CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

A recent change in the Philippines’ educational system was

implemented starting in 2011. The K-12 curriculum was signed into law back

in 2013, adding three years to the country’s basic education curriculum.

The new K-12 curriculum guide requires all Filipino students to have

one year of kindergarten, six years of elementary schooling (grades 1 to 6),

four years of junior high school (grades 7 to 10), and two years of senior

high school (grades 11 to 12).

This has always been seen as a disadvantage for our students who

are competing in an increasingly global job market. The longer educational

cycle of theK-12 curriculum is seen as critical in giving Filipino students a

higher quality of education.

The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization – Innotech

(SEAMEO-Innotech) found the previous 10-year educational cycle to be

congested, with a 12-year curriculum squished into 10 years.

 As a result, Filipino students have trailed behind students around the

world in the areas of math, languages, and science. The new curriculum is

aimed to fix that.

The K to 12 curriculum is designed to enable graduates to join the

workforce right after high school, and suitably prepare those who want to go

on to higher education.

The new curriculum will also support college graduates seeking work

abroad. Developed countries, according to the Department of Education’s

(DepEd) briefer, “view the 10-year education cycle as insufficient.”

All in all, the enhanced K to 12 curriculum is designed to provide a

holistic education for all. Now decongested, it will give students ample time

to master basic academic skills as well as to participate in co-curricular and

community activities.

The transition began in 2011, when the universal kindergarten was

introduced. Starting in 2012, schools already implemented the curriculum

decongestion mentioned in the DepEd briefer.

Public schools began having half-day classes for grade one students,

with the mother tongue as the medium of instruction. Private schools also

made adjustments in their own DepEd accredited curricula.

 The adaptation of the K to 12 curriculum guide means that students

will graduate a bit older compared to those who graduated under the 10-

year education cycle.

Far from being disadvantageous, however, DepEd states that young

adults graduating at age 18 or so will be more prepared to take on their

tertiary education. (Uyquiengco, 2019)

As defined by Wikipedia, learning environment can refer to an

educational approach, cultural context, or physical setting in which teaching

and learning occur for all types of learners and activities.

If you think your learning space won’t affect your study, you better

think again. Many educators and curriculum specialists agreed that the

learning environment is a highly influential factor when it comes to

knowledge and skills acquisition. In fact, a learner’s ability to retain

information, apply solutions to analytical problems and innovative new ideas

successfully are associated with the surrounding where learning takes

place.

Dr. Ken A. Graetz, the Director of Teaching, Learning, and

Technology Services at Winona State University wrote on his research, “As

students enter a virtual or brick-and-mortar learning environment, they form

a cognitive impression of that space and experience an associated

emotional response.” For example, students who were subjected to active

and motivating environments produced quality outputs. On the other hand,

if the learning space is full of distractions, students may perform poorly.

Educause, a nonprofit association in the United States whose mission

is “to advance higher education through the use of information technology,”

affirmed that all learning takes place in a physical environment with

quantifiable and perceptible physical characteristics. Thus, like normal

children, aspiring developers, and even developers themselves need a

conducive learning environment to grow and here are the four components

of the learning environment and how they influence the student’s learning

curve:

People, It refers to individuals that affect the student directly or

indirectly through connection or relationship (like mentor-mentee, teacher-

student, peer support system) which can contribute to students’ growth and

success in their career aspect.

Before you start your journey to become a web developer, you must

find the right place where you can hone your skills and build your reputation.

Joining a coding bootcamp can smoothen your career path. Brendan

Stanton, a full stack web developer, and current instructor at Coding Dojo

East Bay Campus said, “Whether you’re planning your first steps into the
programming world, or are a returning veteran brushing up on old skills, it’s

important to find a course that works best for you.”

However, a course is just one of the things to consider on your

checklist. You also need a strong support system to stay on track. If you

surround yourself with people who have the same goal as you, it will give

you clear directions on what you’ll do next and what to prioritize most to fulfill

your dream. Having friends to share your crazy ideas, jokes, dilemma, and

drama will make things easier and more enjoyable.

Likewise, collaboration is good for it opens the doors of

communication and creativity. It brings out unique ideas when people code

and think together. Working with other aspiring developers on different

assignments and tasks will motivate you to learn and do more. Also, it has

other benefits like new peer connections and expansion of professional

network; which are helpful when you want to look for new job opportunities

or change your career.

Inside the bootcamp, we encourage our students to work in pair to

accomplish complicated algorithm problems, group projects, and logic-

based exercises. Jessica Capo, program success manager of Coding Dojo,

said “To help our online students, we’ve been trying something new out

recently (hoping it works!). We’ve started creating groups for our students

just like in onsite program, that way they have cohort-mates to turn to, even
though they’re all online and remote. They can find time together to schedule

video sessions on Zoom, and work through their assignments together. We

really want to focus on making the online option more of a collaborative

experience for our students to help them realize that they’re not alone, that

other students are in the same boat as they are.”

