This video was really awesome. Becoming a first year teacher makes me want to up and move to Hawaii to try and get a job there. This is the ultimate learning environment that we need to head towards. This is an inquiry based curriculum where the kids come up with the questions to answer. The knowledge the students acquire in this school will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Unlike the sterile classroom environment and less acquisition of knowledge. This video is an inspiration to us all.

The best way to learn is to be curious and involved. This will result in questions being directed to an expert which in turn will increase academic growth.
Hawaii is the ideal place to study marine biology and it definitely was reflected in this video. Hands on activity allows for the student to learn instantly and become motivated to grasp the most information that can be obtained in a given amount of time.
The one on one learning is focused and therefore learning results are magnified.

There are a lot of great learning activities and student engagement at WHEA. I have been teaching traditionally for too long. It is just hard to get project based learning going in a traditional setting for many reasons. I have dreamed of teaching students to raise edible fish in tanks, but approval for a place to put stock tanks has stopped me. Because of this, the student working with microalgae in the video intrigued me. Growing microalgae may be a way to start a similar project in smaller tanks. I teach in the desert, so there is plenty of sunlight. I need to learn more about growing microalgae. I also wonder why the company grows the algae. I don't think it is for oil to make fuel. Maybe it is grown for DHA for vitamins. I couldn't find where the school puts information generated by student projects on a website. Some collaborative learning between my students and WHEA students would be great if I could get similar projects going. If anyone one finds any useful information related to this, post it or URLs in this comment area.

WHEA is leading the way. I am interested in collaborating with others in developing a microalgae project for students. Once I get started, I would like to have my students collaborate with other students. Currently, I only have a keen interest and I will learn what I can online. Jim Cottrell, Twentynine Palms high school, science teacher. jimc137(at)yahoo.com