Table of Contents
Overview
An Interactive Faculty Work Session Co-Sponsored by Assessment and Curriculum Support Center and Graduate Division.
Continuing in our E ALA (Engaging in Advanced Learning Assessments) series, we invite you to join us for Assessment is Like Making Laulau, an in-person interactive event. The event will be held on November 21, 2025 from 10:00am – 12:00pm at Hamilton Library. Lite lunch and drinks will be provided.
Come explore program assessment through the lens of making *laulau. In this interactive two-hour workshop, we’ll use the process of preparing laulau — from gathering ingredients to unwrapping the finished dish — as a metaphor for building meaningful program assessment. Together, we’ll engage in the assessment cycle and examine “your” program assessment through the lens of Kūlana Noʻiʻi elements of Pono research. We will reflect on how each step in laulau parallels elements of assessment: planning, preparation, collaboration, and sharing results. The session will close with the reflection of your program’s unique “recipe” for program assessment success — and, of course, a taste of laulau.
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*A traditional Hawaiian dish of meat (typically pork) wrapped in lūʻau (taro) leaves and lāʻī (ti leaves), then steamed until tender.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/RNtghCoToQg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mghxlvSHHUs
Who can participate…
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Graduate Faculty and Program Assessment Coordinators who are interested in improving their course learning assessments and who desire to enhance their ongoing program learning assessments. In particular, we invite all faculty who train students in conducting responsible, ethical, and reciprocal research to join this session.
What participants will walk away with…
Build Community: Opportunity to connect with other graduate faculty and program assessment coordinators from various disciplines.
Personalized “Recipe” for Your Program Assessment: Participants will reflect on each stage of program assessment and leave with reflections, notes, and guiding strategies for next steps and strengthening of their program’s assessment practices and goals.
Renewed Sense of Purpose and Connection: Through shared reflection and cultural metaphor, participants will strengthen their appreciation for assessment as a meaningful, collaborative practice that nourishes learning and growth.
Improve Assessment Strategies: Gain new insight into creative assessment techniques and strategies for assessing program research and student projects that align with UH Mānoa Advanced Degree Institutional Learning Outcomes #6 Conduct research or projects as a responsible and ethical professional, including consideration of and respect for other cultural perspectives; and #7 Interact professionally with others.
More about E ALA Event Series
The Assessment and Curriculum Support Center, in conjunction with the UHM Graduate Division, introduces the E ALA (Engaging in Advanced Learning Assessments) series. We have planned four interactive sessions for this academic year to support your graduate program in enhancing collaborative, meaningful, useful, feasible, culturally-responsive, and equitable assessment.
Together, we will focus on advancing the assessment of UH Mānoa Advanced Degree Institutional Learning Outcomes #6, conduct research or projects as a responsible and ethical professional, including consideration of and respect for other cultural perspectives, and #7, interact professionally with others.
Past Events
| Event | Description |
|---|---|
| October 30, 2026 – “Assessment is NOT Scary” | Revive common practices that support faculty in advancing student achievement. |
Upcoming Events
| Event | Description |
|---|---|
| January 29, 2026 – “Unpacking Our Assessment Kuleana” | Create an assessment tool that is culturally-responsive and equity-minded. |
| February 26, 2026 – “Loving Assessment” | Make assessment your love language. |
Attendance for the series can be for a single event, all four, or a combination as your schedule allows.