Teaching materials, tech tools, and learning resources. This refer to

the teaching materials, highly advanced tools or others instructional

resources provided by instructors/teachers which are aligned with the

curriculum as apart of student learning support.

Learning is boring without learning materials for they enhance

student’s learning experience. They’re the best tools to eliminate distractions

and prevent students from sleeping, snoring and daydreaming. Why?

Because they help them to focus on their lesson/task and sustain their

interest.

Curriculum, training, and instruction. These are the core foundations

of the learning process for they influence one another and play vital roles to

master programming skills, languages, and frameworks.

A learning environment is like a cup of coffee. It’s a mixture of three

factors: curriculum, training, and instruction. If you blend them well, the
learners will surely like it. To do that you need to add some secret ingredients

like love, care, and consideration for the students.

Personally, I view learning environment as something that

provides instruction, but at the same time, it gives you the freedom to

develop your innovative side. Additionally, it offers student training to

facilitate the flow of knowledge and the delivery

of instructional content/curriculum.

Coding Dojo has specialized curriculum programs designed for

students to finish within 12 to 14 weeks. Aside from pair programming which

I mentioned earlier, we also teach agile practices such as test-driven

development, refactoring, portfolio making and many more. However, they

may require intense focus and good time management on the student’s part.

We firmly stand on our philosophy that anyone can learn to code when

exposed to a good learning environment with intensive training and helpful

mentoring from experienced developers, but we also emphasize that self-

initiative and self-sufficiency are necessary traits to accelerate personal

progress.

Physical environment/learning space. It refers to the physical setting

of the learner’s environment, like the room set up, interior design, furniture

arrangement, etc.
 Nowadays, the core spectrum of students’ success is somehow based

on their readiness to step up with the 21st-century economic challenges.

The digital age modified and improved the educational system to put up with

the global workforce high standards.

Therefore, a well-structured physical environment should evoke

positive responses and hold the interests of those who inhabit it. It can

strongly affect student morale and learning curve, so an organized plan to

match it physically with target objectives and instructional approaches are

needed. If executed correctly, it can intensify the sense of belongingness

and student empowerment.

Smith, Education has so much to learn. It needs to learn, needs to

see, what is happening to it, and what it should do in the face of this

happening. Is it often said that “education” is an essentially contested

concept. Like “morality” and “democracy”, it marks out features of life that

are deemed desirable, but there is no one standard usage that can be taken

as a model of correctness. Education for surprise would begin with, and

keep always in full view, its indisputable premise. In comparison with what

we do not know what we do know is nothing. Balancing our present

assumption that educations role is to transmit what we know education for

surprise would not reject that premise but would add that it is equally

important to remember how much we do not know.

 (Kagan, 2001) This is all of us working together we will create a place

where each person feels comfortable and all of us can enjoy the process of

learning. A teacher has a responsibility to create an environment where this

can happen, but I need you’re your help to make it work. I want to each of

you realize you are important member of the class with important

responsibilities and that you can help create and maintain a positive learning

atmosphere where everybody’s needs are met. To accomplish this, we will

be creating an agreement about how new will treat each other in the class

like we begin with constructing a chart with the headings Disruptive Behavior

and Responsible Behavior.

You and I need to be on the same side and work together to create a

classroom we all enjoy where everyone can learn. You will be always

included in the decision process. We will learn and practice skills that are

important for being citizens in a democratic society. Choosing responsible

behavior will be one of the most important things we will learn. Use activities

that strengthen the concept of the pillars. For the reassures students that

are discipline will not be done to them, but will happen with them. In

collaboration with the class you might discuss discipline structures and their

purposes, develop follow ups and logical consequences, and solicit student

inputs on some curriculum decisions. You can also show students how will

you turn them disruptive behavior into good learning situations, where
reflection, follow-up, and long-term structures come into play. In order to

implement Win-Win Discipline as intended, you must do three things. First

commit yourself to complying with what Kagan calls teachings big three.

Establish an interesting and challenging curriculum.

Provide cooperative activities that allow students to work together

meaningfully. Be an interesting stimulating teacher who can adapts the

curriculum to student’s interest and needs. The second is to familiarize

yourself with the seven students positions and relate them to types of

misbehavior you are likely to encounter. Third select or design structures

that helps misbehaving student return to responsible conduct.

Meeting Students’ Needs

Glasser is adamant that education that does not give priority to

students’ five basic needs bis bound to fail. Meeting the needs is not difficult.

Glasser says students’ survival needs are met when the school environment

is kept safe and free from personal threat. Students sense belonging when

they receive attention from the teacher and the others and participate

actively in class concerns. They sense power when the teacher asks them

to participate in making decisions about topics to be studied and procedures

for working in class, and assigns them responsibility for class duties such as

helping take attendance, caring for class animals, helping distribute and take

care of materials, being in charge of media equipment, and so forth.

Students experience fun when they are able to work and talk with others,

engage in interesting activities, and share their accomplishments. Finally,

they sense freedom when the teacher allows them to make responsible

choices concerning what they will study, how will they do so, and how they

will demonstrate their accomplishments. Glasser frequently mentions the

value of cooperative learning teams in helping students meet they basic

needs (Glasser, 1998).

