands and atolls, and Director Dawson would like to take with him as much as an entire suitcase full of glasses.
Please drop off your donation at PREL’s downtown Honolulu main office in the Pioneer Plaza Building at 900 Fort Street Mall, Suite 1300. Call (808) 441-1300 should you have any questions. Please do not mail your donation.
PREL greatly appreciates your contribution to the reading needs of Micronesia.
(Posted May 09, 2008)
Senior content specialist on Pacific Resources for Education and Learning's (PREL’s) JUMP into Reading for Meaning project, Cheryl Taitague, presented a session on strategies for struggling readers at the International Reading Association’s (IRA’s) 58th Annual Convention Institute, May 4–8, 2008. Held in Atlanta, GA, at the Georgia World Congress Center, the institute, entitled “Vocabulary Instruction: The Challenges and Strategies for Success,” was chaired by Dr. Susan B. Neuman, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Dr. Cathy Collins Bloc, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX; and Dr. John N. Mangieri, Institute for Literacy Enhancement, Charlotte, NC.
Taitague’s breakout session, “Vocabulary Strategies for Success: Helping Struggling Readers,” highlighted how games such as the JUMP project’s Cosmos Chaos!™ have the potential to be effective learning tools for struggling readers and today’s generation of digital age learners.
(Posted May 05, 2008)
On February 28th, 2008, Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) Board of Directors, staff, and more than 40 invited guests from Hawai‘i State government, education, and business sectors celebrated PREL’s recommitment to its work and mission.
The event began with an oli followed by pule (blessings) for PREL, its mission, staff, and constituents, offered by Senior Scientist and Cultural Advisor, Dr. Samuel M. ‘Ohukani‘ōhi‘a Gon III, of the Nature Conservancy.
Guests were invited to tour the PREL facilities, visit with members of the staff, and enjoy refreshments.
On behalf of PREL, Board Chairman Fr. James Croghan and President and CEO Dr. Tom Barlow offered their congratulatory remarks regarding the excellence of work PREL staff and educational constituents of the Pacific region have done, and will continue to do, in furthering PREL’s mission—Building Capacity Through Education.
(Posted March 27, 2008)
March 27–28, 2008 marks the 9th Annual Native Hawaiian Education Association (NHEA) Convention to be held at Windward Community College in Kāne‘ohe, Hawai’i. With its focus, “He Pūko‘a Kani ‘Āina” (A coral reef that grows into an island), the conference will offer 2 days of keynote speeches, workshops, and networking opportunities for and with native Hawaiian educators.
Along with an exhibit table for networking and sharing products and services, Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) will present four workshops:
According to NHEA, the “Native Hawaiian Education Association is a private nonprofit organization of Native Hawaiian educators. The organization was started in 1998 with its first Convention on the island of Maui. Adapted after the National Indian Education Association (NIEA), NHEA facilitates a network of Hawaiian educators to attend to the various educational issues which challenge the Hawaiian population and is designed to be a self-sustaining umbrella organization for Hawaiian education and Hawaiian educators.
NHEA is a grassroots organization focused on supporting, encouraging, networking, collaborating, and furthering the work of those tasked with the responsibility of educating our Native Hawaiian children. As an association, NHEA advocates an educational philosophy which acknowledges a Native Hawaiian perspective to teaching and learning in the 21st century.”
(Posted March 27, 2008)
Sponsored by the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM), Center for Pacific Islands Studies, with the assistance of the UHM School of Pacific and Asian Studies and the Sidney Stern Memorial Trust, and held at the East-West Center Imin Conference Center, Honolulu, Hawai‘i, the Micronesian Voices in Hawai‘i conference is described by conference planners as “a unique opportunity to listen to and learn from Micronesian leaders and others in the community about steps they are taking to address some of the challenges faced by new migrants from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. Spurred by the Compacts of Free Association between their countries and the United States, many Micronesians have moved to Hawai‘i. Many are serving our community in professional capacities across the economy. Others, however, are facing challenges in their struggle to achieve economic self-sufficiency. In addition to low wages and a high cost of living, they face new cultural expectations, an unfamiliar language, confusing educational and health bureaucracies, and changes in their family structures. State and local agencies and organization are also facing challenges as they attempt to understand and respond to the needs of this new group of migrants.
