Chaminade University of Honolulu

Education

Economic Education

Including indigenous cultures and values into education is not about making the Indigenous populations stronger. They are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.”

Guanlin Gao, Ph.D., adapted from G.D. Anderson’s famous quote about feminism

Economics professor promotes financial literacy

Guanlin Gao, Ph.D., likes to play games. And during the recent National Association of Economic Education (NAEE) Conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the Chaminade Economics associate professor and Director of Economic Education Center for Excellence devoted part of her presentation playing the Public Goods Game (PGG), in which players are given tokens—in this case Kona coffee beans—and given the opportunity to anonymously allocate them in either private or public funds.

“The purpose of the game is to let participants experience the indigenous culture through a hands-on game,” Gao explains. “The game is also related to the shared natural resources and land management of ahupua‘a, where people have shared responsibility and contribute to the common good with their expertise.”

This fundamental economic game has become a classic laboratory environment for studying collective group decisions in which participants decide how much to contribute to a common pool. The countervailing effect, however, is that there is an incentive for group members to “free-ride” on individuals who contribute positive amounts to the common pool. 

Guanlin Gao presents at the National Association of Economic Education Spring Conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Those who invested in the private fund could keep the funds, and divide the shares among its members. However, for those who invested in the public fund, they could either share the return among all the groups or simply keep the yield within their own group.

“On the East Coast, players would largely invest in private funds,” Gao says. “But in Hawaii, most players contribute to public funds, which evenly distributes the return among all members. We have a more inclusive culture in Hawaii, as opposed to individualism.”

The NAEE’s three-day Spring Professional Development Conference was attended by economic educators at the state and federal level, as well as educational institutions that house the equivalent to Chaminade’s Economic Education for Excellence. One of NAEE’s primary missions is to provide professional development programs and training for educators to promote economics, personal finance and entrepreneurial education in the classroom.

“Right now, the country is having a movement about economic literacy, and it starts at an early age,” Gao says. “We want the younger generation to have a foundational understanding of personal finance and economics. We want to provide them the tools they need to make informed financial decisions, and create a better life for themselves and for those around them.”

The overall goal of the three-day conference was to promote economic and personal financial education from K-12 through college. Various departments of education around the country already stipulate that students take an economics or personal financial class in order to graduate. Gao is working on this with Hawaii Department of Education but, in the meantime, she’s sharing her knowledge with other teachers.

“I wanted the participants to walk away knowing more about the unique, yet diverse cultures, in this country, and promote economics and personal finance education in a way that relates and speaks to the populations we serve,” Gao notes. “I also talked about the traditions of sharing, not owning in Hawaii (for example, abundance means we have a lot to share, not how much we own), and why the conventional economic assumptions of ‘everyone is self-interested’ and ‘the only goal for a firm is to maximize profit’ do not resonate with our students’ identities and beliefs.”

Consider the Facts*

Many young people lack the basic financial knowledge and skills to prosper in life. Like many educators, the Council for Economic Education cares about equipping students with the knowledge they need to improve their futures.

40% of Americans have less than $300 in savings
24%
of Millennials demonstrate basic financial literacy
50%
of America’s youth will earn less than their parents

2 Million+
Students reached by CEE programs and teachers
Over 50,000
Teachers reached worldwide
1,000+
Lessons, guides & activities for teachers

*Council for Economic Education

HPA Board Appointments

Psychology faculty members gain HPA board seats

The Hawai‘i Psychological Association (HPA) members have elected several Chaminade University faculty to its 2023-2024 Board. Sean Scanlan, Ph.D., becomes the society’s next president-elect. Also appointed to the HPA Board are Lianne Philhower as Secretary, Katie Chun as Clinical Division Representative and student representative Kendyl Oshiro.

