Three keys to education in the new normal

MANILA BULLETIN
Published August 9, 2020, 7:46 AM
by  Kerry Tinga
Clarissa Delgado, her work on TFP has earned her a place as one of the Obama Foundation Fellows
Class of 2018 - founder and CEO of TFP

Teach for the Philippines (TFP), a non-profit social enterprise working to provide quality
education to all Filipino students.

“The traditional face-to-face classroom environment [is replaced] with a home-based

learning experience.”
Experience. It is the perfect word to sum up the direction education has moved toward
during the past few months.
But now, students and their guardians must work together with teachers and the
educational system to re-create the learning experience in their home environments, each
home with its own unique challenges.
“Pivoting to virtual training has been undoubtedly necessary, but also extremely
challenging.”
“The Summer Institute is preparing our teachers with knowledge, skills, and mindsets that
would be necessary for the new school year,” Clarissa adds, before going into more detail
on each of the key points.
Knowledge
 The best teachers do not simply just read out what is in the textbook. A child at home can
easily do that. The experience that students and their guardians need to replicate is the
process of learning, grounded in fundamental theories of education.
The experience that students and their guardians need to replicate is the process of
learning, grounded in fundamental theories of education.
Students and guardians should engage in dialogue with teaching professionals not simply
about the content of a lesson, but on how to approach learning. There are also articles and
resources online that discuss how we learn.
Skills
Modern, technology-enabled communication is at the forefront of distance learning.
Lessons on how to adapt to teaching through alternative delivery modes to effectively reach
and teach our students. This includes sessions on how to effectively use radio or audio and
video instruction, basic phone photography and videography, and online tools to design
instructional materials.”
The Department of Education (DepEd) constantly stresses the importance of
21st century skills in the K to 12 curriculum, including information, media, and
technology skills. Unfortunate a circumstance as this is, distance learning provides
an opportunity for teachers and their students to learn and practice such skills.

Beyond the textbooks and worksheets that a student will be given, there are
limitless resources available online. It is important for students to learn not only how
to look for information online, but also how to be discerning as they sift through the
Internet.

Mindsets

Perhaps the most important thing for teachers, students, guardians, and all of us
Filipinos right now is to constantly check in on our mindset. Many of the educational
issues we are now discussing have existed before the health crisis, which has
exacerbated our situation.

“The Covid-19 crisis emphasized existing challenges that have strengthened our
commitment to being part of the solution. We remain focused on the mission to
provide Filipino children with access to quality education,” says Clarissa. “The
knowledge and the stories that we discover by listening to each other and our
communities help us grow stronger. We will persevere and adapt to any challenge
as we navigate through them together with courage and kindness.”

“I want to take a moment to realistically acknowledge that our situation and these
times will only get harder still. We have neither certainty nor concrete answers,” the
TFP founder adds. “We recognize that we cannot make everyone happy with all of
our decisions, but rest assured that we continue to use our core values as our
guiding principles for our decisions. Our values speak of belonging, curiosity,
excellence, integrity, respect, and service. This is our accountability to each other
and the communities we serve.”
Innovative teaching methods in the
new normal
THE MANILA TIMES

ByJeanne Gamiao
July 28, 2020
The author is Teacher 3 at Dampig Elementary School Pagudpud, Ilocos
Norte.
As educators gear with the “new normal” set-up in this Covid-19 pandemic,
this is the appropriate time to use our discomfort to forge a new paradigm.
This is now the time for schools to ensure that teachers do not just translate
what they do inside the classroom into their online teachings.

Teacher-driven discussions and lengthy lectures are no longer norms in this

situation. In online learning, students are almost always divided on their

focus—that of their classes and their attention to their mobile gadgets.

We as teachers should innovate to teach online by tapping legitimate online

tools and resources. By using online learning resources on topics and creating

learning playlists or menus, students would be up for an exciting learning

process. By being not only an issuer of educational content but a master

curator of learning resources, teachers like us are designing efficient and

effective synchronous and asynchronous learning activities for continuous

engagement of students.
Educators need to design assessment and grading systems and think on their

purposes and priorities. Encouraging student learning is the best and not just

let students accountable for their own learning. Mentors must think that in

times of remote learning, continuous feedbacking from students on their

learning can help them reflect on their strengths.