The conference panels will address four broad areas of need—strengthening communities, increasing effective communication, building programs for health and education, and educating for rights and responsibilities. Panelists will describe promising initiatives, tell us what we can learn from these programs, and describe the resources and infrastructure that are needed to build on these initiatives.”
Acting as Master of Ceremonies on the first day of the conference will be Canisius Filibert, Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) Director, Territories & Freely Associated States Education Grant Program (T&FASEGP) and Director, Pacific Vocational Education Improvement Program (PVEIP).
Filibert will introduce a presentation by Dr. Hilda Heine, Director of Policy and the Pacific Comprehensive Center, PREL, who will speak about “Micronesians’ Contributions and Challenges in Hawai‘i.”
Heine and Filibert will be among other esteemed Micronesian community panelists discussing topics such as “Strengthening Community” and “Increasing Effective Communication Between and Among Communities Here, Home, and Online.”
On the final day of the conference, Hawai’i State Governor, Linda Lingle, will speak on “Recommendations for Policy Makers”—summing up the 2-day conference by emphasizing recommendations that emerged across topics.
For additional information, please visit the conference website or contact Dr. Tisha Hickson at ctisha@hawaii.edu.
(Posted March 27, 2008)
Hosted by the Hawai‘i Department of Education E-School and with Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) as a premier sponsor, the 11th Annual Technology in Education Conference is being held at the Hawai‘i Convention Center, on March 11–12, 2008.
Among noted technology in education presenters will be PREL’s Javier Elizondo, Jump Into Reading for Meaning (JUMP) Director, and Meagan Rothschild, Curriculum/Instruction Design Specialist. Their presentation titled “Let the Kids Play!” will focus on PREL’s JUMP program, sharing the development of work on a research-based vocabulary video game targeting struggling 4th grade readers, for use on a Nintendo DS™. Beta development of the first three levels has been completed, and pilot players have been giving the game trial runs, providing the development team with feedback about their experiences.
According to the Hawai‘i Department of Education E-School, the purpose of the conference is to share innovative ideas and projects that integrate technology into instruction and to build a global community of learners. E-School students and teachers, and schools and educators from our global learning community, will showcase student work, curriculum integration, and technology in education. With over 1,500 participants yearly from Hawai‘i, California, Washington, Japan, and the Pacific, this conference provides organizations a unique opportunity to reach a global market and provides the education community information on the latest hardware, software, services, and trends in the world of education technology.
(Posted March 11, 2008)
Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) announces its acceptance of applications for the annual Pacific Teacher Scholarships. PREL created the scholarship fund in 2004 in an effort to increase the number of qualified teachers working in the U.S.-affiliated Pacific. Twenty-three aspiring teachers in the region have already been awarded scholarships.
Scholarships ranging in amounts from $750 to $1,000 are awarded to students who will be in their 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year of study in an accredited teacher preparation program. Applicants must reside in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Guam, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), or the Republic of Palau, and intend to teach in a public school in the U.S.-affiliated Pacific.
To apply for a Pacific Teacher Scholarship for the 2008–2009 school year, contact your local PREL service center or visit the PREL’s Pacific Teacher Scholarship webpage, where the application form and instructions on how to apply are listed. All application materials must be received at your local PREL service center or the Honolulu office by April 1, 2008.
(Posted March 04, 2008)
Two reports recently prepared for the United States Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) by the Regional Educational Laboratory Pacific (REL Pacific) administered by Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) focus on English language proficiency in the Pacific region and high-quality teachers.
English Language Proficiency Assessment in the Pacific Region, by Don Burger, EdD; Rodrigo Mauricio; and Jennifer Ryan, reports that “using various approaches to identify English language learners, several Pacific region jurisdictions are developing English language proficiency standards and assessments aligned with those standards. Others are working on content standards, including language arts, and have expressed interest in developing English language proficiency standards, but lack formal assessment mechanisms."
