Ano [Wi]Ka Mo Lecture-Forum on World Teachers' Day

They are not just teachers. They are a force who carry and share not just a wealth of knowledge but also life's lessons to students with ardent passion.

courtesy of Kuya Mhawi Rosero

In celebration of World Teachers' Day, our organization UP Layap conducted  a lecture-forum on the significance and relation of language and education both for students and teachers. Entitled "Ano [Wi]Ka Mo? Lecture Series on Language and Education, the forum was visited by a number of students from UP Layap and others from other courses where two speakers talked about the importance of changing the education system on General Education subjects and on Development Appropriate Practices for pre-schoolers. 

The first speaker, Associate Professor and major proponent of the Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education Dr. Ricardo Ma. Nolasco talked about the need of to evaluate teachers in their knowledge in their own fields so that the implementation of the program K to 12 would be maximized efficiently for the students. He discussed the low scores of teachers in different nationwide tests such as a the Test of English Proficiency for Teachers (TEPT) and Process Skills Test (PST) in Science and Mathematics. He pointed out that the teachers who took the test only got average scores between 36-50%, which is indeed alarming because this seems to entail a garbage-in garbage out system of teachers teaching students in an inappropriate way despite the two more years of basic education that should be utilized for the improvement of the education system in the Philippines. These appalling results also explains the low scores of the students in the National Achievement Test (NAT) because teaching in the country is low in quality, Dr, Nolasco added. There has been a weakness in content in teaching ever since the 1970's, he added. World Teachers' Day, therefore should be about changing the system of education in the Philippines and for the teachers to get out of their comfort zones in teaching and adapting the new system for maximum efficiency of teaching the students in the country.

With regards to the General Education subjects like Filipino, Dr. Nolasco pointed out that there is also a poverty of content with such courses and proposed that language should be taught using an integrative system and cited the importance of distinguishing Philippine and regional literature. He also emphasized that the new system and teachers should explore the possibility of teaching Wika 1 and Wika 2 in schools. Moreover, the GE subjects should be multidisciplinary and integrative as well, where Wika 1 should also be taught in different lenses of the study that is holistic, broad and and wider-ranging in understanding.

He also pointed out the significance of letting the students think big ideas and develop their critical thinking skills. In conclusion, he said that to revolutionize the system, there are three principles that should be put into action: 1) the theory should be on just grounds 2) there's a principle of defense and 3) there is a principle of restraint. 

The next speaker, Sir Ramon Jericho Santos of the Department of Family, Life and Child Development discussed about the Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) in relation to language and literacy development for children. He said that DAP is an approach in teaching that is grounded on research and it aims to maximize the child's potential in learning that is appropriate for his age. There are three considerations for this program: 1) age appropriateness, that involves the manipulation of children and incorporating their interests for them to enjoy and learn better. There should be increased interest in print materials and phonemic awareness by providing exposure to print materials and sessions. In conclusion, the teaching strategies should depend on the nature of knowledge on language that is appropriate for the child.

2) Individual appropriateness. This encompasses the knowledge of each child which includes language acquisition. That is, the teaching strategy on giving activities such as use of short sentences, phrases and words should be individually appropriate for each child. The reading materials should also accommodate the age bracket of the child. The speaker also said that the teachers should give the children the chance to choose their activities, opportunities to express their thoughts and develop the child's uniqueness. 

3) Socio-cultural appropriateness. This is the knowledge about the cultural and social background of each child that is essential in creating teaching strategies. These socio-cultural factors include language, religion, family types, parents' professions, socio-economic situation and residence type, among others. The speaker shared some of his experiences with regards to this aspect with his interaction with children of different backgrounds. He concluded that the teacher should be culturally sensitive when teaching the child. 

He also infused DAP with the use of language, where in kindergarten the students should already master phonemic awareness, spelling and writing. He said that language and literacy are interconnected from infancy onwards and should be holistic on speaking, reading, writing and listening. They should learn the things that are relevant and meaningful to them. 

He also discussed the characteristics of a good teacher-made material, which includes 1) purposeful 2) interactive 3) flexible 4) appropriate 5) sensorial 6) interesting 7) durable 8) safe and 9) indigenous. Things to consider in making materials should also based on the child's capabilities and being clear target skills. 

With regards to DAP and MTBMLE, the child's play should often be used to incorporate teaching, where cooperative play develops the his sense of socialization. DAP also lets the children speak out and develop their confidence. In conclusion, the developmentally appropriate practices anchor on the principles of 1) how children develop and learn 2) child's strength and individual interests and 3) taking into account the child's socio-cultural background.