Teacher’s feedback would be a “discipline” so that students will further

improve on their studies. The pandemic would be a big factor in finishing

requirements by students, which in normal times are easily done.

By focusing on their mastery on learning, educators can also adopt grades

that clearly demonstrate mastery of knowledge and skills, as well as craft

criteria for mastery of learning. Constant feedback will help students achieve

these criteria. Grades would eventually be issued with compassion and

fairness.

Abellanosa: Teaching in the new normal

SunStar (Bacolod)
RHODERICK ABELLANOSA

WHETHER online learning is effective or otherwise is something we will only truly know from
experience. For now, all things are plain speculation or expressions of hope. But it would be
good for both teachers and students to be reminded that the reason why we opt for online
learning is that there is no other safer option. "Freezing" the academic year at the expense of
manpower preparedness cannot be an option.

As we move closer to the opening of classes, we must brace ourselves and expect challenges. We
need to manage our expectations and be open to adjustments. Part of this is setting aside our
idealisms as we try to grapple with many things that are either fully or partly unknown to us. In
the middle of this pandemic, we should know when to say "should have been" or "should be."
Seeing and understanding things in context is important. This way we would live in the "here and
now" and thus avoid unnecessary experiences of anguish.

The challenges to teaching in the new normal are both immediate and long-term; either formal or

substantive. Within our plain view, connectivity is the immediate concern. Apparently, this is a

challenge but actually not the only. In fact, it is a technical concern that should have a

technical solution. This is not to say that such a challenge is not real, but once one would

get to have the "means" to afford the service of an internet provider, the problem ends

there.

The greater challenges are actually found in the need for educational institutions to adjust to the

changing realities around them. This is where long-term planning and more serious reflections

and discussions are needed. What shall become of education in the years to come? And what

kind of educated people will the future need? This question is neither dystopian nor utopian

but a practical one. It is a question that must be asked if we are to genuinely live our lives as

reflective human persons in the new normal. Essentially, this is not just a technical question

but one that pushes us to search and focus on the more enduring aspects of our lives. There is no

one shot answer to it, and, in fact, the answer may have to be discerned and re-discerned in the

process.

The questions, for example, on what is relevant to teach these days is nothing but serious. After

all, if education is the process of birthing knowledge, we are, in more ways than one, at an age
where people ask "what do we truly know?" Thus, when preparing performance tasks they

have to be planned and designed in light of the updates, advances and challenges of the new

normal. To what extent will our questions enable our students to connect to a world that is

economically and politically volatile, ambiguous and uncertain? Do our principles still hold

valid? Is the here and now a connection to human history and if so what is this current

experience telling us of who we are as a people and the institutions that we create?

Then there is the issue of competencies or skills. While it is true that there are many skills that are
enduring and shall forever be part of the needs of the marker (e.g. communication) but basically we
cannot but be part of the evolution in which the mode and manner of the transmission and application of
skills would surely change. This means that teachers too should be upskilled and reskilled for one
cannot give what one doesn't have. An example would be research. Given all the lockdowns and
strictures, how will we proceed with data collection? Now is the time for learners to "actually do"
research using available and existing online data. Certainly, this will have many implications to the
changing landscape of academic ethics given its closer interface with technology especially Artificial
Intelligence (AI).

There are a lot of things that teachers should reflect on these days. At first the resumption of classes
would initially feel like "business as usual." But as things move one we shall feel the changes, and we
have to be ready for them. In words of Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, the
pandemic gives us an opportunity to
"reflect, reimagine and reset our world."

Education and the ‘new normal’

The Manila times
ByTeresita Tanhueco-Tumapon
June 4, 2020
 

Part 1 — School year terms and blended sessions

“WE sense that ‘normal’ isn’t coming back, that we are being born into a new

normal: a new kind of society, a new relationship to the earth, a new

experience of being human.” — Charles Eisenstein

<https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/new-normal.html>

BEFORE the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), we prefix

what we say with “the 21st century.” We used to say or write “21st century

teaching, 21st century learning, 21st century knowledge and skills,” defining

these as the 21st century competencies — critical thinking, communication,

collaboration and creativity. However, with the coronavirus pandemic, we

have a new catchword — the new normal. The Oxford Dictionary

defines catchword as “a briefly popular or fashionable word or phrase

used to encapsulate a particular concept.” So, what is the concept

embracing the new normal? The American Dictionary defines new

normal as “a previously unfamiliar or atypical situation that has become

standard, usual, or expected.”