The findings of the second report, Preparing and Licensing High-Quality Teachers in Pacific Region Jurisdictions, prepared by Hilda C. Heine, EdD, and Masa-Aki Emesiochl, confirm that “the Pacific region needs more highly qualified teachers, but current teacher preparation and training programs and certification and licensing processes are not meeting this need.”
For additional information and to read the complete media release, please visit http://www.prel.org/news/media-releases/101807.aspx
To view, download, and print the full reports as PDF files, please visit:
English Language Proficiency Assessment in the Pacific Region at:
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/pacific/pdf/REL_2007014.pdf
and
Preparing and Licensing High Quality Teachers in Pacific Region Jurisdictions at: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/pacific/pdf/REL_2007031.pdf.
(Posted February 26, 2008)
Held at Kapi`olani Community College, Hawai`i TESOL 2008 will take place Saturday, February 23, and will feature a full day of informative sessions and networking opportunities for Hawai`i English as a second language (ESL) professionals. Themed “Reading Connections,” the conference will feature a plenary address, an afternoon pedagogic workshop, posters, and numerous presentation sessions.
Dr. Richard Day of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa will begin the conference with an informative plenary address about the connections between reading fluency and comprehension.
PREL’s Senior Specialist for English Language Learning, Dr. Margaret Ho, will team with PREL Reading Specialists Susan Hanson and Jennifer Padua in presenting “Differentiated Instruction for [English Language Learners (ELLs)], a Key to Enhanced Reading Comprehension.” They will speak about the challenges teachers face when teaching to the standards while making content comprehensible to growing numbers of ELLs. In addition, they will discuss PREL’s Pacific CHILD professional development program, which focuses on improving upper elementary teachers’ knowledge and skills in teaching reading comprehension, with special attention to English language proficiency.
For additional information please visit Hawai`i TESOL or http://www.hawaiitesol.org.
(Posted February 21, 2008)
Held at the Sia‘atoutai Theological College in Nuku‘alofa, Tonga in May 2006, the fifth Pacific Regional Initiatives for the Delivery of basic Education (PRIDE) Regional Workshop produced its fourth volume in the University of the South Pacific Institute of Education’s Pacific Education Series, The Basics of Learning: Literacy and Numeracy in the Pacific.
Attended by senior curriculum and teacher professional development officers responsible for curriculum development and delivery in the fields of literacy (both English and vernacular) and mathematics at the primary level from 15 Pacific countries, the aim of the workshop was to engage participants in the process of reconceptualizing the way literacy (both English and vernacular) and numeracy are considered and practiced in participants’ countries and in the region. Part of the process required reflecting on global developments in literacy and numeracy, and examining the implications for the Pacific.
Keynoting at this most esteemed gathering of educators were Pacific Resources for Education and Learning’s (PREL’s) Dr. Marylin Low, Senior Specialist, Languages and Literacies, and Dr. Lesley Lee, Senior Specialist, Mathematics.
Presenting “Living (in) Literacy(ies) in New Times,” Dr. Low began by referring to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO’s) Education for All 2006 Global Monitoring Report: Literacy for Life,“ Literate societies enable the free exchange of text-based information and provide an array of opportunities for lifelong learning” (p. 159).
Her report continues, “Becoming literate, as a broad life skill in linguistic, social, cultural, and economic terms, sits at the centre of this important declaration, and those of us engaged in improving the conditions for basic education in Pacific communities need to take heed. As the [UNESCO report] indicates, ‘It is difficult to separate the right to literacy from the right to education or the benefits of literacy from those of education’ [p. 135]. Simply put, literacy matters. Our challenge as Pacific educators is to determine how best to address literacy learning in today’s classrooms.”
“Numeracy: Numbers, Arithmetic, or Mathematics?” was the focus of Dr. Lee’s report. She began, “Have you heard of the book Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten? Even if you have not, you might appreciate this story. My youngest son, on returning home from his last day in kindergarten, announced that he was quitting school because ‘I know my numbers and I know my letters.’ What more was there to learn? In one sense he was already numerate and literate.”
