Delving on Students’ Reading Experiences Towards Online Distance Learning

During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Their Challenges Caused by Typhoon Odette

Submitted by:
Angelyn R. Son
MAEd-ELT

Submitted to:

College of Teacher Education

Cebu Normal University
Cebu City
 Chapter I
THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE

Rationale

Unlike before when students learned face-to-face, they could have established a

direct interaction with their teachers. Students' needs in terms of learning could be given

immediate response by the teacher. However, the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

pandemic has produced worldwide educational trouble that has never been seen before

(Education International, 2020). More or less 200 nations have closed schools, affecting

nearly 90% of students from kindergarten to university (UNESCO, 2020). Schools have

had to close, teachers and parents have had little time to prepare, and students have

been affected.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continuously causes a lot of health and financial

problems to many Filipinos, the Typhoon Odette suddenly came in the middle of

December 2022 and caused tremendous devastation to the people especially those who

are living in some parts of Mindanao and Visayas. Due to this typhoon, a wide blackout

occurred to these places and brought problems to people including the students. The

students were more challenged in their learning at this time. Suspension of classes

happened. Thus, there were no virtual classes, and they were challenged in their reading

sessions.

Due to the escalation of the health crisis, the Philippines, in particular, found itself

in an uncertain scenario. To overcome the gaps in schooling caused by the pandemic

and the Typhoon Odette, several means of lesson distribution have been developed.
Public schools have utilized the distance learning delivery modality while some private

schools have offered online distance learning modality; other private schools have offered

the two learning modalities to the students as to how to deliver the lessons. Any possible

means are being utilized by the schools just to continue the lesson delivery to the students

despite the pandemic and Typhoon Odette.

Saint Francis Academy has opted to allow students to select between the modes

of delivery for their convenience, as the Department of Education (DepEd) underlines this

change in the delivery of classes. In this case, there is a combination of distribution

modalities, such as online and digital-modular. For those students who opted to learn

online, they are required to attend online classes especially when synchronous classes

occur. On the other hand, those students who chose the distance learning delivery

modality are asked to download the tasks given by the teachers from a platform used by

the school. They could start answering the given activities, including reading activities

and submit these through an online platform.

Teachers and students are unable to connect in person with such learning delivery

modalities, and very much more when the Typhoon Odette occurred, and so have fewer

possibilities to engage in reading settings. Teachers cannot model for students or allow

them to participate in a range of reading activities since they are not recorded in the

distance learning delivery modality. Furthermore, monitoring and assessing students' real

reading activities in a way that allows the teachers to offer timely feedback to the students

so that they can reflect and learn is challenging. This posed a significant barrier both for

the teacher and the students which may also affect how they perceive their experiences

and challenges on reading.

 Due to the existing problem, the researcher felt the need to examine and explore

this; delving into the different reading experiences of the students towards online distance

learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and their challenges caused by Typhoon Odette

is at utmost importance.

Schematic Model

Online Distance Learning

Students on Reading

COVID-19 pandemic Typhoon Odette

Student’s Reading
Experiences and
Challenges

Possible
Adaptive
Strategies

Figure 1: A Schematic Presentation of the Background of the Study

 The diagram above shows the schematic presentation of the background of the

study. It can imply that during online distance learning, students experience and are

challenged during the COVID-19 pandemic and Typhoon Odette occurrence. Since there

were no face-to-face reading sessions, they experience more challenges that may hinder

their reading lessons. In this case, the school administration and teachers must find

possible adaptive strategies on the online distance learning implementation to support

the students, especially in teaching reading to the students.

Statement of the Problem

This study delves into the students' reading experiences towards online distance

learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges caused by Typhoon

Odette.

Specifically, it answers the following questions:

1. What are the desirable and undesirable reading experiences of the students on

their online distance learning?

2. What are the challenges experienced by the students caused by Typhoon

Odette?

3. What are possible adaptive strategies that will be used to solve the

encountered undesirable experiences and challenges?

