OPINION] Are students actually

learning during this pandemic?

SEP 8, 2020 2:30 PM PHT
SENSEI ADORADOR

INFO
Students enroll not because they want to learn, but because they don’t want to be left behind.
Education institutions want the best but they forget to become human. 
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“Sir, indi ko anay mag-eskwela online kay wala ko kwarta inug pa load. Unahon namon anay
amon kalan-on kay ga masakit si tatay (Sir, I can’t go to our online class because I don’t have
money to buy load. I need to prioritize our food because my father is sick)."
This is just one of the situations of students in state universities as they embrace the so-called
“new normal” in education. Despite efforts of the education sector to continue learning during
the pandemic, the “new normal” has continued to be a scourge not only for teachers but also for
students.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been shaping the course of education. It has shifted from the more
familiar face-to-face setup to the unfamiliar space of online learning, with teachers trying to
replicate traditional classroom methods that are now unsuitable. 
Despite the problem of student learning and the difficulty of their adjustment during the
pandemic, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) still pushed for the opening of classes
like the Department of Education (DepEd), but provided some leniency, saying it will be up to
the schools to decide whether they would open in August or October. 
Things are not easy when moving pedagogically from one medium to another. The sudden
transition brought by the pandemic without adequate opportunities to design for a new medium
becomes a struggle for educators and students.
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For instance, the shift to synchronous online video-conferencing (such as Skype, Google Meet,
or Zoom) creates uncertainty for teachers and students. Because they do not have enough
resources to stay online, most of the students – especially in state universities – rely on free
Facebook for communication. The burden of data consumption through video conferencing is
costly for students who rely on free tuition.
On the teachers’ side, the migration creates a quagmire of problems despite the battery of
seminars for adjustment. Still, internet connection remains the number one problem. To address
this, some institutions have resorted to module-making or course packs or asynchronous
learning. These, along with online video conferencing, have become the standard norm. 
However, the same problem arises as module-making and course packs become a struggle
because of the demands of the institution. Some institutions hastily forced teachers to produce
modules for the sake of having finished products to justify expenditures on teacher salaries and
to beat the deadline, given the early class opening. Modules and course packs don’t replicate the
actual teaching. This band-aid solution only shows the gaps between the privileged and their
underserved counterparts in education. 

H elp s tudents cope with online learning

MAKE YOUR MOVEH E R E ' S A L I S T O F I N I T I A T I V E S T O S U P P O R T O R
DONATE TO STUDENTS IN NEED DURING THE PANDEMIC  
There is no actual learning in this urgent transition; it is for the sake of completion. The problem
in this pedagogical migration is that it leaves the marginalized students with haphazard
information, where they are facing complex material, financial, mental, and infrastructural
challenges.
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Neoliberal values: product-based orientation

The pandemic has become an avenue to forge neoliberal values in education. An academic freeze
to make students and teachers feel at ease and safe has been thumbed down by education
officials who declared that education must continue despite the pandemic. 
This decision to continue classes by any means is, however, more a matter of economics than a
mission of education – the number of unemployed will quadruple due to the number of people in
private institutions who will lose their jobs at this time. This institutional gesture of pushing
through with classes has turned into an oasis for people who need their jobs to live. 
Neoliberal values shape and frame the mind of academicians. The pressure to work on their
course packs and modules with a limited time frame for the sake of completion, in a Marxist
sense, is called “alienation of labor.” 
College educators were forced to submit to this kind of system because of their debt of gratitude
to the institution. This can, however, also become detrimental because this framing dismisses the
dialogue between teachers and their administrators, especially in airing their pleas against
reopening or about other problems they encounter in making their course packs.
This kind of framing even covers students whose pleas were denied, too, and who were
pressured by their teachers to connect by any means for their online classes. Of course, we know
that the majority of students in state universities come from the lower-class strata of society
where internet connection is a luxury rather than a necessity. This relationship of top-down
decision-making is toxic and creates the impression of an oppressor-oppressed relationship.
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Teachers are oppressed and denied by their admins, and in turn, those who are oppressed become
oppressors to their students. This corporatization of higher education has also created a product-
based orientation. Teachers present the product to the admins and students, and students must
return the product that their teachers ask for – a setup more likely based on compliance.
Students' vulnerability
Students are the most vulnerable in this situation. Before, education was seen as a gateway to a
brighter future; now, education is a burden to the poor and an advantage to the affluent. 
Private and state universities are still finding stop-gap solutions to provide quality education for
all, but quality is heavily dependent on the level and quality of digital access. The less affluent
families with limited digital devices are the ones left behind. Besides dealing with budget issues
for data plans to cope with their online classes, their mental health is also strained as they cope
with learning requirements in this time of crisis. These only exacerbate their learning situation.
Students enroll not because they want to learn, but because they don’t want to be left behind.
They attend online classes and answer their modules and course packs, not because they want to
learn but because they need to comply with these requirements to get a degree and diploma. 

How did this story make you feel?