She continued, “Societies need to consider seriously some of the recent international developments in the fields of mathematics and mathematics education if they want to make the best choices in curriculum and instruction.” Dr. Lee chose four paradigm shifts in these fields that she considers not only significant but also liberating in their consequences for all those devoted to improving the teaching and learning of mathematics.
The four paradigm shifts, or developments, are: (1) in the very definition or conception of the child-learner, (2) in the field of mathematics, (3) in mathematics education, and (4) in the tools for doing mathematics. Each of these shifts and its consequences for teaching and learning mathematics is examined in Dr. Lee’s report.
(Posted January 29, 2008)
Pacific Resources for Education and Learning’s President & CEO, Tom Barlow, recently announced that PREL has been selected as one of 2008’s Best Places To Work in Hawai‘i by Hawai‘i Business magazine.
Best Places To Work in Hawai‘i, sponsored by ProService Hawai‘i, is an annual feature for Hawai‘i Business. This past year, employees of organizations competing for the awards were surveyed across the state. Their responses were compiled by the Best Companies Group and used to determine Hawai‘i’s top employers.
For additional information, please refer to the complete media release.
(Posted January 29, 2008)
In March 2007, Jack Ading, former Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) accountant of 13 years, left PREL to run in a special election for the position of Senator representing his home island of Enewetak in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) government. He won the March 2007 special election, and the subsequent general election held in November 2007. As a result of the general election, Senator Ading was most recently appointed to the position of Minister of Finance for the RMI.
PREL wishes to congratulate Minister Ading and express our pride in his achievements.
(Posted January 29, 2008)
On Friday, January 11, 2008, the Regional Educational Laboratory Pacific (REL-P) invited Hawai‘i Department of Education (HIDOE) schools to a forum with the REL-P’s Reading Advisory Panel. The schools attending the forum are either interested in or currently participating in REL-P’s study on the effectiveness of a professional development model, Pacific Communities with High-performance In Literacy Development (Pacific CHILD).
The Reading Advisory Panel comprises Panel Chairman Dr. Michael L. Kamil of Stanford University; and members Dr. Anne Cunningham of the University of California at Berkley; Dr. Jana Echevarria of California State University, Long Beach; Dr. Gerald Duffy of the University of North Carolina, Greensboro; and Dr. Dorothy Strickland of Rutgers University. These nationally recognized and respected literacy experts engaged in rich conversations about the latest reading research on comprehension, English language learners (ELLs), and vocabulary acquisition with HIDOE resource teachers and classroom teachers.
The forum offered teachers an opportunity to exchange ideas with some of the leading experts in the field, and to seek further information about how to best improve their instructional practices.
The professional development model of Pacific CHILD is specifically designed for teachers of ELLs. The model focuses on three key reading comprehension strategies coupled with three key instructional strategies. The REL-P’s study, Principles-based Professional Development to Improve Reading Comprehension for English Language Learners, targets the 4th and 5th grades. The study addresses several critical and enduring needs in the Pacific region, such as ELL achievement gaps and teacher quality.
(Posted January 29, 2008)
Dr. Margaret Ho, Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) Senior Specialist for English Language Learning, will present at the 42nd Annual Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Convention and Exhibit in New York City April 2–5, 2008.
The theme of this year’s convention is “Worlds of TESOL: Building Communities of Practice, Inquiry, and Creativity.” Ho will join thousands of people involved in teaching and learning English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) coming from as many as 140 countries. There will be students of ESOL, content teachers who have ESOL students in their classes, materials developers, and TESOL specialists working in all levels of education—pre-K–12, community colleges, university programs, refugee and immigrant programs, and community programs for elders. There will be speakers of numerous varieties of English, representing the many worlds of TESOL.
Dr. Ho’s presentation, “Contextualized Professional Development in the Pacific Region,” will focus on and “describe context and highlight how it shapes instruction.” The presentation will examine how “classroom practices reflect Pacific cultures’ pedagogical traditions and practices, as distinct from Western theory and practice,” and will look for answers to the question: “How is professional development, as conceived by researchers, contextualized for island cultures?”
(Posted January 16, 2008)
Contact PREL