<https://www.lexico.com/definition/the_new_normal> What was previously

unfamiliar that has this time become standard, usual, or expected?

What has become ‘normal’? The lockdowns, quarantines, masks,

washing hands, taking vitamins and nutrient-rich food to nurture health,

covering a coughing mouth and sneezing nose, physical distancing, and

the omnipresent support technology are a “must” to continue for a

lifetime. These and more compose the new normal. Before Covid-19,

Industry 4 (the robot age) of Agenda 2030, robotics was already a

popular focus; much more at this time where robots execute routine

jobs. Nowadays, robots serve in healthcare, social work, business and

trade, food, and in other aspects of human activity. Various

organizations/companies are resorting to virtual private networks and voice-

over protocols, especially that meetings, negotiations, consultations are

mostly virtual. As Dr. Henry Chan wrote on May 10, 2020 in The Manila

Times, “Telecommuting represents a new paradigm in office work. If

remote work becomes more common after the Covid-19 pandemic,

employers may decide to reduce lease costs and hire people from regions

with cheaper labor costs. Companies will use 5G and information and

communications technology.” <www.manila times.net › opinion ›

columnists › 10-tech..>. (As an aside, 5G is the fifth generation mobile

network. It is a new global wireless standard after 1G, 2G, 3G and 4G

networks. 5G enables a new kind of network that is designed to connect

virtually everyone and everything together, including machines, objects and

devices.) <www.qual comm.com › invention › 5g › what-is-5g>

Semester, trimester, quarterly terms? Up to this early June, Covid-19 is not

into its second wave, and we pray that there shall be no other. PERIOD. (The

so-called referral to a second wave spawned some debates in the higher

echelons of our government). However, there can be no possible firm and

uniform plans for formal schooling where technology accessibility is

concerned. We are unsure how future days would be defined Covid-wise.

Several tertiary and basic institutions have postponed graduation to next

school year (SY).

It may be a goodly far-off future, before we can comfortably define our

enrolment size, whether to cut down on or replace or shorten degree

programs with certificates, planning of reviews, examinations and

graduations. Universities on a non-semester schedule may have to adjust to

what the official schedule would be the next SY, that is, if the national

ministering bodies (the Department of Education or DepEd and the

Commission on Higher Education or CHEd) will set strictly a school’s term

format. Before the pandemic, state universities and colleges were to begin an

August term. Adjusting could be easier for institutions on trimestral

schedules. We have semesters, trimesters and summers terms, why not

quarterly? I recall that in the middle ’50s, higher education institutions

(HEIs) were on a quarterly schedule. The maximum we students could take

was twelve credit units or four lecture subjects. A quarterly term ends after

two and a half months. Laboratory subjects were adjusted accordingly.

Would a quarterly term be considered in the new normal?

Learning in the new normal. Blended learning is not wholly new. Philippine

universities, such as the University of the Philippines Open University, have

used blended learning. In the new normal, all schools will have blended or

purely on-line courses. Training in using teaching and learning platforms will

be available for both teachers and students. DepEd, CHEd and the Technical

Education and Skills Development Authority have issued and will continue to

issue notices much like the March 22, 2020 notice of India’s secretary of HE

sent to India’s HEIs. The said notice suggested to the teaching and research

academics “to utilize this lockdown period for various academic activities

including (a) on-line content development, online teaching and online

evaluation, (b) prepare lesson plan and develop instructional materials and (c)
carry on research, write articles and prepare innovative questions or question

bank, etc.” Furthermore, that teachers and students effectively utilize “the

University Grants Commission’s [array of] e-learning platforms,” which

include massive open online courses, the Consortium for Educational

Communication-University Grants Commission, YouTube channel, National

Digital Library, Shodhganga.<https://www.iitm.ac.in/sites/default/files

/covid19_circulars -registrar0.pdf> (Shodhganga is a digital repository

platform of 260,000 Indian electronic theses and dissertations for research

students to deposit their PhD theses and make them available to the entire

scholarly community in open access.)

