Educators learn new teaching techniques at The MACC.

Even though it’s summer break, some dedicated teachers continue working to discover innovative ways to improve education for our children.

More than 50 Hawai‘i teachers attended a professional development institute from June 23 to 26 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, spending four days learning new teaching techniques with the theme “Giving Voice to our Cultures: Storytelling Across the Curriculum.”

The Summer Teachers Institute is presented annually by The MACC in partnership with the state Department of Education, Maui District, and Kamehameha Schools Maui in the Kennedy Center’s Partners in Education program. The teachers earn professional development credits for their participation.

The ongoing impetus of the institute—as with all MACC arts education programs—is the integration of the arts into school curriculum… a tactic that has been proven to help children learn and retain information more effectively.

The 2008 Summer Teachers Institute turned its focus on storytelling as a teaching device. Starting with the premise that the art of storytelling connects to ancestors and to world cultures with music and dance adding texture and color, the four-day institute introduced participants to a variety of ways of integrating story into the K–12 curriculum.

The first day of the institute covered the process of collecting oral histories through interview and research. Lori Gomez, a professional development resource teacher for Maui District, showed educators how to use “I Search” strategies to research oral histories. (Gomez has worked with Maui teachers on many literacy and interdisciplinary-curriculum topics.) Over the next three days, guest presenters took the teachers through a series of topical sessions.

Daniel A. Kelin II, “Collecting and Performing Oral Histories”

The session demonstrated how to help students construct engaging oral histories and then develop scenes and brief plays with the essential actions and events. Kelin is director of drama education with the Honolulu Theatre for Youth. From 1995 to 2001, he implemented oral history projects in O‘ahu schools, culminating in his book To Feel as Our Ancestors Did, Collecting and Performing Oral Histories.

Mauli Ola Cook, “Hawaiian Storytelling through Music and Dance”

This session incorporated creative dance and music activities based on Hawaiian storybooks, with strategies to enrich language arts and social studies curriculum. From Kaua‘i, Cook has taught residencies in creative dance, storytelling and puppetry throughout Hawai‘i for the last 23 years.

Imani Gonzalez, “Exploring World Cultures through Story and Music”

Participants explored ways to learn about and appreciate the rich diversity of cultures through traditional stories, authentic activities, songs, rhythms and artifacts. Gonzalez is an artist, educator and professional jazz-world vocalist from Washington, D.C., who conducts workshops through the Kennedy Center’s “Partners In Education” National Touring Program.

For more information on the summer institute or The MACC’s arts education program, email susana@mauiarts.org or go to www.mauiarts.org.