Finding ways to improve learning during a pandemic

Learning is viewed as a collaborative effort by the school administration, educators, and parents in their common aim to develop 21st-century learners who are logical thinkers, creative performers, and highly motivated individuals. These goals are achievable, but the COVID-19 pandemic has spawned the currently topsy-turvy system where the educational platform has changed from face-to-face learning to virtual classes, online assessment, and overall distance education.

With the 180-degree change in ways and styles, how is everybody coping? Is it still the same atmosphere of learning amid a global health crisis? What were the adjustments made by everybody under this kind of learning setup?

The Department of Education distributed SIM cards with internet allowance to teachers to be used during online classes.

Learners and teachers are now familiar with applications like Google Meet, Zoom, and others that are used in different learning tasks. We also developed different modalities to assess the learning development of our learners to see the difference between traditional and distance learning, i.e., through video conferencing and applications like Messenger and Microsoft Office.

Undeniably, this unprecedented situation is not only teaching us resilience and optimism, but also the value of time. As an instructional leader, I need to press forward and do the necessary steps to guide my colleagues in addressing their difficulties, and most importantly the learners so that they can adapt to the new ways. “It takes two to tango,” they say—to make things work, cooperation is necessary. Moreover, the new ways of teaching and learning during the pandemic has taught me to become more positive—that no matter how big the change we are facing or might face, when there is teamwork and collaboration, goals can be achieved and results can be wonderful.

DEAN OWEN J. DONCILLO
Master Teacher I
Department of Education