Teaching and learning platforms. Philippines-wise, we have available on-

line educational platforms. One is the DepEd Commons accessible on

Globe or TM-powered smartphones free of data charges and which is also

accessible to private schools students. Because of the Covid-19 movement

restrictions, “the DepEd has been encouraging students to continue their

learning online.” <www.gmanetwork. com › news › news › nation › story>

We shall have more of these platforms and learn too, from offshore

institutions their actions on the new normal in education.

Adapting to the "New
Normal": Lessons
Learned and Best
Practices for a Post-
COVID 19 Workplace
Gallup polling has found that remote work programs can improve employee productivity,
performance and engagement; provide desired workplace flexibility; positively impact
retention rates; lower absenteeism; lower employers’ environmental impact, including by
reducing energy use, solid waste disposal and the employer’s carbon footprint; and attract
and retain a broader swath of workers (e.g., millennials).
The COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding government-mandated restrictions compelled
many public agencies to immediately shut down entire departments and facilities.  As a
result, legions of employees were directed to work remotely.  Understandably, there was
little time to strategically consider all of the operational impacts.

In a physical classroom, students have to endure the lecture till the bell rings.
Nobody can leave unless they are threatened: externally by earthquake or fire,
internally by a full bladder or an anxiety attack. However, you cannot sit through long
periods of Zoom before minding distractions from the household setting, a
cellphone, a pet, a cluttered background, or even a head of two-month overgrown
hair. Instead of speaking for an hour straight, it makes sense to break up a lecture
into four segments of 15 minutes each, the maximum length for Zoom attention
span. In a live lecture, one can make mistakes or even do asides, but online one
needs more preparation and practice with either a script or an outline. Then there is
the need for tight post-production editing, so delivery flows with no hesitation or the
“ahs” that fill dead air.
Read more: https://opinion.inquirer.net/129761/teaching-in-the-new-
normal#ixzz6gKViD6SU
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook
People who have watched me perform live know what it is like to use Keynote or
PowerPoint well—less text, more pictures, tell a story. I don’t crowd slides with text
in bad font and size. I never turn my back on the audience and read text off a slide to
them like they are idiots. Many presenters forget that PowerPoint is a tool and not
the presentation; the same goes for online learning. It’s not as simple as
livestreaming from a classroom, because the medium affects the mode of delivery.
If internet connection is bad, visuals or audio become choppy or delayed.

The challenge of education in the

new normal
Education is key for generations of Filipinos to become full-fledged, productive
members of society. This is why we should be looking at how the nation will go back
to school this coming August.

We are beset by challenges as we come closer to that date. As of the recent hearing of
the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture, 10 million learners—or
36 percent of potential enrollees—have signed up for the school year 2020-2021.

To address quarantine issues, the Department of Education (DepEd) will

implement online learning resources such as the DepEd Commons website, which
already has 8 million users. Concurrent with this, TV and radio-based solutions will
also be launched in areas with limited access to the Internet, through the
implementation of RA 8375, which allots 15 percent of the total daily air time in a
broadcast network to child-friendly content. Teachers will also be trained to use these
new avenues for education starting in July.
However, while we are preparing for a massive shift in education, a big question to
ask is if we actually should continue with the school opening this August. When I was
interviewed on this subject matter recently, I communicated that perhaps, it would be
better to push back the opening of classes to November, or even as far as January, if
need be.

And it all comes down to two major concerns: Internet connectivity, and the issue
of the curriculum and educational materials that have to be adapted for use with
a blended learning environment. Access to educational materials through the
Internet isn’t worth much if the Internet itself is inaccessible due to lack of service or
network infrastructure. Be it through provisions for budget, equipment, and
commercial access to the Internet, much has to be done to improve digital
connectivity throughout the country. It would also be important to fast track the
implementation of RA 10929, the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act, which
mandates that public basic education institutions, state universities and colleges
(SUCs), and Tesda technology institutions to have free Wi-fi access.

As for the case of improving how blended learning can be unpacked for our
children, we have to call on and support an integral resource for the family: the
parents. Indeed, parents—and guardians—must be empowered to help the
learning process of the students.