Dr. Scanlan is currently an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology and is the Director of the Hawai‘i School of Professional Psychology. He earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, and is licensed as a clinical psychologist in Hawai‘i. He has held several psychology-related administrative positions since 2000 and has served as the program’s director since 2014. His interests are in child and adolescent psychopathology, assessment and treatment. For more than 20 years, Scanlan has worked with hundreds of Hawai‘i’s children and adolescents as a therapist, behavioral consultant, parent trainer, treatment program director, teacher and coach. His specialty is in autism spectrum disorder and externalizing behavior disorders.

Dr. Philhower, Psy.D., M.P.H., is an Associate Professor and licensed clinical psychologist. Her diverse professional background includes working in public health environments, outpatient community mental health programs, private practice, school consultation and education. She utilizes a developmentally-informed, Cognitive Behavioral perspective that is highly compatible with Health Service Provider in Psychology’s (HSPP) aim to educate and train students employing a practitioner-scholar model. As a scholar, Philhower has provided community trainings, consultation and presentations, and has supported the research projects of countless students. She continues her own education and scholarship by pursuing a Ph.D. in Integrative Medicine.

Jeff Stern, Ph.D. has been appointed to the State Board of Psychology.

Dr. Chun is an Associate Professor who earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University, San Francisco Bay campus. Upon returning to Hawai‘i, she worked in child maltreatment and family trauma as a Hawai‘i-licensed clinical psychologist. After working at a nonprofit community mental health center, she went into private practice, providing assessment and therapy services to children, adolescents and adults in individual, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and family therapy, as well as emotional and behavioral consultation. She also worked as the psychological evaluator at a K-12 independent school. Chun is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA), the APA Division 5, and HPA.

As the leading resource for psychological health, research and policy in the state, HPA’s mission is to enhance the quality of life for the people of Hawai’i by encouraging, integrating, applying and communicating the contributions of Psychology in all its branches. The organization also seeks to strengthen public relations, advocate for a psychologically healthy community, develop solutions for mental health care, be responsive to the multiple cultures in Hawai’ i, promote the highest standards of professional ethics, and to diffuse psychological knowledge through meetings, conventions and publications.

In other faculty news, Dr. Jeffrey Stern was recently appointed to the State Board of Psychology, which oversees licensing laws and professional conduct among other issues. Stern received his Ph.D. from the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa and has been a licensed psychologist in Hawaii for more than 15 years. He is a past president of the Hawaiʻi Psychological Association and has been an HPA board member for more than a decade. Besides maintaining a clinical practice and teaching full time, Stern is the clinical director of the Hawaiʻi MCHLEND (Maternal Child Health – Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) program, supported by a Federal training grant. He has served as an expert witness in due process hearings, frequently writes testimony as a member of the HPA Legislative Action Committe, and chaired the committee that drafted the continuing education statute for psychologists in the state. His research interests and current activities are focused on children with neurodevelopmental disabilities, and their families and workplace well-being.

Scholarship Luncheon

Students thank donors for their continued support

More than 80 donors, students and staff attended this year’s Mahalo Scholarship Luncheon on February 9, 2023, in-person and online. Dr. Lynn M. Babington, President of Chaminade University of Honolulu addressed the audience and expressed her gratitude for the support of our students. Dr. Babington shared how Chaminade offers more than 100 scholarships that have been generously established by individual donors and foundations. Many of them are endowed, and several are renewable investments that are replenished each year. This year alone, students received nearly $2.3 million in donor-funded scholarships.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to thank and to let donors know how much their support has made a difference in their educational journey,” said Jimmy Tran, Stewardship and Scholarships Manager in the Office of Advancement. “Our donors see how their support helps fulfill our students’ dreams of obtaining a quality college education and to go on to successful careers.”

Chaminade juniors Caitlin Bocobo and Aleeyah Lemons shared their appreciation for their scholarship. “Words are not enough to express how grateful we are for your gifts that made our scholarships possible. I am here today to offer my sincerest gratitude and appreciation to you all,” said Bocobo ’24.