Significance of the Study

Schools should have flexible learning modalities to be able to offer excellent

education despite the various calamities the Philippines is currently experiencing and will

face in the future. Authorities such as the DepEd must recognize that face-to-face

instruction cannot always be employed and that the educational system's flexibility must

always be present. Furthermore, different schools, curriculum makers, and teachers

benefit from this study for they will be able to formulate new and innovative ways to further

develop students' reading skills during the COVID-19 pandemic and after the occurrence

of Typhoon Odette.

Definition of Terms

The following terms are used in the study:

COVID-19 pandemic – (n) ; Coronavirus disease; an infectious disease caused by the

SARS-CoV-2 virus.

DepEd – (n); Department of Education; The Philippine government's executive

department in charge of assuring basic education access, equity, and improvement.

Delving – (v); To reach inside a receptacle and search for something

Devastation – (n); great destruction or damage

Online Distance Learning – (n); Distance education, a type of education in which teachers

and students are physically separated during instruction and various technologies are

used to enhance communication

Synchronous – (adj); occurring at the same time

Typhoon Odette – (n); a major tropical cyclone hit the Philippines, causing widespread

devastation occurred in December 2021

UNESCO – (n); United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization;

a specialized body tasked with promoting world peace and security via international

collaboration in education, the arts, science, and culture

 Chapter III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design

This study about Delving on Students’ Reading Experiences Towards Online

Distance Learning During the COVID19-pandemic and Their Challenges Caused by

Typhoon Odette is a qualitative phenomenological design. The important data needed in

this inquiry will be gathered through an interview method. It aims to know the different

reading experiences of the students towards distance learning during the COVID-19

pandemic and the challenges caused by Typhoon Odette. This will aid the researchers in

accumulating essential information which will be highly significant for the data analysis

and interpretation.

Research Respondents

The target population of this study will be the grade 12 students of Saint

Francis Academy specifically taking the HUMSS strand. 15 of them will be purposively

selected as key participants using the purposive sampling approach to explore the

different reading experiences towards online distance learning during the COVID-19

pandemic and the challenges caused by Typhoon Odette.

Research Environment

This study will be conducted at Saint Francis Academy situated in Poblacion

Balamban beside Saint Francis of Assisi parish church. It is a private Catholic school that

has 30-35 instructional rooms and 5-10 non-instructional rooms. The class size is around
40 students. The school offers academic courses both in Junior and Senior High School.

For Senior High School, 3 strands are being offered Accounting, Business and

Management (ABM), Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS), and Science,

Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The school consists of 30-35

teaching staff and more than 5-10 non-teaching staff. It is managed by a school principal

and run by a school directress from the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of

Mary (ICM) congregation.

Research Instrument

Significant data needed in this study will be gathered through the semi-

structured interview that will be conducted among grade 12 HUMSS students. This

consists of 10 personal perceptions or different reading experiences towards online

distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges they faced after the

Typhoon Odette occurrence.

Data Analysis

Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) will be utilized to achieve a

detailed analysis of the respondent's experiences and challenges through identifying and

discussing the experiential themes and will be given meaning through the researcher’s

interpretation. The data analysis procedure will be governed by Edmund Husserl’s

phenomenological analysis which undergoes the ‘reduction’ steps.

Data Gathering Procedure

This qualitative research will utilize the phenomenological inquiry in understanding

the students’ different reading experiences towards online distance learning during the
COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges faced by the students after Typhoon Odette

occurred. Considering the global pandemic and Covid-19 community guidelines,

orientation on the procedure of data collection, confidentiality, and voluntary participation;

distribution of informed consent; and the conduct of semi-structured in-depth interview

will all be done virtually – either google meet, zoom, skype, or messenger considering the

respondent's preference. To ensure privacy and confidentiality, the aforementioned

processes will be conducted on an individual basis.

Ethical Considerations

All information gathered and compiled for this study will be kept in strict confidence.

The respondents are aware of the study's methodology and have provided their consent

to participate in it. The participants are the only ones who have access to the instrument

and tool used in the study, and they are the only ones who have complete access to their

responses in the questionnaire if they want to change something.

The participants in this study will not be harmed in any way, and before the study,

they will give their full consent. The study's findings will be kept confidential, and the

students' anonymity will be maintained. Any exaggeration of the research's aims and

objectives shall be avoided.