Conceptual Framework and Core Values
The College remains committed to the fundamental goal of employing as well as preparing education professionals who are KNOWLEDGEABLE, EFFECTIVE, and CARING, and who demonstrate these core values through their (k)nowledge, (s)kills, and (d)ispositions.
KNOWLEDGEABLE
Knowledge
It is our belief that knowledgeable educators are more effective, and therefore have a greater impact on the students they teach. Knowledge of subject matter, research-based practice, and teaching skills are clearly important factors as related to teaching quality and student outcomes. Additionally, educators must possess knowledge across an array of other areas, including pedagogy, educational research, human development, assessment, and individual learner needs. In short, we believe that a teacher must understand not only the subject matter to be taught, but also how to teach that subject matter, how to modify and adapt instructional practices to meet individual needs, and how to diagnose those needs.
Skills
Educators must know how to translate knowledge into the skills needed to pass on information and teach successfully. First and foremost, research shows that the most effective teachers possess knowledge of certain “generic teaching skills,” such as organizing lessons, implementing instructional strategies that are hands-on and inquiry-based, increasing “wait time” to allow students to reflect on the questions at hand, and providing corrective feedback. We also believe it is important for teachers to possess knowledge of the skills involved in linking educational research to teaching, and be able to “give back” to the body of knowledge in education by developing and sharing their own practitioner knowledge, which is grounded in the context in which educators work.
Dispositions
We believe it is important for educators to value knowledge and the process by which it is passed on to others. It is our goal to produce educators who are constantly seeking to increase their own knowledge of the field through professional development, reflection on practice, consideration of educational research, and collaboration with colleagues. In this way, we hope to produce educators who will become “lifelong learners” and lovers of knowledge and education.
These goals are in line with the following Hawaiian values and proverbs about knowledge, which we hope our students will understand and put into practice:
- ‘imi ‘ike—knowledgeable
- ‘imi na‘auao—enlightenment, wisdom
- hō‘ike—demonstrate or perform
- E hana mua a pa‘a ke kahua mamua o ke a‘o ana aku ia ha‘i—Build yourself a firm foundation before teaching others.
- Ua ao Hawai‘i ke ‘ōlino nei mālamalama—Hawai‘i is enlightened, for the brightness of day is here (Hawai‘i is in an era of education).
- O ke kahua mamua, mahope ke kūkulu—The site first, and then the building (Learn all you can, then practice).
- Lawe i ka ma‘alea a kū‘ono‘ono—Take wisdom and make it deep.