Pacific Resources for Education and Learning

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Cultural differences affect the process of doing business and managing, whether it be in the corporate world or in education. When it comes to the classrooms, these cultural differences can have a lasting impact on a child’s learning and educational experience, both positive and negative.  Since 1990, PREL has been working in the Pacific region assisting schools and teachers with teaching students of diverse cultures. We have helped them contextualize the educational content and make it more relevant and meaningful. Multilingual and multicultural classrooms exist in every community. How educators think about linguistically and culturally diverse students and act on those beliefs is integral to the school reform effort. Teachers need to acquire knowledge about the cultures of minority students and the impact of culture on the development of self-concept and social acceptance. PREL can assist you in this effort.

Workshop

Capturing Wisdom Using Multimedia

Audience: Teachers, Curriculum Specialists, ELL Specialists, Technology Specialists
Give students a chance to express their unique cultural backgrounds. Learn how digital media can be used to archive knowledge and cultural practices through interviewing elders, role-playing, and storytelling.

Culturally Responsive Schools for Micronesian Students

Audience: Teachers, Curriculum Specialists, ESL Specialists, Administrators
Building culturally sensitive schools requires a better understanding of new immigrant groups by administrators and teachers as well as students. In order to establish a classroom environment that is culturally sensitive to Micronesian students, PREL has developed a training series that is designed to bridge the cultures of the schools and Micronesian students and parents. It is important to support successful learning for Micronesian students.

The PREL-developed Teaching Educators About Micronesian Students (TEAMS)  website and accompanying materials such the Teacher Resources on Selected Pacific Cultural Topics (Teach ReSPCT), support educators in their efforts to better serve these immigrating groups by providing cultural profiles and other information about the Freely-Associated States (the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau).

Module 1: Micronesian Cultures 101

Audience: Teachers, Administrators, Other School Staff
Increase knowledge and understanding of Micronesian cultures by exploring, discussing, and valuing diversity and the role of these cultures in the classroom. This workshop utilizes the TEAMS website that contains PREL-developed products including the paper, Culturally Responsive Schools for Micronesian Immigrant Students.

Module 2: Micronesian Students’ Learning Styles and Strengths

Audience: Teachers
Explore Micronesian students’ learning styles and strengths in the contexts of their cultures, and identify strategies beneficial to them in a mainstream classroom. This workshop uses a variety of materials including the TEAMS website.

Module 3: Hawai‘i Schools: What Micronesian Parents Must Know

Audience: Micronesian Parents and Families at a specific school site or complex
Communicate and share to help Micronesian parents learn what they need to know about their child’s education. This includes information about the 4 Rs: requirements, roles, rights, and responsibilities. This workshop uses a variety of materials including the TEAMS  website.

Rethinking Education in Micronesia  

Audience:  Education Administrators, Policy Makers, Teachers
Education reform for many Pacific entities and communities has remained largely focused on maintaining and improving the inherited educational systems and little questioning of the values and assumptions underpinning formal education systems. The rethinking education initiative allows space for PREL staff and clients to explore together fundamental issues underpinning education for Pacific indigenous communities. Such questions as, What are the purposes of education?, What is the guiding vision for education?, and What is the role of education in meeting those purposes and visions?, can education be made more relevant, be owned and driven by people of the communities for which it is intended to serve. These and many other questions are explored.    

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Programs

Assistance for the Comprehensive Educational Development Mindanao (ASCEND Mindanao)
Equity Center
Parent Information and Resource Center—Federated States of Micronesia (PIRC FSM)
Parent Information and Resource Center—Republic of the Marshall Islands (PIRC RMI)
Pacific Comprehensive Center (PCC)

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Websites

Pacific Area Language Materials (PALM)
Pacific Language Early Readers
Teaching Educators About Micronesian Students (TEAMS)
Telling Stories: Using Drama & Multimedia with ESL Students

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Products

Print

Books:
Island Alphabet Books

Papers:
Culturally Responsive Schools for Micronesian Immigrant Students
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and Implications for the Pacific Territories and Freely Associated States
Teacher Certification Systems
The Language Question in Pacific Education: The Case of the Republic of the Marshall Islands

Multimedia

Audiotapes:
Reading Aloud to Children

CDs:
Pacific Language Early Readers
Reading Aloud to Children

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Contact PREL

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