The phrase the medium is the message applies to all forms of mass

communication, including schools. By participating in the “medium” of

schools that is, in their environment and basic structure you inevitably

receive subtle messages about the ways. Teachers are expected to teach

and students are expected to learn. These come through loud and clear as

you travel from English to math to Chemistry every 50 minutes, or as you

respond to questions from teachers but seldom ask any of your own.

Listening to an hour-long psychology lecture results in mental notes about

teaching, as well as written notes about psychology. Being tracked into an

advanced class or remedial section tells you much about schools and about

yourself as a learner. From the moment you first entered school, you have

been immersed in an informal and subtle network of interactions that forms

a big part of you school’s culture.

 Most teachers agree today that student motivation is essential for

school performance. This includes motivation to accomplish academic

goals, interest and effort in academic work, perseverance in doing

classroom or homework, completion of difficult task, self-regulation, risk

taking, independent learning, etc.

Although experienced teachers often use a variety of methods and

materials to motivate and encourage students, there are some students who

need little stimulation or encouragement from their teachers. They buckle

down on their own and immediately get into the classroom lesson or

homework assignment. They take responsibility for their own learning.

These students stay on task, do their assignments on time, and deal with

academic problem as they arise without getting “bored,” “confused,” or

“frustrated.”

Many students, however need to be motivated to reduce their

perceived confusion or boredom in class, and to mediate potential

frustration. Rather than concentrate on the schoolwork, they easily become

distracted or withdraw from the task; they tend to daydream, doodle, stare

out the window, or become disruptive. Because of their inability to stay

focused and try to clarify their lessons or assignment, their school work

becomes increasingly more difficult, eventually, they skip over difficult

problems or just give up-as if they were attempting to get their medicine out

of the way quickly.

The quality of school is sometimes measured by how happy the

students are. If you are new to a school, or just a visitor and you notice a

school full of unhappy students.

With all of the emphasis on schoolwork and standardized tests, it’s

easy to forget to make your students happy. There’s something really

special when you walk into a classroom and see a sea full of smiling happy

faces and here are 10 teaching strategies to make your students smile.

First to welcome them with open arms. Before the school year even

begins, you can greet your students with a welcome letter. This will help you

build a caring classroom community before students even walk into the door.

Students will not only feel welcome, but they will feel appreciated as well.

Remember, a caring classroom is a happy classroom.

Second is to give them something to look forward to. Think about the

last time that you planned a vacation. How did you feel on the days leading

up to it? Or, when was the last time you couldn’t wait until the weekend

because you were excited for the plans you made? Giving students

something to look forward to will make them happy. It can be something as

little as no homework for the weekend, to a classroom party filled with games

and treats.
 Third to Invest some time to get to know them. It’s always nice to take

the time to really get to know each and every one of your students. This will

not only help them feel more comfortable in class and help you build a caring

classroom community, but it will help you understand them better.

Fourth, let them eat lunch with you. If you really want to make your

students happy, once a month invite a few students to come and eat lunch

with you. Children tend to open up a little more when they are in an

environment where they feel relaxed and comfortable. Each month, hold a

fish bowl (to make sure everyone gets a turn) and randomly pick about five

students to come eat lunch with you. The benefit of it ia you will see your

students in a different light, along with a huge smile.

Fifth, use humor. Who doesn’t like to laugh? Use any opportunity you

have to use humor in the classroom. Tell a joke, a funny story, or come into

school with a silly hat one day and come to school each week with something

different on your head. The kids will look forward to what you will wear next

and you will see a beam of happiness with excitement and laughter.

Sixth, incorporate music. Research has shown that music affects our

feelings and energy levels. It’s also a powerful tool to make us happy.

Whenever you get the opportunity to incorporate music into your classroom,

do so, your students will thank you for it.

Seventh, give them choices. Students are always being told what to

do and rarely get the chance to make a choice for themselves. Giving
students a choice in what or how they will learn is a great way to make them

happy. It also shows them that you trust them, as well as gives them some

independence.

Eighth, let them play. According to research, play is important in

child’s development. It helps them grow physically, mentally, socially, and

emotionally. It keeps them healthy, burns off energy, gives them exposure

to learn through others, and try different things. It’s a great creative outlet,

and it teaches children how to interact with others. So next time you want to

cancel recess, think again.

Ninth, give their brain a break. Brain breaks are essential for students.

Research has proven that students learn best when they are given the

opportunity to rest their brain throughout the school day. The purpose of a

brain break is to refocus students to they will learn better, take the time to

gives students a quick brain break: All it takes is five minutes, and you will

definitely see a happy classroom.

And lastly, allow them to get social. Most children love to talk and

usually have a lot to say. Provide opportunities for students to get social with

their peers. You will see students establish relationships that promote a

positive classroom environment. Getting social and talking about things

other than schoolwork will make students happy. Try giving students ten

minutes at the end of the day to just talk with their classmates. You can even

invite the classroom next door to join in every Friday. (Janelle Cox)