Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Region IX, Zamboanga Peninsula
Division of Zamboanga del Sur

I- RATIONALE:
In line with one of the President’s Ten Point Basic Education Agenda which states that
“every child should be a reader by Grade 1,” the Department of Education (DepEd) is
strengthening its reading program through the implementation of the Early Language,
Literacy, and Numeracy Program.
The Program will develop in Filipino children literacy and numeracy skills and attitudes
which will contribute to lifelong learning. More specifically, it aims to improve reading and
numeracy skills of Kinder to Grade 3 pupils, following K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum,
and to establish a sustainable and cost-effective professional development system for
teachers.

In DepEd Order No. 12, Series of 2015, the Department recognizes that the foundation of
learning is in a child's early language, literacy, and numeracy skills. These skills, according to
DepEd, do not develop naturally, and thus require careful planning and instruction. There is
thus, a need, for children to have access to age-appropriate and culturally-sensitive materials
to help them develop the habits of reading, speaking, writing, and counting.

Under the K to 12 Basic Education Program, DepEd recommends strengthening these

skills via the following strategy: first is to establish baseline data on the profile of the teachers
and pupils; second is to develop materials; third is to develop classroom-based (formative)
assessment protocol for literary and numeracy skills; and fourth is to develop professionally
teachers and school heads.

On the other hand, the National Achievement Test (NAT) is a standardized

set of examinations taken in the Philippines by students in Years 6, 10, and 12. The test is
designed to determine their academic levels, strength and weaknesses, as well as their
knowledge learnt throughout the year are divided into 5 categories; English, Filipino, Math,
Science and Araling Panlipunan (Or Social ScIence)
 This NAT examinations aim to:

1. Provide observational information on the achievement level of pupils/students in grades

6, 10, and 12 to serve as guide for principals and teachers in their respective courses of
action.

2. Identify and analyze variations on achievement levels across the years by region,
division, school and other variables.

3. Determine the rate of improvement in basic education with respect to individual

schools within certain time frames.

While in line with the new professional standards for teachers, the Department of
Education (DepEd), through the Teacher Education Council (TEC), issues this DepEd Order
entitled National Adoption and Implementation of the Philippine Professional Standards for
Teachers (PPST)The DepEd recognizes the importance of professional standards in the
continuing professional development and advancement of teachers based on the principle of
lifelong learning. It is committed to supporting teachers, and taking cognizance of
unequivocal evidence that good teachers are vital to raising student achievement. Quality
learning is contingent upon quality teaching. Hence, enhancing teacher quality becomes of
utmost importance for long term and sustainable nation building. The changes brought about
by various national and global frameworks such as the K to 12 Reform, ASEAN Integration,
globalization, and the changing character of the 21st century learners necessitate the
improvements and call for the rethinking of the National Competency-Based Teacher
Standards (NCBTS); hence, the development of the PPST. Through this, COT
(Classroom Observation Tool) has been developed

II- FEEDBACK:

1. ON DAP-ELLN:

Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) is an approach to teaching grounded in the

research on how young children develop and learn and in what is known about effective early
education. Its framework is designed to promote young children's optimal learning and
development. From this strategy, it is easy to see that the children stand to gain the most from
the program. By taking into consideration their profile, the existing functional program, and
support mechanisms, DepEd is able to better understand and later address their needs. It is
important to remember that a child's strong language, literacy, and numeracy skills form the
base of his or her being a lifelong learner. It is on these skills that more intermediate ones will
depend. When these skills are not developed early on, it is easy for the child to falter with
more difficult tasks, and in turn fail at the ones society needs them to accomplish.
 Teachers and school heads, however, also benefit a lot from the strengthening of such
program. This is because when the children's needs are addressed, classroom management
and teaching becomes easier, not just at the lower levels, but also at the higher ones.

The professional development that the program affords teachers and school heads also
allows them to better their skills. This is through the program's contribution of enhanced
pedagogical knowledge, skills and attitudes on early literacy and numeracy, improved ability
to assess learner's literacy and numeracy skills, and sustained commitment in
mentoring/sharing of teaching experiences to improve instruction and outcomes which all
allow them to serve the learners more effectively and efficiently.

Also standing to gain is the community, which benefits from having citizens who are
not only readers by Grade 1, but also are committed to learning throughout their lives.

