For many years, the Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA) provided quality professional development courses, giving our members opportunities to strengthen their knowledge base, skill level, and overall ability to be more effective educators in the State of Hawaii. We worked in partnership with the Department of Education (DOE) to offer courses taught by HSTA member instructors. Our goals were united in our desire to ensure Hawaii’s educators were receiving first-class courses aimed to help promote the profession and raise the level of expertise.
Unfortunately, over the past year and a half, we have seen all the hard work and dedication of many deteriorate. It culminated this summer when DOE changed the PDE3 guidelines once again and required our instructors to not only resubmit their courses but the DOE also extended the time needed for approval. As a result, none of our fall courses could be approved in time to allow participants to receive credit for the fallsemester.
While the HSTA recently offered more than 30 courses to our members per semester, as of Sept. 19, the DOE has approved just two courses for the spring. We currently have instructors working with DOE to approve more courses for spring, but the situation remains very challenging. Register for spring PD courses here.
“Given the recent changes to professional development requirements, one can’t help but think that maybe the DOE is trying to slow down the reclassification of teachers,” Wilbert Holck, HSTA’s executive director said. “We will continue to strongly advocate for our teachers around this issue.”
On Sept. 12, the HSTA sent a strongly-worded letter to the DOE asking for PD improvements and requesting data related to this issue, since these recent problems have slowed our members’ ability to improve their practice and qualify for reclassification as well as a pay increase. As of Sept. 19, the HSTA had not received a response from the DOE.
Thank you for your patience on this issue. Any courses offered by HSTA will be promoted on the HSTA PD website and through your Member Matters e-newsletter, so please stay in touch with us.
Signing up for HSTA PD courses is as easy as 1, 2, 3:
- Go pde3.k12.hi.us (PDE3) and add yourself to the wait-list for a specific section of a course
- Next, go to www.pd.www.hsta.org and make payment for that specific course section
- Lastly, once payment is received, HSTA will move you from the “Wait-List” to “Registered” on PDE3 and your enrollment will be confirmed via email
Here are descriptions of the two HSTA PD courses the DOE has approved for the spring so far:
The 21st Century Classroom (Online)
PDE3 Section #293151
Dates: January 14, 2019 – May 31, 2019
In this 3-PD credit online course, participants will receive foundational skills necessary to be effective teachers in 1:1 environment. Specifically, this course will be an introduction to: applications within G-Suite, formerly known as Google Apps for Education or GAFE. Participants will create their own lesson plans and projects utilizing G-Suite. This course is intended for those new to using Google, but is open to all levels. Disclaimer: This course was previously listed as course numbers PD179618 and PD180155 and cannot be repeated for credit.
The 21st Century Classroom Level 2 (Online)
PDE3 Section #293152
Dates: January 14, 2019 – May 31, 2019
This online 3-PD-Credit Course will provide teachers with technology tools to design a 21st century classroom. Teachers will learn how to use technology to open channels of communication with students and parents and increase collaboration among students, as well as build their creativity and critical thinking skills using 21st century classroom tools and apps such as: mail merge, autocrat and doctopus. Teachers will also learn about the importance of Internet safety and digital citizenship. During the course, participants will be immersed in a simulated 21st century classroom. Instructors will lead by example, and provide activities that incorporate technology seamlessly throughout the day. Disclaimer: This course was previously listed as course number PD180234 and cannot be repeated for credit.