Katha 2014: Part 2 Course Assessment and Student Learning Outcomes

Minutes of the Workshop Transcribed. Speaker Dr. Maricar Prudente.

KATHA 2014 Batch 2: Day 9

Science Track: Course Assessment and Student Learning Outcomes Part 2

Dr. Maricar Prudente

Science Education Department

De La Salle University-Manila

September 27, 2014

Minutes of the Workshop

5. Characteristics of an Exemplary Assessment Task. 1) Valid, which yields useful information to guide learning 2) Coherent, which should be structured so that activities lead to desired performance product 3) Authentic, which addresses ill-defined problems that are emerging 4) Rigorous, which requires the use of declarative, procedural and metacognitive knowledge 5) Engaging, which provokes student interest and persistence 6) Challenging, which provokes and evaluates student learning 7) Respectful, which allows students to reveal their uniqueness as learners and 8) Responsive, which provides feedback to students leading to improvement. The speaker also shared most of her experiences in teaching students using the simple context in their classroom, like introducing problems on pimples and oral bacteria that the students are able to relate to. One teacher raised the issue of using technology for more exposure to the students. The speaker agreed with utilizing technology as much as possible for them to be more engaged and interested in the lesson. She introduced internet learning and gave samples of online modules. She also emphasized that the lessons to be taught should be challenging to the students and not easy to accomplish. Asking the students on the project they could come up with may also help in improving the lesson at hand, the speaker added. She again emphasized the issue of finances when applying these methods.

Teaching in the context of assessment depends on providing effective feedback to students, encouraging students’ active involvement in their own learning, adjusting teaching to take account of the results of assessment, recognizing the profound influence of assessment on students’ motivation and engagement and ensuring that students assess themselves and understand how to improve. One thing that the teacher must be in the classroom is unpredictable, the speaker emphasized, so that the students will be engaged and interested in class. The teacher should also be techy in their own way to be able to enter their world which already started in the technology era. The speaker also shared her techniques in manipulating the students’ addiction in technology by utilizing it in her topics and lessons in Science. The speaker also suggested the use of a progress chart with regards to the quizzes of her students to see their learning development in class. As teachers, they have to be open to their students, the speaker added, by giving them the element of choice to make them feel responsible and empowered.

6. Implications for Learner-Centered Assessment. The students 1) are clarified in the learning outcomes at the course planning stage 2) are shared with the learning goals throughout the semester 3) ask appropriate and effective questions 4) focus oral and written feedback n the learning outcomes of lessons and tasks. The teachers on the other hand 1) encourage students’ self-assessment against the learning outcomes and 2) organize individual student target setting that builds on previous achievement. The speaker emphasized that the teachers should enter the students’ world of digital age so that there is more productive learning in the classroom.

7. Rubrics. The speaker said that there should be a question and an action in rubrics. There should be a criteria or essential elements in the rubrics, with a clear description of performance at each achievement level. There are also task-related rubrics for specific assessments by indentifying the skills and abilities needed in the context of the lesson. The teachers may also add the teamwork rubric, with expectations from group members and their level participation. She presented a sample teamwork rubric for the teachers, where it involves creativity, cooperativeness and skillfulness. This entails a more objective process of making a rubric for the students. This must be continuous and ongoing as a feedback to the students that should be focused on quality feedback. She paralleled the use of feedback in a classroom with a panel of judges, who first comment and provide suggestions to the students for them to be guided in their activity. Feedback should be 1) specific 2) descriptive 3) be offered ASAP after the event 4) offer alternative or ask the learner to do so 5) Encourage and plan for opportunities for the feedback and 6) involve the learner wherever possible to improve the chance of feedback being understood and acted upon.

The teachers should also encourage students for self-assessment to create a supportive environment where students are willing to share and discuss on their work in pairs, groups and with the whole class. The speaker shared some of the online resources for assessment as a final note.

8. Workshop 1. The speaker grouped the teacher-participants and asked them to construct conceptual test items. The teachers presented their questions and the speaker and other teachers critiqued and commented on their work.

9. Vee Map. This provides the students with questions to help them with assessment, which includes skills that should be developed such as planning, conducting and reporting. This is also to give students a focused question. Concepts are related to each other through a concept map, while finding out more questions lead to state claims. This shows the template to the rubric to evaluate components and a chart to map out results and feedback.