INSPIRED
 HAPPY
AMUSED
NEUTRAL
ANNOYED
SAD
ANGRY
AFRAID
SEE THE RESULTS
Similarly, teachers do their jobs for the sake of completion mandated by their superiors, even if
their heart is not in it. Education in the time of this pandemic is also a pandemic itself. It is not
liberating but rather restraining. It is not encouraging but rather depressing. 
Education institutions want the best but they forget to become human. As Luis Montenegro said
in the movie, It Takes A Man and A Woman: “Minsan sa kagustuhan nating maging magaling,
nakakalimutan nating maging mabuti(Sometimes in our desire to be excellent, we forget to be
good).” – Rappler.com
Sensei M. Adorador is part of the faculty of the College of Education at Carlos Hilado Memorial
State College, Negros Occidental. He is a member of the Congress of Teachers and Educators
for Nationalism and Democracy (CONTEND). For comments and suggestions you can reach
him at sensei.adorador@chmsc.edu.ph.

[OPINION] Are self-learning modules

effective?
JAN 12, 2021 9:58 AM PHT
LIEZLE PRECIOUS ROLDAN ESTRADA

INFO
'Modules are not substitutes for teachers'
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In October 2020, the Department of Education (DepEd) reopened classes amid the still rampant
coronavirus outbreak, and one method of teaching the department appraised to be effective in
this situation was modular learning.
What is modular learning?
Modular learning is a form of distance learning that employs the use of self-learning modules.
These self-learning modules are based on the most essential learning competencies (MELCS)
provided by DepEd. 
Ideally, the modules should include sections on motivation and assessment that serve as a
complete guide for both the teacher's and students' desired competencies. The teachers will
monitor the learner's progress through home visits (following social distancing protocols) and
feedback mechanisms and guide those who need special attention.
Although this was what DepEd proposed and expected from teachers and students, this is far
from the current realities involved in modular learning.
MUST READ

30 errors found in DepEd's learning modules

The realities of modular learning

The modular learning approach is hanging by a thread, and it's not the teachers' or the students'
fault. The plan seems to be flawed from the start. With so many students, especially in public
schools, it would be hard to give each one equal and undivided attention. Teachers also struggle
to reach out to all of their students but fall short because economic and social factors stand in
their way.
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DepEd is well aware of the situation between students and teachers. Not everyone is privileged
enough to own a laptop or a phone or to have a stable, uninterrupted internet connection or data.
Modular learning was the band-aid solution to these economic shortcomings. But what they
failed to consider (or refused to acknowledge) is that every student's home life is different.
You see, modular learning is heavily reliant on the More Knowledgeable Others (MKOs)
capacities, also known as the adult figures in these students' homes. The module relies on their
knowledge and patience to teach the student whatever concept they don't understand.
In most middle-class homes where at least one person has access to data or an internet
connection, this might not pose much of a problem. Additionally, at least one person in middle-
class families has attended college. This means they have access to education and resources. But
this may not be the case for lower-income families.
In families where both parents are absent, trying to make ends meet, and no one has gone to
college because of poverty, modular learning might not work at all. Lessons are limited to what's
written on paper. Without another more knowledgeable person who can explain these
complicated concepts, the student will definitely have difficulty absorbing their lessons.
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With the current setup DepEd has for its teachers and students, the possibility of anyone
genuinely learning anything is low. First off, modules are not substitutes for teachers. Like what
has been mentioned above, without a knowledgeable person around who can explain confusing
or complicated concepts written in the module, the student won't understand it.
Second, examples are limited. The modules themselves aren't perfect. They differ from school to
school, and their contents depend on the teachers who made them. Some students may not have a
problem understanding their lessons because of a well-explained module, but others may not be
as lucky. With the lack of standard books used, the level of learning varies. 
Third, students are being left in the dark. Those who don't have access to electronic gadgets and
the internet may not even know who their classmates are for this school year. The only point of
contact students have with their teachers this school year is through the modules. Social bonds
can't form between students and teachers.
Additionally, there is a lack of feedback. Once modules have been answered and delivered to the
teacher, students only have to worry about the next modules coming in. There is little to no
feedback regarding what they have learned and if their answers are correct. Therefore, the
modular approach becomes an endless stream of paperwork for both the student and the teacher
with no way of knowing its effectiveness.

How did this story make you feel?

INSPIRED
HAPPY
AMUSED
NEUTRAL
ANNOYED
SAD
ANGRY
AFRAID
SEE THE RESULTS
There are a lot more challenges concerning modular learning, but these are the most prevalent.
Both the students and the teachers are at a disadvantage. The quality of education, however hard
it is to admit, may have dropped. But because we're still in the middle of a pandemic, it's not
their fault. Learning is hard when done on your own.
It's hard to absorb new information when no one is there to guide you (or at least empathize with
you) when the lessons become too much. This may also contribute to the anxiety and depression
some students feel now that they're struggling to keep up with modular learning demands.
Although both the teachers and the students are trying their best to perform well in this situation,
it's just not ideal. 
The modular learning approach has several weak spots. If DepEd refuses to address them, both
students and teachers will have an even harder time adjusting to the new normal. – Rappler.com
Liezle Precious R. Estrada is an educator by profession, and an environmental enthusiast at
heart. She also dabbles in painting and calligraphy. In her free time, Liezle indulges herself in
hiking and adventures.