Our approach

Our expertise comes from our own work in Hawaiʻi classrooms and translating this experience to supporting hundreds of teachers, across the state of Hawaiʻi and beyond. We offer customized approaches to Deeper Learning professional development that works for your school, your time, your budget. We believe every teacher can design powerful learning experiences.

Kupu Hou Academy at Mid-Pacific Institute is grounded in teachers helping teachers to grow their professional practice through hands-on, interactive and collaborative design work in Deeper Learning. Our greatest desire is for all students to be successful, global citizens who imagine, create and develop innovative ideas and solutions as productive members and leaders of their generation.

We offer a series of workshops in Deeper Learning practices, because of the wealth of data demonstrating that learning is more engaging and lasting with a Deeper Learning approach. In schools with Deeper Learning cultures, teachers experience higher job satisfaction and create powerful school communities. Deeper Learning principles strengthen both how teachers teach (pedagogy) and how they gauge learning (assessment).

The Kupu Hou experience revitalizes what is most rewarding about being an educator…This work makes sense on all levels.”

Maya Terhune, Hawai’i Technology Academy (middle school)

Being able to send the majority of our teachers to Kupu Hou has been one of the best professional development opportunities for our small school ever! Teachers returned excited to try out what they learned. Students loved the hands-on, relevant and meaningful lessons…Above all, our Smarter Balanced test scores finally increased after three years of being stagnant in ELA and one year of dropping in math. Kupu Hou has really helped to change the way teaching and learning is happening at Haleʻiwa Elementary School.”

Malaea Wetzel, Principal, Haleʻiwa Elementary