E Ulu 5
Affirming Our Theory of Change: Kuapapa Nui and Ecosystem Renewal
From Nā Po‘o o Alaukawai
Aloha kākou,
Each page reveals a story of haumāna agency explored through a different lens: the ʻŌiwi Artisan SIG’s sensory assessments that leverage the intuitive and phenomenological experience of haumāna in learning; the HānAI Task Force’s pioneering work with AI to extend kumu capacity to offer agentic learning opportunities for haumāna; and Dr. Kalani Makekau-Whittaker’s heartfelt narrative on cultivating learner agency through context-rich language experiences. You’ll witness haumāna agency in action: middle schoolers taking moʻolelo-infused capstones to the national stage, interns restoring loko iʻa with aloha ʻāina, and collaborative AI chatbots springing from the ingenuity of our Juniors and Seniors. Finally, our chapters on leadership and advocacy—featuring the ʻAha Kumu Task Force and Aloha ʻĀina Allies—illustrate how a firm ʻŌiwi foundation empowers kumu and haumāna alike to use their agency to advocate with purpose.
The union of Pele and Kamapuaʻa in the natural world engenders life in the ʻāina. In learning and teaching, as well, the right balance of accountability and agency creates conditions for all to thrive. We hope that you enjoy this opportunity to uplift our collective growth, and feel inspired to share your own stories of discovery in the next volume!
With excitement and aloha,
Welcome to the fifth installment of E Ulu, our kauhale’s vibrant compendium of teacher-scholarship. As Poʻo of Hālau Kupukupu and Hālau ʻIeʻIe, we stand together at a moment of renewal—invoking the mele “Kūlia e Uli ka Pule,” shared with us in Volume 4, to guide us from disruption toward regeneration. This volume is a celebration of how our ʻŌiwi Edge ecosystem harnesses agency to transform new educational landscapes into fertile ground for growth.
In our last volume, we invoked the cycles of disruption and regeneration that permeate our volcanic home and imbue within us that same capacity to be agents of change and healing for our lāhui and the world. We recalled the ways that eruptions have activated a sustained culture of collective accountability and mutual care, and catalyzed new possibilities of life here in Puna for centuries. In this volume, we turn to the rains and the wild flora, embodiments of the mythic figure Kamapuaʻa, without which the rocky terrain would never be rendered into a loamy, life-giving substrate. With his heightened senses and unbridled passions, Kamapuaʻa is the very image of agency. His mythic traditions remind us that we would do well to acknowledge the vitality of his presence, whether in the landscape or the classroom.
Hauʻoli Motta
Poʻo, Hālau Kupukupu
Ryan McCormack
Poʻo, Hālau ʻIeʻIe
Affirming Our Theory of Change:
Kuapapa Nui and Ecosystem Renewal
From Hulihia to Kūlia
As a kauhale of Kamehameha Schools Hawai‘i, we find ourselves at a pivotal transition. In our previous volume, we collectively confronted hulihia– upheaval and disruption – as a necessary force to catalyze growth and reclamation. In the wake of disruption comes an opportunity for restoration. In E Ulu Volume 4, our kauhale stepped fully into hulihia—upheaval that cleared space for a reimagined ‘Ōiwi-centered future. Now, as we stand at the threshold of E Ulu Volume 5, we are guided by the mele, “Kūlia e Uli ka Pule i Mua o ke Kahuna,” for renewed vitality.
Our Guiding Questions
To explore the dimensions of a Kuapapa Nui epistemology in action, we frame this volume around three interrelated research questions. These guiding questions help structure the contributions in this issue and drive our collective inquiry. While many of our projects, kumu scholarship, and task force activities cut across all three questions, each contribution/moʻolelo is housed under one research question that best organizes this collection of scholarship.
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How does an ‘Ōiwi foundation contribute
to leadership and advocacy across our campus?
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What do authentic, real-world learning experiences look like for our haumāna and our kula?
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What indicators define the effectiveness of ‘Ōiwi Edge for E Ola!?
What indicators define the effectiveness of ‘Ōiwi Edge for E Ola!?
Exploring the Use of Sensory Assessments: Reclaiming Indigenous Pedagogy Through ʻŌiwi Edge
The ʻŌiwi Artisan Special Interest Group continues their scholarship of exploring Indigenous arts-based pedagogy to foster critical literacies. Their most recent endeavor aimed to highlight the limitations of standardized testing and propose alternative assessment methods that honor Indigenous ways of knowing.
AI in Service of ʻŌiwi Edge: The HānAI Task Force Story
In this task force, indicators of ʻŌiwi Edge for E Ola! effectiveness were considered as underlying outcomes related to the use of AI tools enabling kumu well-being by reducing cognitive load. This longitudinal quasi-experimental study examined multiple variables including perceived efficiency and effectiveness of integrating AI in teacher practice.
What do authentic, real-world learning experiences look like for our haumāna and our kula?
