Kupu Hou Academy
For Educators, By Educators
Kupu Hou Academy was founded over ten years ago by its current director Dr. Mark Hines, and fellow Mid-Pacific teachers. In Hawaiian, kupu hou means, “to sprout anew.” This program encapsulates our vision to give teachers and school leaders the tools and support to bring Deeper Learning to life in classrooms everywhere.
Deeper Learning, Together
For over ten years, Kupu Hou Academy has been Hawaiʻi’s leading Deeper Learning professional development for teachers. We are committed to addressing the needs of each teacher, school, or complex through our workshops. We tailor our solutions to you. We offer year-round workshops, custom school-wide support, in-person and virtual training. Educators feel seen, invigorated, and confident through our impactful professional development. These are the qualities that inspire our students to dive deeper into learning.
Professional Learning
Our Professional Development experiences are designed with a wealth of data as their foundation. This research has shown that learning is more engaging and lasting with a Deeper Learning approach. In schools with Deeper Learning cultures, teachers experience higher job satisfaction and create powerful school communities. These principles strengthen both how teachers teach (pedagogy), and how they gauge learning (assessment).
Our expertise comes from our own work in Hawaiʻi classrooms and translating this experience to support hundreds of teachers, across the state of Hawaiʻi and beyond. Kupu Hou Academy brings charter, private and public schools, to the same table. We work to ensure equitable outcomes for learners everywhere.
How can we support your organization?
We support learning organizations through a variety of solutions including but not limited to:
Workshops - Multi-day Deeper Learning events for targeted topics like “Designing for Project-Based Learning,” “Assessment Practices in the Deeper Learning Classroom,” and “Place-based learning and Community Partnerships.”
Personalized School Learning Pathways - We can design our professional learning programs based on a school’s organizational needs, creating learning experiences that are intentional and guide educators to expand their professional knowledge and skills. We encourage sustained learning through multiple touch points throughout the year to acquire, understand, and put into practice Deeper Learning and leadership strategies to build on successes.
Coaching - We provide small group intervention and support as educators identify areas of need and support. This “just-in-time” coaching allows a strong feedback mechanism to expand educators‘ skill sets and efficacy. For example, coaches will observe classroom instruction and provide feedback as well as offer resources and strategies to support teacher growth.
We can design “just right“ professional learning for PreK-12 for groups of any size!
We can‘t wait to join you on your Deeper Learning journey. Whether you are interested in customized options for your organization or need help to determine which solution is best for you, email us at kupuhou@midpac.edu.
Our Philosophy
Kupu Hou Academy’s decade of applied Deeper Learning; innovative programs in inquiry, project-based learning, design thinking, Reggio Emilia-inspired teaching; and state-of-the-art technology integration strategies have made Mid-Pacific Hawai‘i’s leader in Deeper Learning professional development.
We believe every teacher can design powerful learning experiences. A thriving ecosystem of educators begins with hands-on, interactive, and collaborative design work. In every subject, this type of design encourages students to be flexible, creative, and purposeful thinkers. This is Deeper Learning.
Working closely with High Tech High, Envision Learning Partners, The Hewlett Foundation, and other leading members of the Deeper Learning Hub, we are fortunate to have developed a robust network that teachers from any school can tap into through our workshops.
Kupu Hou utilizes the Assessment, Standards, Product, Integration, Relevance, Experiential (ASPIRE™) Framework to help teachers and leaders develop powerful deeper learning experiences. The ASPIRE™ Framework is used as a guiding lens that allows teachers to design and strengthen their project development to assure quality classroom implementation.
Workshops & Meet-Ups
Our workshops are focused on Project-Based Learning (PBL), Inquiry, and Deeper Learning Practices (DLP) to further equip your teachers with valuable tools and strategies to take their teaching to the next level.
Upcoming Workshops
Early-learning Educators Workshop Series
We invite early-learning educators new to the Reggio Emilia approach or who are familiar with the concepts and wish to deepen their understanding to participate in the workshops. Attend all four sessions or the ones that interest you the most. All workshops will be held on Saturdays, with a continental breakfast provided.
8:00 am Check-in, continental breakfast, talk-story
8:30 - 11:00 am workshop
11:00 - Noon (optional) Bring your own lunch and chat with presenters & colleagues
$50 per workshop - Register by October 9
Workshops:
October 14 - The Atelier as Concept and Space - In Reggio Emilia, the atelier is one of the most distinguishing features of the learning approach. In each of Reggio’s infancy and toddler centers are beautiful spaces, rich in materials and innovative educators. We will explore the meaning and role of the atelier as a place of being with children to better understand their intelligence and how they communicate in the many languages of expression, and a space for ongoing teacher research. The workshop will be facilitated by Atelierista Jordan Hasley, Mid-Pacific.