“Donors allow students, like me, to get the most out of their college experience—to grow, mature and make a difference in this world,” said Lemons ’24. “The Silversword ‘ohana is grateful to have you all. I am grateful to have your support and faith.”

Dani Masuda, Assistant Vice President for Student Success shared with the gathering how the scholarships can be the difference between attending college or not. “Scholarships contribute to a student’s wellness and the reach goes far beyond just the individual student. Mahalo nui loa to our donors for your continued generosity, commitment, and investment in our students,” said Masuda.

If you would like to support a student attending Chaminade University, contact Jimmy Tran at [email protected]

Dr. Lynn Babington Address Scholarship Luncheon Attendees

Donors, faculty, staff and students gathered for the annual Scholarship Luncheon.

Family Ties

Generations of Kaneohe ‘ohana devote themselves to educating Hawaii keiki

Agnes Brown '22

Being an educator runs in Agnes Brown’s genes. Her grandmother was a music teacher at Kapaa Elementary for 30 years. Her mother, Mandy Thronas-Brown, was the principal at St. Ann’s before it closed in 2021 and now serves as Associate Superintendent with Hawaii Catholic Schools. And most of her aunties and cousins are also educators. It’s only fitting then that the Elementary Education major would follow the same trajectory. 

“Growing up with my mom as a teacher at St. Ann’s, I was always inspired by how she engaged her students,” says Brown ’23. “I knew that education was always a passion of mine, and I knew that I loved working with kids, especially younger kids.”

However, like many events that were paused—or canceled—due to COVID-19 restrictions, Brown’s observation in the classroom was also sidelined, forcing the school to turn to Teaching Channel videos as a way to supplement students’ field experience.

“COVID impacted all of the education programs because students were not allowed in schools,” says Katrina Roseler, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Education and Director of Teacher Education Programs. However, she points out that as restrictions eased after two years, Agnes and her peers did get the chance to experience working with students at Palolo Elementary School during after-school tutoring. 

Starting in 2023, Brown will lead her own classroom at Sacred Hearts Academy, her alma mater. “I’m a little nervous, but I’m going to make it fun for the kids,” says Brown, with a smile. “Education was not always fun for me. It was definitely more of a chore than anything to be excited about.”

Agnes Brown '22 speaking with Sacred Hearts student

As a lifelong learner, Brown plans to take cues from some of her previous teachers and professors, who, she says, made concepts interesting and easier to understand. But there will be challenges, just like with any profession. The Kaneohe native accepts that she will encounter tough days, from planning engaging lessons to responding to classroom distractions. 

“My advice, stay calm,” says her mom, Thronas-Brown, who has been in the education field for 28 years. “The fears I think she is experiencing are being able to plan lessons accordingly and being responsible for the education of her students in her classroom, which is always a concern of all new teachers.”

Thronas-Brown also offers another sage nugget: strive to be the best teacher you can possibly be and treat each child in your classroom with compassion while ensuring you meet all teaching expectations.  

“Trust yourself and give yourself time to develop your style of teaching,” Thronas-Brown advises. “Never be afraid to ask for help.  No teacher is given a ‘playbook’ for each child in their classroom stating the best way to educate that individual.”

Kindhearted, curious, empathetic and leadership have defined Brown since she was a child.

“I was still in elementary school when I knew that I wanted to become a teacher,” Brown acknowledges. “I know I want to become a teacher that likes to help kids who don’t get it right away—like me when I was in school. And I want to provide the same nurturing environment that some of my former teachers created.” 

Brown’s mentors have also taught her the value of an education, especially a Catholic one. And while friends have questioned her choice of career, based on pay grade—in Hawaii, an elementary teacher’s entry-level salary ranges between $45,593 and $51,209, according to Hawaii State Teachers Association’s 2022-2023 salary schedule—she would rather accept a lower income doing what she likes best than a higher one that would blunt her passion for teaching.

