GRADE 2 PUPILS, TEACHERS, AND PARENTS: EXPERIENCES IN

EMERGENCY REMOTE EDUCATION IN MANILA, PHILIPPINES

ABSTRACT 
Remote education is a new mode of education system which requires a lot from pupils, teachers, and
parents. With the sudden shift to this teaching and learning modality, the researchers sought to present the
experiences of the Grade 2 pupils, teachers, and parents in a public elementary school in the division of
Manila, Philippines. Using a descriptive-exploratory research design, the researchers gathered the needed
data by incorporating a triangulation method through utilization of focused group discussions and
categorized raw data with thematic coding and analysis. 
The study shows that the shift to emergency remote education has posed some initial problems to
stakeholders such as financial capacity, environmental distraction, as well as time management. Thus the
key players prefer face-to-face teaching and learning modality due to the reason that pupils learn
effectively when they can see the teacher in person as well as connectivity issues and lack of resources
were not a problem. On the other hand, the swift assistance and subsidies alleviated this dilemma and in
spite of the challenges to attend synchronous classes, pupils’ tend to focus more on a subject matter and
have more compliance with the assignments to be submitted if there are no synchronous activities.

Keywords: Emergency Remote Education, Home Teachers, Remote Learning Experiences, Dillema

INTRODUCTION
In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the future of education in the Philippines has been re-
imagined, it is initiated by using the new modality of education and tagged as “Distance Education in the
New Normal” and/or “Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT)” as an urgent response for the call to pursue
education. Thus, teaching and learning processes are shifted through synchronous learning modality
where pupils and teachers meet via different online platforms that oblige them to have stable internet
connection and mobile phone, tablet, laptop or a desktop computer enabling the pupils to actively engage
in a meaningful learning. Another modality of learning is through asynchronous activities that can be
done offline, one of which is by using a modular approach that serves as an alternative delivery of
teaching for pupils (Garbe, et.al, 2020). In line with that, Christensen & Sparkman (2017) posits that in a
distant learning situation, pupils are taking their course online; video conference, online test, online
collaboration, and the teacher and pupils are distant. Nonetheless, teachers were expected to impose
instructional designs and strategy that could make their pupils more engaged in remote learning activities
(Gaytan, 2015). Furthermore, remote teaching and learning requires a thoroughly planned classroom that
encourages student participation with faculty, peers and course content (Tanis, 2020). Also, parents play a
vital role in remote learning, as they were tasked to be the teacher for their children and support them
throughout the learning process.
The shift from traditional to remote mode of education has been a great challenge primarily to pupils,
teachers, and parents. Garbe et. al. (2020) posits that availability of resources contributes to the active
learning and participation amongst pupils, hence in these trying times it has been the major problem in
pursuing quality education. According to the latest data of the Department of Education (2020) 89% of
the students in basic education are enrolled this academic year, while the latter 11% are dropped out
because of the financial inability to pursue remote learning. Moreover, 40% of the enrolled students are
transferees from private institutions. Furthermore, Philippine Statistics Authority has recorded 17.7% or
7.3 million Filipinos are unemployed reflecting the COVID-19 shutdown which is why many students
were out of school because their parents were not able to sustain their financial needs. On the other hand
parents are also experiencing confusion on how to facilitate their children as they are expected to offer
support to the learning structure, and reinforce the goals that can be accomplished in and out of school
with education which allow them to adapt and adjust the standard as necessary to create the ideal path for
their children. Relatively, teachers are experiencing these kind of dilemmas the same way and according
to the Department of Education (DepEd), there is an on-going training for teachers but they found it
difficult to adapt in this new mode of learning due to the lack of knowledge in technology, hence it is
important to understand how the teachers are coping up with the current situation in regards to remote
learning. According to the study of Ventayin (2018), DepEd teachers were still able to cope with the
situation of distance learning even with little experience in its context such as, technical skills, time
management, knowledge and attitude of online education. Moreover Phan & Dang (2017) states that the
mentioned factors were among the major distance learning education elements that helps educators in
adjustments and adaptations to a new transition brought by the pandemic.
The aforesaid challenges and dilemmas in distance learning has incited the researchers to conduct an in-
depth study about the experiences of pupils, teacher, and parents, specifically in the Grade 2 level about
the essential details with reference on how the Emergency Remote Learning experienced, and if there is
any opportunities and obstacles experienced by the key players in this new shift of education. Moreover,
these experiences were sought to analyzed by utilizing the six factors;  The Key Players in Emergency
Remote Learning, The Shift to Emergency Learning, Constraints in Emergency Remote Learning,
Assessing Emergency Remote Learning, Assistance from the Local Government, and Coping and
Survival Strategies. Through focused group discussions (FGD), the researchers were able to present the
experiences of a Grade 2 teacher, the pupils and their parents and set out some recommendations for the
betterment of the remote learning experience.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY  

