E lawe i ke aʻo a mālama, a e ʻoi mau ka naʻauao.

He who takes his teachings and applies them increases his knowledge.

— ʻŌlelo noʻeau no. 328

My personal "river of life" exercise used to introduce myself to students and share specific events that I bring to the classroom (2018)

Teaching Philosophy

I view teaching as a cultural, political, and social act. Like research, what and how I teach is deeply influenced by my identities, worldviews, and relationships with land and people. To be an effective teacher, I center three core values in my practice: genuine pilina, holistic connections, and self-determination.

  1. Genuine pilina: I prioritize the relationships I build with students over the content that I teach. While I want students to leave my classes with new knowledge and skills, I also want them to feel safe, secure, and respected by me and their peers. This can only occur after building and nurturing healthy, thriving relationships between and among students and teachers.  

  2. Holistic connections: In order to make content meaningful and relevant to my students, I need to know who they are as people. This requires a holistic understanding of students' lives beyond the classroom and intentionality in finding ways to connect with students' communities.

  3. Self-determination: I want students to feel empowered to use their voice and dictate their future. By affirming students' self-determination, I aim to help boost their self-esteem, self-efficacy, leadership skills, and identity formation.

 Teaching Experience

  • I tutored K–12 students living on Oʻahu and enrolled at UAchieve Learning Center in English Language Arts and SAT/SSAT prep. I specialized in building knowledge and skills in writing persuasive essays and personal statements.

    Courses taught:

    • 1-month summer camp on writing persuasive essays (2015)

  • I taught at a public high school on Hawaiʻi Island in Special Education inclusion and resource settings. I managed students on my caseload by writing Individualized Education Plans (IEP) and tracked student progress for those receiving IDEA services in my classes.

    Courses taught:

    • 9th grade English Language Arts (2019 – 2020)

    • 10th grade English Language Arts (2018 – 2020)

    • 11th/12th grade English Language Arts (2019 – 2020)

  • Since entering graduate school, I have given guest talks for undergraduate classes at Dartmouth College and UCLA on my experiences with culturally responsive teaching, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in higher education, and my journey to academia.

    Courses/Instructors:

    • Education 123: Teaching Profession (UCLA, Jeff Share, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Winter 2022, Winter 2023)

    • Education 204A: Introduction to Education and Social Sciences (UCLA, Jason Nunzio Dorio, Fall 2021)

    • Education 299A: Research Practicum – Conducting Literature Reviews in Social Science & Comparative Education (UCLA, Daniel Solórzano, Fall 2022)

    • Education 222C: Qualitative Data Reduction & Analysis (UCLA, Teresa McCarty, Spring 2023)

    • Education M103: Asian American and Pacific Islander Education and Schooling (UCLA, Robert Teranishi, Fall 2023)

    • Sociology 58: Education and Inequality (Dartmouth College, Janice McCabe, Winter 2024)

  • I assisted the lead instructor of a 1-week summer bootcamp course on undergraduate research preparation and programming opportunities in the humanities, arts, and social sciences for incoming transfer students to UCLA. This entailed leading small-group discussions, co-faciliating lectures with the lead instructor, and reviewing student work and providing feedback with another graduate student mentor.

  • Education 190AC: “This course examines how learning environments can empower and disempower individuals and explores the role of education in the social construction of hierarchy, inequality, difference, identity, and power. It embodies a democratic philosophy and practice, creating a learning community that encourages students to take responsibility for their own education and learn through theory, experience, and dialogue.” (Fall 2025)

    Education 155AC: Pacific Islander and Asian American Educational Struggles: Collective Learning for Racial Justice: This course “examines the social construction and contestation of race, the historical and contemporary consequences of racism, and the ongoing struggle for racial justice in the United States through the lens of Pacific Islander and Asian American racialization.” (Spring 2026)

  • Education 242: Critical Qualitative Research Methods in Education: Issues, Approaches, and Design: “The course offers students opportunities to learn about a variety of critical research methodologies, examine issues of education, and design research projects” (Spring 2026)

Teaching Tools

To enact my teaching philosophy and to effect social change in my local community, I utilize four research-informed teaching tools — culturally responsive teaching, universal design for learning, problem-posing pedagogy, and praxis — which I adapt according to specific learning contexts and student needs & interests. Read the descriptions for my personal definition of each tool, and click the images to learn more from outside resources that can aid in implementing the tools in your practice.

Curriculum & Pedagogical Resources

My teaching is effective when I am adaptive, responsive, and aware of individualized needs. Therefore, I modify lessons and pedagogical methods based on who I am teaching. I do not attempt to assimilate students to a one-size-fits-all model of teaching. 

In this section, I've included examples of instructional slides, activities, and student work that demonstrate how I merged my teaching philosophy and teaching tools to instruct a specific group of students at a specific point in time. While these resources may be used in your classroom, I encourage you to make your own modifications to make the content meaningful and relevant to your students' lived experiences.

    1. Color-evasive and structural racism

    • Setting: Undergraduate course in education (Fall 2025)

    • Teaching strategies: Activate prior knowledge, real-world connections, partnered dialogue, class discussion

    • Content: Personal reflection, class discussion, exit ticket activity

    • Slide deck

Student Feedback

I believe teaching is a work-in-progress. I do not strive for perfection in teaching or learning, but I do value effort, open-mindedness, and self-respect by students and educators. To this end, evaluation, feedback, and reflection are also key components of my teaching practice that ensures I continue learning from students and improving my teaching approach. This is but a small collection of the growing testimonies by students and colleagues of my work as an educator.

“Kourtney’s emphasis on how being affirmed in her own identity through her schooling and culturally relevant curriculum was so interesting. Really highlights the importance of ethnic studies and culturally relevant curriculums for students.”
— UCLA Undergraduate student, 2025

Survey data from SY 2018–2019 on sense of place among 97 10th grade students (2019)

“Before this class, I’ve only read and heard about AAPI, but clarifying and defining why NHPI community is just as important was an eye-opening moment. What stood out to me as was the data itself.”
— UCLA Undergraduate student, 2025

Letters of Recommendation

I accept requests for Letters of Recommendation on a rolling basis and prefer to be asked either in person or via email (kckawano@berkeley.edu). Please complete the LOR request form attached below only after I have agreed to write an LOR for you. To be mindful of the labor required to write a strong LOR, please ask me for an LOR at least three weeks before the deadline and submit the LOR request form at least two weeks prior to the deadline. Mahalo!

LOR Request Form