Fortunately, the Unicef has some helpful tips on how parents can help their children
learn. The first is that parents can be the ones to set a routine that integrates time for
studies and education through online and media sources, while balancing it with other
social and play activities that a child also needs. Next, parents should keep open lines
of communication, particularly if children are linking what they are learning to what is
happening right now in our world. Parents can help their children process what they
are learning. Parents can also be the ones to train their children to get into the swing of
longer and longer educational sessions, and at the same time, they can monitor their
children’s online activity, and what resources they are accessing. Finally, parents
and teachers should communicate with one another—just as the teacher is now
the one who creates the learning modules that students will use on a local level, so
it is that parents should also be aware of how to maximize learning from these
educational packages.
All these issues should be carefully and properly built into the educational system for
the new normal. And while I applaud the determination and dedication of our
education sector, if it cannot be done by August, then the opening of school should be
postponed until such time as all these changes can be implemented. After all, we will
be dealing with the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic for some time. And just as the
adage goes that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so it is that
more time for preparation can prevent larger educational issues from happening
in the future.

Sen. Sonny Angara has been in public service for 15 years—nine years as
representative of the Lone District of Aurora, and six as senator. He has authored
and sponsored more than 200 laws.  He recently won another term in the Senate.

PH education and the new

normal
By: Ching Jorge - @inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 04:03 AM April 28, 2020

If last year’s enrollment figures are to be a basis, the Philippine education system will
be expecting around 27 million students to enroll in the Basic Education System in the
coming school year. With the early closure of the school year in March, the enhanced
community quarantine in effect, and the still unclear future that the COVID-19
pandemic will bring, the Department of Education (DepEd) and our millions of
learners are facing enormous challenges.
In a recent evaluation on ALS (Alternative Learning System) interventions done in the
Mindanao region during the quarantine period, platforms such as ICT4ALS, FB Chat,
Google Classroom, the Aral Muna app, and DepEd Commons emerged as the most
common technological interventions used. Also popular are the use of radio-based
intervention — partnerships with local radio stations to announce questions or lessons
that can be replied to by phone. There are also the door-to-door delivery of
worksheets, take-home learning activity sheets, and take-home portfolio completions.
These modalities are being used and explored during the quarantine period and will
serve as key learning points for implementation in the bigger education system.
While home school and online learning are among the proposed solutions, access to
technology and the internet, especially in remote areas, remains a challenge. In the
public education system, it is not uncommon for students to lack internet connection
at home or be unable to afford to “load” their phones regularly. Some do not even
have computers or phones at all. As this is a reality that many schools, students, and
communities will face, the DepEd proposes a combination of different learning
modalities and will be using the Blended Learning approach.
In-classroom study and individual study/online classroom work, or Blended Learning,
will allow students to learn at their own pace under guided modules. The DepEd has
launched an online study platform called DepEd Commons, accessible to both private
and public schools, to help students continue their lessons. It has also developed an
ALS platform in partnership with Unicef called ICT4ALS, a portal of learning
resources, activity sheets, and online tutorials for ALS teachers and learners.
However, the challenge of technology access still remains for public school students.
Other factors such as home environment (conduciveness to learning), learner attitudes
toward home learning, and technology competence can affect learner outcomes and
the effective use of Blended Learning. Learning at home also requires parent
participation and support.
Education’s new normal will not just be about operating in an environment that
secures the health of students; nor will it be about completely transitioning to online
modalities. Instead, it should be about using technology to increase efficiency in areas
with the capacity to do so, while empowering learners and communities to create
positive learning environments in which the student can grow. It should not sacrifice
quality but continue to provide equal opportunities, most especially to the
marginalized and vulnerable sectors. It is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but one that
is dependent on the needs of each learning community.
While the DepEd carries most of the burden for this challenge, the role of local
government units is crucial. An alignment of resources and education goals within
each community is needed to support the education ecosystem of students, teachers,
and parents and assist the adjustment to the new normal — home schooling, parent-as-
teachers training, community internet centers, a Citizen Watch for education,
establishing LGU leaders as education champions.
While the future remains unknown, by working together to support and
empower the education ecosystems in our communities, we can help establish the
structures that our students will need to receive the quality education they
deserve, and bring stability in a time of uncertainty.
***

Read more: https://opinion.inquirer.net/129286/ph-education-and-the-new-
normal#ixzz6gKZ3nzcd
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook