Voyaging: From the Canoe to the Classroom

A panel from the Polynesian Voyaging Society will present “Voyaging: From the Canoe to the Classroom” at The 3rd IAFOR International Conference on Arts & Humanities in Hawaii (IICAH2023) and The 8th IAFOR International Conference on Education in Hawaii (IICE2023).

The IICAH/IICE2023 Organising Committee is currently calling for papers to be presented at the event. Submit your abstracts by October 19, 2022 to participate.

To participate IICE/IICAH2023 as an audience member, please register for the conference.

This plenary will also be available for IAFOR Members to view online. To find out more, please visit the IAFOR Membership page.


Abstract

Voyaging: From the Canoe to the Classroom

This panel is composed of seasoned Poynesian Voyaging Society crew members who are also educators at levels ranging from elementary to university to the larger community. The panel will discuss transmitting the lessons of the canoe to students of all ages as well as the educational platform being launched for the Moananoiākea voyage planned to start in 2023.


Biographies

Chris Blake
Polynesian Voyaging Society, Hawai’i, United States

Chris BlakeChris Blake currently serves as the Director of Pacific Innovations with the Office of Teaching and Learning Innovations at Kamehameha-Kapālama. In this role, he works to examine the wisdom of our ancestors and integrate it into our present knowledge to help us to navigate into the future. Chris has been an educator in the hui ʻepekema (Science) i ke kula kiʻekiʻe ma Kamehameha-Kapālama since 2000 and has been the High School Science Department Chair since 2010. Currently, he is the kumu (teacher) of Papa Kilo Hōkū (Celestial Navigation) which takes many of the components of non-instrument traditional navigation and sailing and provides a hands-on opportunity to learn from navigators and captains from the Polynesian Voyaging Society.

Chris has been working with the Polynesian Voyaging Society since 2012, connecting with Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia with the Mālama Honua -World-Wide Voyage in 2014-2017. He has continued his growth and development with Nainoa Thompson and Bruce Blankenfield with voyages to Ka Houpo o Kāne (InterTropical Convergence Zone) in May 2021 and the voyage to Papahānaumokuākea in June 2021. In 2022, he was selected for the crew on Hōkūleʻa as it voyaged on the ancient searoad of Kealaikahiki to Arutua, Rangiroa and Papaʻete in Tahiti.


Mark K. Ellis
Polynesian Voyaging Society, Hawai’i, United States

Mark K. EllisMark K. Ellis was born, raised, and currently lives with his ʻohana in Nuʻuanu, Oʻahu. He is a husband and father of four children. Mark is a crew member and student of navigation with the Polynesian Voyaging Society. He is a past Fellow of the First Nations’ Futures Institute at Stanford University. Mark received an undergraduate degree in Organisational Development and a master’s degree in Instructional Technology and Design. He is currently a Sr. Instructional Designer with Kamehameha Schools.


Catherine Fuller
Polynesian Voyaging Society, Hawai’i, United States

Catherine Fuller, Polynesian Voyaging SocietyCatherine Fuller is a sixth grade teacher at 'Iolani School in Honolulu. She is also a crew member on the Polynesian Voyaging Society's canoes Hõkūle'a and Hikianalia, and has held multiple roles on the canoes including navigator and captain. Catherine brings the lessons from her experiences to her students through the examination of the values, practices and decisions required to create a sustainable world. Her interests include outrigger canoe paddling, photography and reading.


Linda Furuto
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, United States

Linda FurutoDr Linda Furuto is from Hau‘ula, O‘ahu and a professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Prior to joining UHM, Dr Furuto was an Associate Professor of Mathematics and Head of Mathematics and Science at University of Hawai’i West O‘ahu, and a middle and high school mathematics teacher in Fiji, Japan, Los Angeles, and Boston. Dr Furuto completed her PhD at UCLA, her master’s degree at Harvard University, and bachelor’s degree at Brigham Young University. She is the director of the world’s first degree program in ethnomathematics, which received an official add-a-field licensure in ethnomathematics from the Hawai‘i Teacher Standards Board. Dr Furuto has been part of the Polynesian Voyaging Society since 2007 and is an education specialist connecting voyaging on the ocean and land through ethnomathematics, access, equity, and STEM education.



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