Na Honua Mauli Ola Standard 9

To meet aspects of, and to satisfy Na Honua Mauli Ola standard 9, I have collaborated

with another teacher on campus, Renolds “Ikaika” Fruen, to discuss and gain new cultural

methods to assess my students beyond the traditional mathematics methods. He shared with me

two cultural curriculums that utilize culturally traditional forms of assessing (hōʻike) my

students. Both lessons allow my students to connect mathematics to the famous traditional

Hawaiian Olympics (Makahiki Games). The first lesson deals with the Pythagorean Theorem

and trigonometric ratios and the second lesson highlights scatter-plots and lines of best fits. To

assess my students through the lens of Hawaiian cultural tradition, the first assignment connects

geometry concepts to the game of ‘ulu maika (bowling) and the second lesson connects algebra

concepts to the game of ʻōʻō ihe (spear throwing). Fortunately, Mr. Fruen hosted the Makahiki

Games on campus this year where multiple schools participated. I encouraged my students to

participate (by taking the entire class to the event) and gave them the opportunity for extra credit

if they completed one of the two assignments. As a result, I was able to assess and evaluate my

students’ learning of scatter-plots and lines of best fits using culturally traditional forms as

opposed to only written and standardized testing. Both assignments incorporate cultural values

and beliefs which only enriches cultural understanding and connects it to mathematical concepts

in the modern classroom.