November 4 - What Do Parents Really Need to Know About Their Child? - We’ll begin with our understanding of this delicate yet powerful relationship between parent and teacher. Recognizing parents’ image of the child is especially important when considering the kinds of information that can impact the image of their children. How does assessment contribute to this image of the child? What is the relationship between teaching and the evidence of learning we should be looking for?
February 24 - Using Documentation to Guide an Emerging Curriculum - Why do teachers document? What happens when we learn to observe closely? when we sit and talk beside colleagues to analyze and theorize about children’s work? when we communicate a moment in a child’s life that reveals the thinking in their actions? What is “the song beneath the words”? Learn how documentation opens the window to possibilities for an emerging curriculum and mini-projects informed by our observations and discussions about children’s work. Hands-on learning on how to use documentation to inspire projects.
April 6 - Discovering the Extraordinary in the Ordinary - In a follow-up to the workshop on documentation, we acknowledge that caught up in the day-to-day management of the class, we sometimes miss in the ordinary the truly extraordinary learning. Perhaps what we assume about what we observe needs to be re-seen or reconsidered through a different lens. We sit beside Dr. George Forman, who joins us in this session to do what he does best: provoke new thinking! He is a specialist on the Reggio Emilia approach and constructivism, as well as a researcher and author on cognitive development.
Previous Workshops
Pedagogies in Authentic Design for Deeper Learning Experiences (PADDLE): AI-Powered Deeper Learning
Embark on a cutting-edge educational journey with the Pedagogies in Authentic Design for Deeper Learning Experiences (PADDLE) AI-Powered Deeper Learning 2023, hosted by Kupu Hou Academy at Mid-Pacific Institute.
This innovative online program empowers educators to integrate generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) into their curricula, fostering student-centered learning through Project-Based Learning (PBL), Deeper Learning Practices (DLP), and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Through our supportive cohort model, participants will design lessons and student projects that harness the power of AI, while aligning with the guiding principles of DLP and UDL.
By the end of the course, teachers will have crafted an engaging, AI-charged project or inquiry-based process, ready to be implemented in the upcoming school year. Elevate your teaching practice and prepare your students for the future with this dynamic and transformative professional development opportunity.
Cost: $600 Monday, July 17 - Thursday, July 20, 8:00 am - 12:00 pm - Online
Click Here to Register - DOE TEACHERS: If you are planning on registering for PDE3
credit, please go to the PDE3 website and register for course #PD188121
Testimonials
Our client-based programs are designed to meet each school’s needs. Custom career-advancing and cutting-edge Deeper Learning workshops grow your organization through hands-on, interactive, and collaborative design work. We can work with your school on-campus, online, or develop hybrid models that fit your needs.
We offer hands-on Deeper Learning in-person and online workshops to grow your professional practice. By taking our workshops, you join a community of educators dedicated to their work and vision.
Kupu Hou Academy allowed CK teachers to develop meaningful lessons by connecting Campbell-Kapolei teachers to community agencies/resources, getting feedback from students in the planning phase, and collaborating with colleagues statewide on common, local community and social issues - Sean Tajima/Christina Shioi Campbell Kapolei
Being able to send the majority of our homeroom teachers to Kupu Hou has been one of the best professional development opportunities for our small school ever! Students loved the hands-on, relevant and meaningful lessons. Overall, teachers and students seemed to enjoy school so much more. Above all, our Smarter Balanced test scores finally increased after 3 years of being stagnant in ELA and 1 year of dropping in math. Kupu Hou has really helped to change the way teaching and learning is happening at Hale`iwa Elementary School. - Malaea Wetzel, Principal, Haleiwa Elementary
Facilitators
We work with a deep bench of educational professionals to bring you the best Professional Learning experience:
Leigh Fitzgerald - Head of School American International School Chennai, KHA facilitator
Edna Hussey - Mid-Pacific Preschool & Elementary Principal, KHA facilitator
Gregg Kaneko - Mid-Pacific Exploratory Chair, KHA facilitator
Chris Falk - Mid-Pacific Exploratory faculty, KHA facilitator
Carly Ibara - Mid-Pacific Middle School faculty, KHA facilitator
Liane Angaran - Mid-Pacific Elementary faculty, KHA facilitator
Coral Balubar - Mid-Pacific Elementary faculty, KHA facilitator
Leslie Gleim - Mid-Pacific Reggio Pedagogista, KHA facilitator
Jordan Hasley - Mid-Pacific Reggio Atelierista/studio teacher, KHA facilitator
Sumoha Min - Instructional Designer, KHA facilitator
Billie Napoleon - Mālama Honua faculty, KHA facilitator
Susannah Johnson - Individualized Realized, KHA facilitator