Province of Negros Occidental

University of St. La Salle- Bacolod

Project Free 3
Graduate Studies

INTRODUCTION

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our understanding of the world as we previously knew it. The strong
measures of social distancing and lockdown that have been applied since the beginning of the pandemic have
led to significant changes in social relationships, which, for many people, have created feelings of isolation and
loneliness. Indeed, the rapid transmission of COVID-19 throughout the world has had health, social,
psychological, economic and, of course, educational consequences. In fact, school closure has been, on a
global scale, one of the most widely used measures for helping to maintain social distancing and to decrease
infections.

TEACHERS’ CHALLENGES AMIDST COVID-19

Clearly we’ve all devastated of the coming of pandemic COVID-19. Schools and Institutions are one of the
most affected area in the society. The dilemma is always at the hands of the educators, curriculum experts
and other school administrators on how they can continually deliver the quality education to the learners, the
fact that we are experiencing the pandemic. Many times, educators are given tactics or strategies to transform
their practices. These approaches are often based on research or best practices, and have been shown to
work in other schools or classrooms. Trying new approaches requires teachers to find ways to incorporate
them into their existing curriculum and style of teaching. Even when these resources come with examples,
they may or may not resonate with teachers who are considering these practices. With education worldwide
being thrown into disarray by coronavirus, more and more educators are being forced to teach their students
from home. As hard as distance teaching might be for us, it’s likely even harder for our students. They’ve gone
from classrooms explicitly designed to support learning, to bedrooms and kitchen tables where distractions are
plentiful and expert support isn’t always on hand. It’s no surprise that more than a few will be tempted to opt-
out. It’s also important to remember that, for all the talk of our students being ‘digital natives’, many of them
aren’t that proficient when it comes to tackling unfamiliar software or using it in a responsible manner. An
initial ‘onboarding’ session for students is therefore a good idea, and you should consider giving parents a brief
orientation too via email or text messages.

On the other way around, teachers are also responsible to another modality; the Modular distance learning.
Modular learning is the most popular type of Distance Learning. In the Philippines, this learning modality is
currently used by all public schools because according to a survey conducted by the Department of Education
(DepEd), learning through printed and digital modules emerged as the most preferred distance learning
method of parents with children who are enrolled this academic year. This is also in consideration of the
learners in rural areas where internet is not accessible for online learning. The teacher takes the responsibility
of monitoring the progress of the learners. The learners may ask assistance from the teacher via e-mail,
telephone, text message/instant messaging among others. Where possible, the teacher shall do home visits to
learners needing remediation or assistance. Printed Modules will be delivered to students, parents or guardians
by the teachers or through the Local Government Officials. Since education is no longer held within the school,
parents serve as partners of teachers in education. Parents play a vital role as home facilitators. Their primary
role in modular learning is to establish a connection and guide the child.

CLOSURE

Filipino teachers also share a common vocabulary for discussing their teaching practice, for defining their
ideals as teachers, for negotiating and creating strategies to improve their practice, and for addressing their
various stakeholders regarding the improvement of the teaching profession. The most important thing that we
should consider as a teacher is on how we can deliver the education to our learners despite of COVID-19. We
should always bear in mind that our learners are our future and continue to hone other learners to create a
harmonious world that we want to live in.

Prepared by: MARK DANIEL A. CATALAN

Submitted to: Mr. ALLEN ESTRELLA

COURSE INSTRUCTOR