“We are truly blessed with a self-driven, dedicated, loyal, compassionate, and loving child who knows God and seeks to be the best version of herself each day,” Thronas-Brown says. “We are extremely proud of our daughter Agnes, and we wish her nothing but the best in her life and future career.”

A New Frontier for Students

Students VR moon walking with NASA Educators

Students were over the moon when National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) educators were on campus for a one-day Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) event. Among them was Elementary Education major, Alaina Mercado, who described the experience as creative and inspiring.

“I got to ride a rocket to the International Space Station—virtually, of course,” Mercado quips. “It really made science fun and gave students a true hands-on, simulation experience; I even got to move about the cabin, as well as conduct a spacewalk.”

The outreach program is a national educator professional development and STEM engagement organization designed to partner with NASA in support of STEM educators and their students across the country. Its primary mission is to help a broader group of educators access the best of NASA’s professional learning resources, which are integrated with culturally relevant STEM pedagogies. The goal, overall, is to inspire and motivate diverse student audiences to pursue STEM fields of study, careers and opportunities with NASA.

NASA educators
NASA educators Sara Torres, Ph.D., and Monica Uribe

“NASA’s education and outreach programs are important to NASA’s mission, especially in STEM education for a few reasons,” explains NASA Ames Research Center Education Specialist, Sara Torres, Ph.D., one of the four NASA educators who led the event’s activities. “First, this is one of the ways that NASA not only informs the public of its programs and missions but engages the public through their educational competitions and hands-on activities that align with real-time work.”

Secondly, Torres adds, because NASA is aware of the demographic shift in the country, it has made a commitment to reach all students, including underserved and underrepresented population.

“NASA education specialists have the agency to connect NASA engineers and scientists to the public, allowing them to see the faces of NASA,” says NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center Education Specialist Monica Uribe, another event participant. “This opportunity not only creates spaces to learn about the important work NASA does but to connect with them in a way that students see themselves in the people who work at NASA and, most importantly, begin to see the possibilities that they, too, one day can work at a place like NASA.”

Associate Professor at the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences and Director of Teacher Education Programs, Dr. Katrina Roseler first established a Chaminade connection with NASA in 2016, but it wasn’t until a NASA summer workshop in 2018, when she met Dr. Torres, that opened the possibility of an on-campus visit.

“Since 2018, Chaminade students and I have participated in NASA Education activities, specifically online webinars, some of which have been facilitated by Dr. Torres and Dr. Monice Uribe (another event attendee and a NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center Education Specialist),” Roseler says. “In the spring of 2022, I reached out to Dr. Torres about an opportunity to collaborate virtually to support elementary education majors. Those conversations evolved into the face-to-face experience and subsequent activities that occurred during the three-day event in September.”

Students doing NASA projects

The day’s event at Chaminade featured various technology-based activities, an art project, as well as an engineering design challenge, which entailed using different materials to develop a Lunar Lander with a paper cup, note cards, channel sticks, rubber bands, adhesive tape and construction paper. Students were tasked to design and create a capsule that astronauts would be safe in when dropped from a height of 4 -5 feet.

“My Lander didn’t work so well,” Mercado laughs. “All the educators, though, were so very kind and encouraging.”

“We chose NASA activities that aligned well with the topics presented,” Torres says. “One was the moon. Students created their own rover out of recyclable materials. Their objective was to have the cardboard rover move using a rubber band, pencil, straw and Life Savers candy.”

NASA educators also covered the topic of Aeronautics. During the “Navigate Your Zone” module, students were able to use small ball robots, called Spheros, to simulate Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAVs. In another activity, students used templates of the experimental plane X-59 to fold paper airplanes then use their own breath as the thrust to make the paper airplane fly.

“The X-59 is NASA’s experimental plane, which is designed to lower the sonic boom,” Torres says. “Succeeding in this will allow for commercial travel to only take half the time it currently takes.”

