One of the sectors most shaken by the Covid-19 pandemic is education, affecting the lives of students in the country since March. Schools have closed and face-to-face classes have been suspended in an attempt to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The initial government response to impose community quarantine and to suspend classes disrupted school learning in Luzon and later the rest of the country. For the remainder of school year 2019-2020, students have started fulfilling academic requirements at home and teachers were required to provide assignments in lieu of classroom teaching. Several schools have adopted other modes of delivery such as online learning platforms.
To provide and sustain quality education despite lockdowns and community quarantine, the new normal has to be taken into consideration. As President Rodrigo Duterte had stated he would not allow face-to-face classes in the absence of any vaccine against Covid-19, the Department of Education (DepEd) and stakeholders developed a Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP) school year 2020-2021 to ensure continuing education. The BE-LCP is a package of education interventions that will enable students to continue learning and teachers to deliver instruction amid the Covid-19 threat.
The BE-CLP provides several learning delivery modalities that are being adopted by different schools in the country. These are face-to-face learning, distance learning (with three types: modular distance learning, online distance learning, and television/radio-based instruction), blended learning and home schooling. Schools can adopt one or a combination of these modes, depending on the Covid-19 restrictions as well as the context of the learners in the school or locality.
Modular Learning: most preferred being the most feasible
Amid the threat of Covid-19, schools in Sagada have adapted to blended/distance learning. Every school in the municipality has distinct needs and has to adjust to what is necessary in its situation. After the conduct of a survey on the possible learning delivery modalities, modular distance learning is emerging as the most preferred by schools and considered the sole remedy to reach students. Other learning delivery methods are found not feasible because of difficult internet access or slow signal and non-availability of gadgets needed by learners and teachers. These have affected adoption of other learning modes other than modular learning. Although some households have the requisite devices such as smart phones and computers, they are hampered by slow internet connections and signals as well as daily costs of prepaid loads. The majority of households have televisions so they can also access learning materials aired on some TV channels.
Modular classes will cover October to December, 2020, and limited face-to-face is planned to be implemented in January depending on the Covid-19 situation. It is the parents who receive the learning modules distributed by advisers/teachers for the school children. This is done every week and they are also tasked to submit the accomplished modules of their children to the advisers/teachers.
The teachers are expected to do home visits to their students, depending on the students’ needs, to monitor their learning performance. Students can also use text messages or phone calls and other digital platforms to ask assistance from their teacher. Those who have a hard time in accomplishing the school requirements or learning from the provided materials may need more teacher’s supervision or assistance. Teachers can give remedial activities to learners who have difficulty coping with new lessons.
The collected activities provided by modules and other school requirements like projects are among the bases for assessing the student’s performance. In addition, periodic exams will be given in a classroom setting, with students having scheduled days of examination in observance of health protocols. However, the DepEd will forego periodic exams in the first quarter and grades for this period will be based on students’ class standing.
Modular learning on the ground
Modular learning is playing a significant part in the “new normal” of education in most schools, but as the following experiences in some Sagada households show, mothers and children are struggling through many difficulties in this mode of education.
Mother and grade one daughter
Emy, a Grade 1 pupil working on a module for her Mother tongue subject.
Emy is a grade one pupil currently working on the modules with the assistance of her mother, Leah. Leah is a housewife and a hands-on mother of two. Since the start of the lockdown, Leah has been teaching her daughter to read, write, and count numbers in preparation for grade one level. Despite her child’s slow progress in learning, she patiently taught her using visual aids such as books and charts.
With the resumption of classes in public schools last October 5, Leah and other parents went to school to receive the learning modules of their children. Since some modules are not enough, these have to be shared among the grade one pupils, hence parents are instructed to let their children answer the activities in their notebooks or to photocopy the materials. For sufficient modules, the students are allowed to answer directly on them. The modules, along with activity sheets and other requirements, are submitted by the parents or guardians every Friday to their children’s teachers who then distribute the subsequent modules for the next week.
During the first week of classes, Leah focused on teaching and facilitating the lessons in the modules. Before teaching, she has to prepare and go over the lessons and try to make it simple in a way her child can understand. She found some of the lessons difficult to explain and she herself was confused and could not understand them. Some learning areas that were difficult to teach were phonetics or pronunciation.
“Narigat ay men-isulo amed nu sin pronunciation. Kaspangarigan nan ‘hat’ ya ‘hut’ uray nu simple words lang ngem masapol i-pronounce ay usto tapno ma-identify di anak ko nan difference da. Masapol ko metlang ay adalen and practice nan pronunciation di words sakbay ko isulo. (It is hard to teach especially when it comes to pronunciation. For example, ‘hat’ and ‘hut’, even though these are just simple words, I have to pronounce them properly so my child can identify the difference. I have to learn and practice the pronunciation of words before teaching.),” Leah explained. Her child’s adviser thus taught her and other parents how to teach some lessons to their children.
As a beginner, Emy has some weaknesses in some subject areas. For instance, she struggles with numbers. She is having a hard time answering addition and subtraction problems. So as a strategy, Leah uses some illustrations to explain. “Kaspangarigan nu seven plus eight, kanak ken Emy ta mendrawing as seven ay lines ya eight ay lines dana et bilangen amin san indarwing na ta maala na nan answer. Masapol et men nemnem tako as other strategies tapno laeng nalaka na ay maawatan datuna ay lesson na. (For example, for seven plus eight, I tell Emy to draw seven lines and another eight lines then count the lines she drew together to come up with the answer. We have to think about other strategies so she can easily understand the lessons.)”