Remote education as a new mode of education system requires a lot from students, teachers, and parents.
As learning takes place at home, students, teachers, and parents need to be cognitively, affectively, and
physiologically ready to learn in a new environment with full access to technological resources. However,
education in the Philippine setting is far from what is needed to be expected.
The emergency shift of the education sector to online modality has incited the researchers to present the
experiences of the Grade 2-level teacher, her pupils and their parents in a public elementary school in
Manila, Philippines. Specifically, this study will seek to answer the following questions:
1. How is remote learning experienced by Grade 2- level:
1.1 Pupils?
1.2 Teacher?
1.3 Parents?
 2. What are the opportunities and obstacles experienced by the Grade 2 pupils, parents, and teachers in
Emergency Remote Learning (ERL)?

METHOD  

The researchers used a descriptive-exploratory design which is defined as a research used to

investigate a problem that is not clearly defined (Bhaskaran et al, 2021). It is conducted to have a better
understanding of the existing problem, but will not provide conclusive results. This type of research aims
to describe the experiences of remote learning of pupils, parents, and a teacher. In order to gather the
needed data, the utilization of focused group discussions and interviews will be implemented. The results
were carefully analyzed and described upon the six factors surfaced in the gathered literature.
Participants 
The participants of this study were purposely selected which consist of Grade 2 pupils, parents, and a
teacher affected under the Emergency Remote Learning System implemented by the Department of
Education (DepEd) in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. The Grade 2 pupils and their
teacher came from a public elementary school in the Division of Manila both undergoing a modular
(asynchronous) and online (synchronous) mode of learning. Apart from pupils and a teacher, the
researchers also paid attention to the involvement of parents for their experience under the changes and
challenges in the new education system. The participants indicated above were chosen as they were the
ones most affected by the pandemic and the shift from traditional face-to-face classes to the new face of
the classroom.

Data Collection and Analysis

The researchers presented a letter that was addressed to the selected public elementary school in the
Division of Manila to obtain permission to conduct the study as well as consent letters for the parents of
the participants, teacher, and school administrators. The researchers explained the purpose of the study to
the participants and mentioned that the discussion were recorded and was used as their basis for
transcribing the data gathered. During the focused group discussion, the researchers made the pupils
comfortable by talking to them casually and creating fun games that engaged them by expressing
themselves to the researchers. In terms of participants with lack of internet access, one-on-one interview
was done through phone calls. The FGD were used for the Pupils and Parents and the interview was used
for the Teacher as well as participants who were contacted via phone call. After transcribing the data
gathered, the researchers used thematic coding to analyze and formulate themes in which the researchers
developed a concept map using XMind, a software used for designing concepts. It served as a guide for
the researchers to see the overall experience of pupils, parents and teachers under Emergency Remote
Learning in the country. 

The Scale 
In order to achieve the saturation of data, the researchers conducted two waves of FGD consisting of three
(3) batches of participants in each wave. On the first wave, the participants were allowed to freely explain
their experiences scaffolded with the follow-up questions from the researchers. The data gathered from
the first wave were transcripted and coded as to parents, teacher, and pupils. The researchers also
identified themes based on the experiences of the participants in Emergency Remote Learning; the results
were used to formulate questions for the second wave to further process the gathered data. The
instruments were checked and validated by the research adviser who provided comments and
recommendations to ensure content validity before the researchers proceeded to the second wave of FGD.