Chaminade student teaching at Palolo Elementary School

A secondary component of the event included a visit to Palolo Elementary School, where Chaminade students took what they learned from NASA educators and shared it with the students in grades three to five.

“We transferred our knowledge to the kids,” Mercado says. “So it was kind of going full circle.”

Torres notes that their experience with the Chaminade education students was a joy, adding every student was motivated and ready to engage in the activity.

“More importantly, students were working—not only to learn the activities—but they understood they would be leading the activities with elementary students the following day and took their learning seriously,” Torres says. “Every student engaged positively, asked questions to better be prepared and did a phenomenal job facilitating the activities the following day.”

Roseler believes that such hands-on learning activities—which model what teachers should be doing in classrooms—are always beneficial.

“I imagine that these activities will resonate with Chaminade Education students for years to come,” Roseler says. “I plan on using them as examples throughout the remainder of the semester as examples of active learning with real-world applications.”

Bringing Filipino Language and Culture Back to Hawaii

Cebuano Language and Culture Program

It was a trip of a lifetime for a group of Hawaii educators and teachers-in-training.

And Communication Professor Eva Washburn-Repollo, Ph.D. was overjoyed to be their guide.

Over the summer, Washburn-Repollo led participants of her Cebuano Language and Culture Program on a six-week adventure to the Philippines, offering them an immersive experience designed to broaden their perspectives and understanding of the country’s diverse languages and rich cultures.

The teachers visited indigenous herbal gardens, mangroves and coral reefs, attended language workshops, and participated in educational sessions at local universities and other institutions. But they weren’t just there to learn. Along the way, they developed cultural-based resource materials and curricula for their own classrooms—lessons aimed at weaving in their students’ perspectives.

Roughly a quarter of Hawaii public school students identify as Filipino.

“We all need to lift each other up,” said Washburn-Repollo, whose academic scholarship includes a focus on the positive impacts for students of cultural appreciation in classrooms. “When a student has a teacher who values their culture, they feel as if they can be anything they want to be.”

The trip was made possible thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) Program. Washburn-Repollo took the group of eight participants to the islands of Negros Oriental and Cebu in the central Visayas region of the Philippines. That’s where the Cebuano language is primarily spoken—Washburn-Repollo’s first language and one of more than 120 found in the Philippines.

Those on the trip included current educators with years of experience and those just starting out.

Brittni Friedlander began her third year of teaching this fall and jumped at the chance to make the journey to the Philippines. She said she’s passionate about weaving science and technology education into her classroom and recently wrote a children’s book called Puff Saves Paradise.

Cebuano Language and Culture Program

“About 70% percent of my classroom last year were students of Filipino descent and I’m also half-Filipino,” Friedlander said. “It was an amazing opportunity to not only truly connect with my students, but learn a bit about my cultural heritage as well and incorporate that into my classroom genuinely.”

She said the most memorable part of the trip was the closing ceremony, during which all the participants got the chance to share their final lesson plans. Friedlander also enjoyed learning about the customs of the region, from the delicious cuisine to the herbal remedies communities use.

“As a teacher, I think it’s so very important to connect with one’s students on a relational level,” Friedlander said. “From here, I would like to use the knowledge garnered during this journey and share it in my classroom with cultural units or ‘around the world’ day with my students.”

Participant Clarissa Torres just finished her Master of Arts in Teaching degree at Chaminade and was quickly hired to teach eighth-grade science at Mililani Middle School. She wanted to make the trek to the Philippines so she could make more (and stronger) connections with her students. “I also wanted to learn more about my own Filipino culture and wanted to gain new perspectives as an educator,” Torres said.

She added that the program wasn’t easy—by any stretch.

Torres struggled with getting out of her comfort zone and developing a lesson plan.

“I created an original Cebuano song about the collectivism of the community in Apo Island as well as how they conserve water,” Torres said. “This experience expanded my ideas on how to incorporate all of my students’ cultures in my classroom and music is one thing I would like to weave in.”