RECOMMENDATION:
As a School Head of the 21st Century, I strongly urge the members of the community to
support the early language, literacy, and numeracy program for the benefits that it provides
the pupils, the educators, and the community itself. We owe it to ourselves to improve the
skills of our learners and teachers, and by doing so, improve our nation. There is no better
time to start than today. I further encourage my fellow educators to emulate the good
examples presented on the different session videos and use them on the actual learning
situation to achieve the quality education that everyone aims to have and that we aim to give
for the betterment of our clientele.

2. ON CLASSROOM OBSERVATION TOOL:

Classroom Observation Tool (COT) The Classroom Observation Tool captures
snapshots of a teacher's behavior and instruction during classroom observation visits that
can be used to develop improvement plans and track a teacher's progress over time. It is
typically conducted by fellow teachers, administrators, or instructional specialists. This is
often used to provide teachers with constructive critical feedback aimed at improving
their classroom management and instructional techniques.

The result of this observation will be basis of the school heads on what and how
technical assistance is to be given to our fellow teachers.

RECCOMMENDATION:

Though the direct point of these activity are the teachers, but school administrators
also contribute a great factor that could affect to teacher’s performance to hinder them from
doing their work efficiently, so with this note, I as one of those who will do the observation
process will strongly encourage my fellow observers to be lenient and considerate to the
point that teachers won’t hesitate giving their natural performance in the class.
 I strongly urge either to my fellow 21st century school heads to be more skillful in
conducting and implementing the classroom observation tool and may the following tips be of
great help to for us to become a better observer in the field.

5 Tips for Conducting Better Teacher Observations

1. Prepare yourself, prepare the teacher. So much of what makes a great observation takes place
before you even step inside the classroom. ...

2. Look for learning, not teaching. ...

3. Properly judge the lesson plan. ...

4. Tie your observation to the professional learning at your school. ...

5. Give feedback promptly.

Furthermore, I would want to share as well some simple ways for the teachers on how
to improve learning in the classroom that would surely become evident during class
observation.

Ways on How to Improve Learning in the Classroom

1. Assess you students' understanding before and after you present a lesson. Provide a
formative assessment before you teach a unit to measure what students know about the topic.

2. Provide hands-on practice opportunities. ...

3. Capture student interest by activating prior knowledge.

3. ON NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST (NAT):

National Achievement Test (NAT) is a Philippine-made standardized test designed to

determine pupils/students' achievement level, strengths and weaknesses in five key curricular
subject areas at the end of the school year.

Achievement tests which are also often known as "standardized tests" are designed to
measure the amount of general knowledge that a student has accrued in a particular subject
area. While achievement tests are typically presented in a standardized format, containing
multiple choice or short answer questions, some standardized tests like the SAT feature an
essay portion.
 There are various pros and cons to National Achievement Test, but educators in large
generally believe that the positives outweigh the negatives in sufficient volume such that the
standardized test remains a staple of the school system. NAT is considered important
because they serve as a sampling of where students are in their learning and whether or not
they are "on track" to hit the achievement milestones that have been set for them. NAT,
according to those who are proponents, are valuable and useful information.

They keep a fair record of student achievement and help to ensure that teachers and the
school itself are accountable to the taxpaying public who are funding their salaries and
equipment. To ensure that schools are running effectively and that students are being taught
what it is agreed that they should know, standardized tests are a useful tool.

National Achievement Test also helps to pinpoint instructional leaders who are falling
short of their duties and whose students are performing below standards. Very often, the data
gained from standardized tests have helped to improve and ameliorate failing education
systems, remove instructors who are no longer effective in the classroom, and reshape
curriculums that may have been less than effective. In these ways, having a measure or metric
of student achievement is important and useful, particularly when instructors are teaching a
large volume of students every day, and have few opportunities to do large assessments.

But somehow as hearing to some arguments from the teachers in the field, the result is
becoming unreliable since in the real scenario, teachers having problems with the time of
coping with the competencies due to some activities given to the field.

RECOMMENDATION:
From my point of view, I firmly believe that if teachers only have given much time to
conduct review, possibly learners would comprehend the competencies given, thus this only
happen if less of activities be given on the field so that teachers would focus on what they
have to focus. On the other hand, teachers as well has to give their 101% dedication on
extending their time on giving and rendering review sessions especially if not all the
competencies had been taken. To sum it up…DEDICATION contributes to success of the
deped goal.

III- CONCLUSION:
It is then finally concluded that all the above programs that are being mandated by the
Department of Education are very much needed and has to be given much attention for the
attainment of the educational goal of the department.