He Haʻawina Aloha: On the need for a new pedagogy in Hawaiian language
Learning in a Kuapapa Nui ecosystem is never separate from place, people, or purpose. In response to our second research question—What do authentic, real-world learning experiences look like for our haumāna and kula?—this chapter features a personal narrative from Dr. Kalani Makekau-Whittaker. Building on his own SLA research and insights gathered from off-campus workshops and presentation feedback, Kumu Kalani offers a stirring message: input-rich, context-grounded language experiences ignite learner agency and community connection.
Moʻolelo in Motion: Haumāna Sharing ʻŌiwi Knowledge on a National Stage
The middle school capstone experience has been developmentally iterative and on-going both in process and product. As a function of a prior Independent Innovation Pathway Project (Arellano, 2024), four haumāna carried their moʻolelo-infused PE/ELA pilot “capstone” to the national stage where they shared their journey. Results from their conference experience evaluation documents their self-efficacy gains and articulation of belonging in a national context.
Advancing Haumāna Leadership in ʻĀina Rehabilitation and Restoration – Summer Intern Program
The summer of 2024 marked the inaugural research internship program at Kumuola Marine Science Education Center. Five outstanding high school and rising college haumāna were hand-picked because of their desire to make a positive impact on the loko iʻa of Honohononui. Each designed their own personalized path of exploration and discovery where mentors nurtured their budding identities as ʻŌiwi scientists. A dynamic “story-arc” spread chronicles their collective and individual journeys culminating with their participation in the 2024 Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference.
Te Hiku Session Feasibility Study: Innovating Indigenous AI for ʻŌiwi Edge
In early 2025, an opportunity to directly explore authentic, real-world experiences for our haumāna and kula presented itself in the form of a short term off-shoot HānAI feasibility study. We measured the extent to which a collaborative AI chatbot building session that innovated Indigenous AI for ‘Ōiwi Edge, authentically engaged haumāna participation in an Alaukawai Task Force. In other words, the real-world experience of co-developing a chatbot with Indigenous Subject Matter Experts and campus educators was examined.
How does an ‘Ōiwi foundation contribute to leadership and advocacy across our campus?
ʻAha Kumu Task Force: Laying the Groundwork of an ʻŌiwi Foundation
This multi-layered task force is designed to serve diverse interconnected purposes where the overarching intention is to empower teachers as leaders through a collaborative process that integrates, examines, and describes cultural competency, collaborative advocacy, reflective practice, self-assessment, and critical literacies. Furthermore, kumu leadership as defined within an ʻŌiwi Edge school is measured to understand how kumu perceive and enact critical action for empowerment.
Rooted and Rising: A Visual Odyssey of Aloha ʻĀina Allies
While Aloha ʻĀina Allies, a project within our newly created Pūʻawalau Center for ʻŌiwi Leadership and Advocacy, deeply embodies all three research questions, we choose it as a final portrait of how defined indicators of E Ola! and authentic real-world experiences seamlessly integrate toward building an ʻŌiwi foundation of leadership and advocacy. Through a medley of intentional instructional design strategies coupled with robust data collection, AʻĀA offers a scrapbook of haumāna voyage toward global ʻŌiwi leaders.
From Mele to Moʻolelo to Movement
Our hope is that this volume served as a bridge: connecting innovation to tradition, theory to practice, and story to system. We invite you to view select research and evaluation findings that informed our understanding of Kuapapa Nui within our ecosystem. As we move from hulihia to kūlia, may this volume reflect our shared striving: for an education that is unapologetically ʻŌiwi, intentionally excellent, and grounded in the enduring foundation of our ancestors.
This volume, like the mele that frames it, served as both invocation and initiative. In the pages above, you’ve encounted a visual narrative of scholarship, lived experiences, and data snapshots that offed insights into the living ecosystem of ʻŌiwi Edge. Each contribution added a layer to our understanding of what Kuapapa Nui looks like in action—what it means to regenerate not only curriculum and policy, but pilina, mindset, and purpose.
Artwork by Carl Pao
The cover of E Ulu, Volume 5 is Carl Pao’s introspection on kuapapa nui—our collective commitment to regenerate, restore, and rise. Centering the ʻōhiʻa lehua, Pao chooses a plant long revered for its polymorphic power: capable of rooting in lava fields, seeding new forests, and weaving together entire ecosystems above and below the soil. In bold red-and-green complements, the lehua’s blossoms pierce a textured ground, while hidden roots radiate quiet stability, reminding us that true transformation is both seen and unseen, both upheaval (hulihia) and disciplined growth (kūlia).
Interwoven with the lehua are Pao’s signature motifs: the hua—a luminous sphere signifying sacred potential—and subtle numerological cues that hint at generational continuity. These strands gather like a kaula (cord), binding Volume 4’s narrative of disruption to Volume 5’s affirmation of our Theory of Change: Kuapapa Nui and Ecosystem Renewal.
The resulting image is not merely decorative; it is a visual oli, calling our kauhale to implement change that is resilient, restorative, and pono: order emerging from chaos, ready to seed the next forest of learning.