Posted on: Sunday, September 2, 2007
COMMENTARY
New UH education dean looks at future challenges
This commentary is part of a series of articles prepared by Voices of Educators, a nonprofit coalition designed to foster debate and public policy change within Hawai'i's public education system, in partnership with The Honolulu Advertiser. It appears in Focus on the first Sunday of the month.
Voices of Educators comprises some of Hawai'i's top education experts, including: Liz Chun, executive director of Good Beginnings Alliance; Patricia Hamamoto, superintendent of the state Department of Education; Donald B. Young, of the College of Education, University of Hawai'i; Joan Lee Husted and Roger Takabayashi, of the Hawaii State Teachers Association; Sharon Mahoe, of the Hawai'i Teacher Standards Board; Alvin Nagasako, of the Hawai'i Government Employees Association; and Robert Witt, of the Hawa'ii Association of Independent Schools. Visit their Web site at www.hawaii.edu/voice.
Early this year, we emphasized the importance of finding the right dean for the University of Hawai'i College of Education because of the role the dean plays in deciding the next steps for how teachers are prepared, how teachers will affect student learning and how teachers will maintain their teaching skills. Last month, the college welcomed its new dean, Christine Sorensen, to campus and at her first college-wide meeting, Sorensen shared thoughts about the future of the college, with her faculty and community leaders. The following is a summary of her comments:
To meet the challenges of the future, we must be C-R-E-A-T-I-V-E:
Continuous improvement. As educators committed to learning, we should learn about ourselves through assessment and evaluation. Rather than looking at accountability requirements as compliance, we should look at them as opportunities for improvement. We must focus our attention on decisions driven by data, on creating a culture of self-reflection and continuous improvement. We must maintain a positive attitude about assessing our program outcomes, ensure that adequate and appropriate data are collected, collaborate with each other and with stakeholders, discuss our findings, and use that information to make decisions about future directions.
Resource development. Public resources are becoming increasingly limited and constituent groups are vying for smaller portions of a shrinking pie. Advocacy for the needs of education is important. More important is advocating for these needs in a collaborative spirit — balancing our individual needs with the needs of the greater whole. We must look for other means of support. Contracts and grants are important in allowing us the flexibility to try new ideas. Development efforts, particularly enhancing endowments, will help us build a solid base for the long-term future. Examining entrepreneurial models could increase our capacity. We must focus all resources on ways that enhance academic excellence.
Environments for learning. Quality learning environments are important for all students. This is why the priority for addressing the college's need for space is high. With the loss of space caused by the fire last year, this need is now critical to the future success of the college. How can we expect to prepare teachers for the next century in facilities that were designed for the last century? The college needs classrooms that are high-quality learning environments, and spaces that promote faculty interaction and nurture student community.
The same is true for our K-12 partners. We need educational environments that support learning.
Alliances and partnerships. Together we can accomplish so much more than any of us individually can accomplish. We must expand on the alliances and partnerships we have already established and build strong, new partnerships. On campus, these include developing relationships with our colleagues in other colleges — in the content fields — in the student services areas — in other research centers. Off campus, this includes strengthening relationships with community colleges and considering how to best serve students who are place bound. This may mean rethinking our curriculum and preferred delivery models. It includes strengthening our relationships with the Department of Education to ensure that Hawai'i's children are best prepared for the future. It means developing partnerships with educational entities on all islands — and with communities throughout Hawai'i. And it means being cognizant of international needs and developing alliances that promote education across the spectrum and around the globe.
Technology enhancement. The college is a proud recipient this year of the U.S. Distance Learning Association's 21st Century Award for Best Practices in Distance Learning. Given our geographic setting and the characteristics of our students, distance education continues to be in demand. But delivering it well requires an investment of resources and rethinking the way we do things. We need to consider new tools and new techniques and approaches to using technologies — not only for our distance students, but for our on-campus students as well. We must ensure that the educators we prepare are able to integrate technology in ways that support learning. We also must consider how technology may be changing the way the next generations of students are thinking and how they approach learning and doing.
Innovation and outreach. Innovation stretches beyond technology. Being innovative means being open to new ways of doing business — from new delivery formats and mechanisms to new approaches to curriculum and to reassessing to whom we direct our programs and services. Our willingness to be innovative will impact our ability to expand our outreach to meet needs across the state. We can explore new ways of providing professional development and new ways to provide for a range of career paths. And we can consider establishing connections and developing programs to meet emerging needs in the international arena.
Vision and image. To plan for the future, we must decide who we are. What is our vision for the college and the state? Where are we going? What are our stories? Our vision must be consistent in order for us to convey to our audiences who we are and what we believe is most important. We must create and nurture an image of who we are — not individually, but collectively. We want our audiences to hear and remember our stories. We must have a common vision and speak with one voice.
Embracing diversity. Our college, indeed our state, is recognized for its diversity. Our students are diverse, the schools and communities from which we draw our students and into which we place them are diverse, and the faculty are diverse. And the diversity we have here is like nowhere else in the United States. This is a unique place and our diversity is a strength that is important in preparing our students for a global society. But we have more to do to truly embrace all forms of diversity.
Our new journey together has begun and we must decide our next steps. Speak frankly with each other and ask, "What are the strengths and competitive advantages in our current efforts? What are the weaknesses and problem areas? What are our internal and external demands? What opportunities do we see? What barriers do we face? What are our priorities for the future? Where do we want to go? Together we will be creative and more forward to prepare outstanding educators for Hawai'i.