In addition, Emy still has difficulty in reading so she has to do it multiple times until she is able to do them. “Medyo marigatan sya ay mangbasa sin words ay more than two nan syllables na like ‘naglalaba’. Basaen na kasla two words ‘nagla’ dat ‘laba’. Nu abes sin sentence, matikaw sin punctuations. I-disregard na nan punctuations ket tuloy-tuloy ladta nan ikana ay menbasa sin more than one sentences. (She still has difficulty in reading words with more than two syllables like ‘naglalaba’. She reads it as two words, ‘nagla’ and ‘laba’. For sentences, she is confused with punctuations. She disregards punctuations and reads more than one sentence continuously.),” Leah said.
Emy independently does the activities in the modules. After finishing them, her mother goes over her work. If Leah finds an erroneous answer, Emy would have to explain and justify her answer. For some activities that are not easy for her, Emy would do it repeatedly to understand and learn from them. Leah would have to discuss and explain again and again until she understands them. “Example nan question et ‘ngan nan umuna sakbay nan 23 ya ngan nan sumaruno sin 23?’. Matikaw et sisya isunga masapol men bilang. Mabayagan kami ay malpas sin nay ay lesson nan ngem uray basta manet way maadal na. (For instance the question is ‘What comes first before 23 and what comes after 23?’ She gets confused so she has to count. We get stuck in that lesson for a longer period but it is fine as long as she learns it.)” Sometimes, her daughter voluntarily goes ever her modules alone, but at times her grandparents assist her.
Though Leah has to do the household chores, gardening and other work, she still allots time in a day to teach. She finds teaching very challenging, especially that her child needs a lot of attention and guidance. Sometimes she gets irritated when her child can’t understand the lesson or instructions but still manages to be patient most of the time. “Nu sin activities ay wada multiple choice na, adi na unay maawatan nan instruction. Maawatak met piman ta adi unay makabasa pay. Nu kanan nan instruction en ‘bilugan and sagot’, masapol nan idamag nan ikkan na. (For activities with multiple choices, she barely comprehends the instruction. I understand because she still has difficulty in reading. If the instruction says ‘encircle your answer’, she has to ask me what to do.)”
Leah is strict when it comes to schedules and activities. Thus she allows her child to have a break and play to avoid pressure and overloading. Sometimes when Emy’s attention is not focused on learning, her mother and grandparents would encourage her, showing appreciation for her work and rewarding her to heighten her motivation to learn.
Two sisters and working mom
Fely is a grade three pupil and her elder sister Jemma is in grade six. Both are enrolled in the same school. Their father is currently working in a nearby province, while their mother looks after them. She stays at home and sometimes works in a weaving and souvenir shop. Most of the time, the two girls do their modules independently. But for some lessons that they hardly understand, they seek the assistance of their mother. However, their mother cannot explicate some lessons that need further expounding on. Their mother’s available time would always be in the evening, as she often would come home from work in the late afternoon.
Fely and Jemma may be self-sufficient in attending to their modules but they still need guidance. Compared to lower grades, higher levels have more complex lessons that their mother finds hard to facilitate.
After finishing their activities, their mother would go over and review their answers. To assess if her daughters learned something at the end of a learning session, she would ask them some questions and they would answer based on their understanding. She tries her best to be able to guide her children through the modules. However, she is not always capable in facilitating the modules because she herself cannot understand or is unfamiliar with the lessons. “Nu sin tapin di lessons da et adik getken ay isulo ta medyo et narigat. Kaneg tako et gedan makisulsulo ken daida. Adik unay mai-explain ta uray sak-en et adik ammo. Sin nay grade six ay anak ko tay narigat et nan lessons da. Maproblemaan tako pay nu kasano tako et ay isuro piman.” (For some of their lessons, I do not know how to teach them because they are hard. I am like learning with them. I cannot fully explain because I myself don’t know these lessons. My grade six daughter’s lessons are already difficult. We have a problem on how to teach them.)”
Challenges
With the implementation of modular learning, parents/guardians play an important role, serving as teachers and facilitators in guiding their children through the learning materials. But some factors may challenge this role they are compelled to take on. For instance, not all parents/guardians have the capacity to facilitate the modular learning sessions for their children. Though the schools have oriented them on how to go about it, some are having difficulty because of gaps in terms of skills and knowledge.
In addition, most parents go to work or attend to businesses, leaving them not much time for assisting their children. As an alternative, tutors are being hired for those who can afford them. But for many, trying to do their job while helping and guiding their children through their lessons has become one of the most difficult and strenuous aspects of modular learning. Others just allot time when they come home from work. Others have two or more children to assist which could even be more taxing. These are some of the challenges parents/guardians are facing in their children’s learning through modules.
Learners who have different needs have their own challenges. The beginners need more attention and understanding considering that most or all of their lessons require the presence of facilitators. They have to be watched to make sure they are learning. Some pupils do not pay attention to their parents or facilitators because they prefer learning from their teachers. Some even argue with their parents/facilitators on how they should teach.
Some students can attend to their modules independently but some badly need assistance to understand even just some of the lessons in the prescribed modules. Others, even with facilitators, still have difficulty comprehending the lessons and thus can hardly proceed to the next lessons. Submission deadlines for modules further create pressure on students, especially when they fail to meet them. Since the modular approach situates students to learn in the comfort of their homes, there is also the possibility that they work on the modules for mere compliance, not for the sake of learning.
Learning during these trying times has brought different challenges to both educational institutions and students and their families. Learning is seen as an opportunity for everyone but the Covid-19 pandemic has put others in disadvantageous and harder situations.