The Exploring Coasts and Coastal Change in Hawai‘i unit supports middle school haumana (students) in developing multi-perspective understanding and personal stances about coastal change in their community. The unit was collaboratively developed by a partnership among educators bringing together Indigenous and Western ways of knowing and learning. Through lessons that take place over three weeks, haumana (students) undertake a place-based learning experience addressing physical, biological, and social facets of their changing coasts and engage the perspectives of ‘ohana (family), community members, and scientists. Using a systems-thinking approach, haumana synthesize their unit learning to create a culminating project, through which they tell the mo‘olelo (story) of coastal change in their community. Middle school kumu (teachers) collaborated to develop the unit, tested the unit with their haumana, and suggested revisions that have been integrated into the version shared in this article. Complete unit instructional materials are available on the open access, multi-disciplinary STEMS2 education website hosted by the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. In addition to sharing the Hawai‘i coastal unit, which could be adapted for implementation in other coastal communities, this article offers insights for teachers more broadly interested in building their capacity to enact multi-perspective instruction.
Akaka, H. E., Covitt, B. A., Ming Wei, K., Davis, K., Puniwai, N., Johansen, J., Shepherd-Jones, B., Mcwhorter, C., & Frank, N. (2025). More than a sprinkle: Elevating multiple perspectives in a unit exploring coasts and coastal change in Hawai‘i. Science Scope, 48(4), 8–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/08872376.2025.2505843