AGUILAR-FAYTAREN, MARICEL M. DR. RHANDELL M.

GUIRRE
TMLCR – PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION AUGUST 14, 2019

TEACHING AS A MINISTRY

Teaching is more than just a job. It's a calling and unique privilege. The teacher is the key
person in the process. One that can begin a powerful change in a child’s life.
And it takes a special kind of teacher who believes that every student can go further and dream
bigger. Together, they can turn every obstacle along the way into stepping stones to success.

TEACHING AS A SCIENCE

It is a science in that there are strategies and practices that a body of research has shown
to be effective in enhancing learning. Just like doctors, teachers should use research to inform
their practice. On the individual level teaching is a science also in that teachers are constantly
collecting data by observing their students in order to see if learning is taking place and how they
learn best. And, like scientists, teachers experiment with new techniques or strategies to see how
they work. 

TEACHING AS A VOCATION

Vocation is a strong feeling of suitability for a particular career of vocation. When

someone practices teaching as a vocation, they teach with dedication, a teacher who practices
teaching as his vocation responds to the strong feeling for service with outmost dedication.
Teaching as a vocation is only for some who are really dedicated not just to work but also to
serve other people.

TEACHING AS A PROFESSION

It can be debatable where there is a woman behind every successful man, but it is
undeniable that there are some great teachers behind every successful man and woman.
Considered to be more than just a profession, teachers are regarded as the strongest pillar of the
society. Teaching as a profession is the mother of all other occupations. A teacher is like a potter
who delicately shapes our impressionable minds and mold it into a vessel that defines our
perceptions and ambitions. Teachers have always been respected in all societies.

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
Is there a need to improve the current K to 12 Basic Education Program in the Philippines?
Why?

I answer in the affirmative. The Philippines is undergoing a major overhaul to bring it in

line with education systems worldwide, starting with the K-12 sector. This change to domestic
education policy has far-reaching consequences and is important for international educational
institutions to consider when looking for potential new student recruitment markets.

The last country in Asia with a 10-year pre-university cycle, the Philippines is one of
only three, stuck in a 10-year basic education system.

Far from being a quick fix to our laggard status, the K to 12 program was carefully
studied and designed by both private and public education stakeholders based on research from
other countries and our own local successes and failures in education.

Many would agree that actualizing the K-12 system in the Philippines would result in
more young Filipinos equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes to enter the
workforce.

The challenge we face now, in my view, is not whether we should or shouldn’t, but
whether we can or can’t.

Are we ready to bring the K to 12 vision of progressive and transformative education to

reality? Are we ready with classrooms and infrastructure to accept 2 more grade levels? Are we
ready with the curriculum to move our education system to the world-class standard we have
long been aspiring for?

Implementing K to 12 program brought some problems. Some junior highschools do not

offer the course preferred by students, thus making the latter move to another school to take the
course they wanted. Furthermore, buildings, facilities and supplies are also lacking. In addition
to that, parents have to spend two extra years for school and if their children decided to pursue
college, there is an additional two years of education.

But the truth of the matter is, even with these problems facing us, there is so little trust in
the government’s ability to implement major reforms. And from the feedback of some of our
countrymen, a number of Filipinos don’t believe we can get this done sooner or later.

Definitely, there are legitimate concerns that demand solutions. Definitely, a lot of work
still needs to be done. Definitely, there will be unforeseen challenges along the way. It will
definitely not be easy.
As a future educator, is it important for you to have a comprehensive understanding of the
development that happens to students/learners?Why?

Quality education is determined by not only individual human factors, but also external
conditions including the educational environment. For instance, the educational environment
plays a significant role in shaping the individual’s character (whether as a child or as an adult).
The conditions of the educational environment has an impact on the attainment of the goals of
education because they augment the effort of the teachers in imparting values to the students. It
is an established fact that education is obligatory. Despite that, quality learning has certain
requirements that must be considered before it can be achieved. Indeed, knowledge acquisition is
a process that is made up of progressive steps each of which has its own requirements (i.e., what
has to be fulfilled before the student can progress to that level). Therefore, while students are
expected to fulfill certain requirements before progressing to every level, the institutions should
themselves design the principles as well as the effective ways to apply them for better results at
each of these levels.

How important is doing an assessment within the teaching and learning process?

Whether teaching at the undergraduate or graduate level, it is important for instructors to

strategically evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching by measuring the extent to which
students in the classroom are learning the course material.

Student assessment enables instructors to measure the effectiveness of their teaching by

linking student performance to specific learning objectives. As a result, teachers are able to
institutionalize effective teaching choices and revise ineffective ones in their pedagogy.
The measurement of student learning through assessment is important because it provides
useful feedback to both instructors and students about the extent to which students are
successfully meeting course learning objectives. Assessment enables instructors to determine the
metrics of measurement for student understanding of and proficiency in course learning
objectives. They argue that assessment provides the evidence needed to document and validate
that meaningful learning has occurred in the classroom. Assessment is so vital in their
pedagogical design that their approach “encourages teachers and curriculum planners to first
‘think like an assessor’ before designing specific units and lessons, and thus to consider up front
how they will determine if students have attained the desired understandings.
Student assessment also buttresses critical reflective teaching. Some contends that critical
reflection on one’s teaching is an essential part of developing as an educator and enhancing the
learning experience of students. Critical reflection on one’s teaching has a multitude of benefits
for instructors, including the development of rationale for teaching practices. According to
Brookfield, “A critically reflective teacher is much better placed to communicate to colleagues
and students (as well as to herself) the rationale behind her practice. She works from a position
of informed commitment.” Student assessment, then, not only enables teachers to measure the
effectiveness of their teaching, but is also useful in developing the rationale for pedagogical
choices in the classroom.