She said by learning just a few simple phrases in Cebuano, she was already making relationships with people she met. “They appreciated our efforts to learn the language,” Torres said. “My biggest takeaway was I have a greater understanding of the beauty of learning a new language.”

Cebuano Language and Culture Program

Washburn-Repollo agreed what moved her the most about the people that the group met on their adventure is just how excited they were to share their time—and wisdom. “Everyone we met wanted to share their language with us,” she said. “Every preserved language is a door to a new solution to diseases, it’s a door to alternatives to happiness and peace. We have so much to learn.”

This wasn’t the first group Washburn-Repollo has taken to the Philippines. It’s actually the fourth, though the previous treks weren’t funded by Fulbright. The professor has also accompanied nursing students for a clinical immersion and organized trips focused on community building and finance.

Her central focus is helping people realize that broadening their own perspective and learning from groups who have no voice on the world stage has the power to unearth rich gifts of knowledge. And in classrooms, she said, it can do a wonderful thing: to ensure students from all backgrounds feel welcome.

“The key is making all students feel valued,” she said.

Participant Kalika Ayin couldn’t agree more. She’s an English Learner teacher at Pearl City High School and applied to the Cebuano Language and Culture Program because she wanted to learn more about her own students. “Many of my students are from the Philippines … so I wanted to learn about Filipino culture so I could improve my teaching and my communication with their families,” Ayin said.

She added that she was particularly interested in the program’s language immersion component “because I knew it would help me understand what my students experience when they move to Hawaii. I also wanted to learn enough of their language to make them feel welcome and seen in my classroom.”

The most memorable part of the trip for Ayin was graciously being invited into her Filipino teacher partner’s home and meeting her family. “She bridged me into her culture and helped me practice the Cebuano language,” Ayin said, reflecting on the trip. “Her hospitality and patience deeply impacted me. Our partnership fostered an international teaching network—and an international friendship.”

She also said that the experience of learning a new language through immersion helped her see the world a little better through her students’ eyes. For example, when she was using the Cebuano language in conversation but couldn’t find the right word right away, her stress levels rose. “It helped me understand how my students likely feel immersed in U.S. classroom settings,” she said.

Cebuano Language and Culture Program

And Ayin is looking forward to one lesson, in particular, this coming school year.

She plans to show her students a video she co-wrote and produced with her Filipino teacher partner detailing how to make the Cebuano dessert binignit, a fruit stew made with coconut milk, sweet potato, bananas and other fruits and vegetables at hand. “The video includes a narrative about the rich symbolism between the ingredients in binignit and the Cebuano culture,” she said.

Ayin said she’ll use the video to launch into a unit of study exploring food staples across the Pacific.

And then her students will get to work in the kitchen (and classroom), producing a cookbook to share broadly with families in Pearl City that incorporates Pacific dishes. “My goal is to foster pride in multilingualism,” she said, “and help students own their languages with confidence.”

LeAndre Browne, a doctoral student in education at Chaminade who teaches first grade in Georgia, wishes every teacher could go on a trip like the one Washburn-Repollo organized. “I’m a lifelong learner and was extremely interested in learning another language and experiencing another culture,” she said.

“Despite being from different places, people can share similar interests bringing them closer, like a love of plants,” she said, adding that she is particularly grateful for all of the relationships she was able to forge with people the group learned from over the course of six weeks.

Jessica Watkins doesn’t have a classroom of her own yet but said she can’t wait to bring what she learned in the Philippines to her future lesson plans. Watkins is majoring in Elementary Education at Chaminade and said there were so many memorable moments on the trip, that it’s hard to pick a favorite.

Learning Cebuano songs and then singing them at their final presentation. Staying on Apo Island, which has no cars and limited hours of electricity service. Getting to enjoy the region’s stunning coastlines. “I now know enough of the language to have basic communication with someone,” Watkins added.

“And that could help my students feel more comfortable in my future classroom.”