10. Dynamic Assessment. This is driven by self-assessment which is trust-worthy. The speaker also discussed the advantages and disadvantages of dynamic assessment. The speaker also shared some of the complaints of the students with regards to this type of assessment: 1) the test did not assess what they learned 2) students have difficulty recognizing which strategies to use 3) tests are beyond their level 4) there is no way of assessing learning processes and 5) passed the test but did not understand. However she said that the teachers should always challenge the students when it comes to exams.

11. Static Assessment. There are three types of questions for this type of assessment: 1) recall 2) algorithmic 3) higher order, where it includes conceptual questions, translation of the information, interpretation of info, extrapolation and evaluation 4) misconception, i.e. identifying a common misconception and generating a question based on it.

12. Authentic Assessment. This involves direct evidence on the performance of the students through their tests. This is also about how students monitor their understanding in the classroom. The speaker suggested a progress chart. This also entails a meaningful learning in the classroom, where the students do science experiments, conduct social science research, write stories and reports and read and write literature. The teachers on the other hand first determine and measure the students’ ability to apply the knowledge. Between traditional and authentic assessment, teachers can use both. Rubric making is still required. Such tasks may include performance assessment tasks and portfolio. Advantages of this assessment include the promotion of creativity, encouragement of collaboration and emphasis of integrated learning. However this is not applied in real time teaching nowadays the speaker said. The students should also have a self-assessment to evaluate their own participation. Disadvantages on the other hand include time-intensive process.

13. Metacognition. Students both have declarative, procedural and conditional knowledge which comprises of metacognition. The speaker asked the participants about the relationship of these three concepts, which includes authentic assessment, constructive feedback and self-regulated learning. One of the participants said that this will give them more idea on how to address the problems they encounter with their students with regards to self-regulated learning. Another said that the teachers can diversify on the students’ knowledge and explore their inclinations to produce self-regulated learners. The speaker then asked the participants to use the three concept in a single sentence. One said that authentic assessment opens the students to a world of new concepts, constructive feedback for students to realize their strengths and self-regulated learning for students to give them the drive and the motivation to a certain topic or lesson. Another said authentic assessment gives the students the opportunity to learn more and with teachers to have constructive feedback for the students to appreciate the lessons better and become self-regulated learners. The speaker asked more participants to make their own summarized statements about the three concepts. She then asked about the constructive feedback which would come from the teachers while the self-regulated learning comes from the students. She said that authentic assessment give evidence to how students learn in which the teachers will provide constructive feedback to make students self-regulated learner.

14. Workshop 2. The speaker asked the teachers to make a performance task and an authentic assessment based on the questions they made from the previous workshop. They also have to articulate the idea using a rubric. Each group presented their performance task and the speaker commented on their work.

Achieving the "unfair advantage" through MindGym Philippines

"Attitude is everything."

Names, dates and numbers fill my list of Top 3 Most Hated Things to Memorize. I'd endure memorizing terms and long definitions in my Linguistics and Biology classes, but I simply couldn't tolerate the effort of remembering the names of people I'd never bump into again. 

But the need suddenly arises as I meet important people especially in the blogging community, and I feel terribly lost in a sea of faces and names I'd have to remember.

Courtesy of  Memory Advantage "ForgetMeNot" ACLE with UP SAPUL  

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150263233518613.332523.259985043612&type=1

MindGym Philippines, a dynamic circle of professional educators offering Memory Advantage workshops answered my prayer as Mr. Albert Basa, MindGym coach, shared us tips in his two-hour interactive session  last Thursday for the UP ACLE (Alternative Classroom Learning Experience) sponsored by UP SAPUL.

Themed "Education as the Biggest Loser", Mr. Basa pointed out that even though education may truly lose in the timeless campaign for higher allocation budgets, it still has the winning streak in continuously producing the best students and citizens of the world.

Mr. Basa, also a product of UP Diliman, taught us memory tips on effectively recalling very long lists of terms and memorizing numbers to help us "take a step higher" in our classes and achieve the "unfair advantage" of having good memory.

Courtesy of  Memory Advantage "ForgetMeNot" ACLE with UP SAPUL  

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150263233518613.332523.259985043612&type=1

Even though memory is the lowest form of cognitive skill, Mr. Basa said nothing can be analyzed or interpreted (as it is, on the other hand, the highest form of cognitive skill) unless one has a good memory. The interactive session became more inspiring and alive as the MindGym coach led a number of games and taught us his "mantras" to effectively memorize our lessons.

MindGym Philippines offers the "nonformal nontraditional and lifelong learning" workshops for memory advantage, study skill and even graphic arts improvement.