RCTQ assisted the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP) in the nationwide rollout of the two COVID-responsive modules for teachers which the Center helped develop.

A teacher’s module on Addressing Learners’ Gender, Needs, Strengths, Interests and Experiences During the Pandemic and Beyond, and another module on Teaching Learners in Difficult Circumstances were introduced to master teachers and school leaders from all DepEd regions on October 18-19 and October 25-26 via Zoom.

The two modules will offer DepEd teachers and school leaders illustrations of good teaching practices that elaborate two indicators of the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST), namely:

“Use differentiated, developmentally appropriate learning experiences to address learners’ gender, needs, strengths, interests and experiences” (PPST Indicator 3.1.2),” and

“Plan and deliver teaching strategies that are responsive to the special educational needs of learners in difficult circumstances, including: geographic isolation; chronic illness; displacement due to armed conflict, urban resettlement or disasters; child abuse and child labor practices” (PPST Indicator 3.4.2).

Both modules, which will be made accessible online by NEAP, were developed to support teachers in meeting the challenges in formal education brought about by the COVID-19 crisis. They were designed for teachers to embrace different learning approaches and modalities through distance and blended (multi-modal) learning; address issues of how different approaches and modalities best suit different teacher-learning circumstances. The modules are suitable to use in learning action cells, online presentations, classroom applications and mentoring. Both materials include mentor’s guides for every experienced teachers (master teaches) and school leaders (school heads and supervisors) to mentor and further support teachers.

NEAP Director John Arnold Siena, in his opening statement during the rollout, said the development of the modules supports NEAP’s framework for professional development “which is not just about formal training.”

“These are resources that we can look at as we equip our teachers and school leaders with necessary competencies to deal with the pandemic. We hope you will use them and bring these down to the teachers so they can use them as they reflect on their practice. Reflection is one of the areas that we need to focus on. Without reflection, it would be difficult to identiy areas for improvement and also make a difference in the teaching and learning process,” Mr. Siena said.

He added that NEAP will explore the possibility of implementing the use of the modules through formal training.  NEAP will explore converting teachers’ completion of the modules to professional development credit units.

In her opening message, RCTQ Director Dr. Gina Gonong said that while the pandemic has made teaching and learning difficult for many, “we think about those learners who are in difficult circumstances, those who experience child abuse, child labor, those displaced due to armed conflict, those with chronic illneses, or those who are poor.”

“During this time of the pandenic, how do teachers respond to learners’ gender, needs, strengths, interests and experiences? There is no magic formula to offer. With some assistance from RCTQ, NEAP is introducing two modules which aim to support teachers as they help our learners learn amidst the challenges of the pandemic,” Dr. Gonong said.

She added: “We should be looking at classrooms where teachers show knowledge and understanding of, as well as respect for, learners’ diverse characteristics and experiences, as inputs to the planning and design of learning opportunities. We hope that these two modules help in celebrating diversity in the classroom, and in strengthening teaching practrices that are differentiated to encourage all learners to be successful citizens in a changing local and global environment.”

RCTQ’s assistance to NEAP is premised on DepEd Order No. 11, series of 2019 or the Implementation of the NEAP Transformation, which named the Center as the provider of technical assistance. The project is supported by the Australian government through its Philippines COVID-19 Development Response Plan.

The development and validation of the two modules were led by RCTQ senior program manager Dr. Levi Elipane and Mr Jayson Penafiel who is NEAP’s focal person for the project. The rollout was facilitated by NEAP and RCTQ senior managers including Dr.Elipane, Dr. Ali Anudin and Ms. Krupskaya Añonuevo.

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RCTQ assisted the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP) in the nationwide rollout of the two COVID-responsive modules for teachers which the Center helped develop. A teacher’s module on Addressing Learners’ Gender, Needs, Strengths, Interests and Experiences During the Pandemic and Beyond, and another module on Teaching Learners in...