FINDINGS 
I.  The Key Players in Emergency Remote Learning
1.1. The Pupils and the Context of Learning
Pupils learn through online learning and especially when they were supervised by their parents at home.
According to the teacher-participant, parents could choose between enrolling their child in online
learning, or in a modular learning. Students in online learning did their homeworks, tasks, modules and
tests using online platforms. On the other hand, students in modular learning were provided with hard
copy modules and were taught by the most knowledgeable others (MKO) at home. “I have 40 students
enrolled online and two modular ones. The other one chooses modular because they don't have gadgets”,
the teacher added. Unlike before, the time limited the class to have a motivational activity and therefore
the teacher proceeded to the lesson proper, “the class is teacher-centered. I teach and they listen and after
that we can have a recitation”. In relation to this, the result agrees to the study of Sanghoon Park (2006)
that teachers should scaffold the pupils in online learning in such a way that they learn through interacting
with online learning contents like texts, images, animations, videos, interactive games, and through
participating in online course activities (discussions, quizzes, hands-on activities). 

1.2. The Teacher in the New Normal Set-Up

The role of teachers became heavier and the workloads have increased even more. In the new normal set-
up, the teacher's role widened to the parents. “I like to have meetings… What I do is I actually message
them in the groupchat. I always ask them if they have any questions, misunderstandings, problems or
suggestions”. As the learning supervision took place at home, the communication and cooperation of
parents is very essential in student learning. “Communication with the parents is really important because
they are the ones who accompanied the child at home while studying. With the help of our parents, we
survived the first quarter”, the teacher added.  Since teaching online posits a lot of challenges, especially
that pupils have short attention spans, it is very important to have effective strategies. “On the first day of
class, I immediately set the rules, and told them to ‘just imagine that we are in a normal classroom, the
rules that you follow in school are the same here in the online class”, the teacher explained.

1.3. The Parents as “Home Teachers”

Parents as teachers play an important role in student learning. Their presence and guidance is needed
specially during synchronous class as some of the pupils were not familiar in navigating the learning
platform. “I have my mom beside me during online class”, a student said. Also, the role of parents or the
available MKO were extended to teaching and explaining teacher’s instructions and lessons. “Whenever I
have trouble understanding the lesson, my mom will explain it to me and I will be the one to answer”,
another student added. 

II. The Shift to Emergency Remote Learning

2.1 Adapting to the New Normal Setting
Easily adapting to the new setup of education is hard for both teacher and parents due to being
technologically novice. According to the parents, transitioning to remote learning is very hard because
they were not knowledgeable enough to navigate the platforms to use in this new mode of education.
Another reason is their financial incapability to afford the resources needed which includes gadgets and
internet connection. Uttered by the parent, “It was hard at first because my eldest child doesn't have a
tablet yet”.  Thus, this approved that parents experienced confusion on how to facilitate their children as
they are expected to offer support to the learning structure, and reinforce the goals to be accomplished in
and out of school with education which allow them to adapt or adjust the standard as necessary to create
the ideal path for their children. Teachers also experienced the same because they were used to teaching
in the physical classroom which is why transitioning to online teaching was a challenge.   “Actually, I’m
not yet ready at first, but as a teacher, I am ready. Maybe I struggled in the transition”, stated by the
teacher.
Teachers were able to adapt easily to the new normal because the institution prepared them through
webinars and/or seminars. According to the teacher,”DepEd, the Division of Manila, the school, and our
principal prepared us on how to use the Google Classroom. We conducted various webinars on how to
create Slides, Quizzes, Forms, and Presentations for the incoming online classes”. This proves that
Ventayin (2018) is right in arguing that although a lot of struggles were faced by the educators about
remote learning, they still tend to adapt and/or cope to the trends and requirements of remote learning.
Moreover, according to Plevnik (2010), the funding of education is the main responsibility of the
government, this includes the seminars and training for the teachers to be fully equipped and meet the
needs of parents who are first at hand in teaching the pupils.

2.2. Flexibility in Navigating the Learning Essentials

Teachers helped the parents to cope up with and adapt in the new educational setup before the actual start
of classes by conducting dry-run and guiding them on how to properly use the platform. According to the
teacher,”before the official start of online classes, I conducted a one (1) week dry run. I taught them how
to use and join the Google classroom,what will happen inside it, I prepared their mindset in thinking that
the Google classroom is just like the physical classroom where they will just enter in it and listen”. This
was also approved by the parents because according to one of them, “It became easier to adjust when you
follow the instructions of the teacher. You can follow through the guide of the teacher”.

2.3. The Daily Routine

Teacher’s daily preparation for online classes differs from the preparation that parents and pupils do.
Teachers prepare both for the synchronous and asynchronous sessions. For the synchronous class, they
prepare the learning materials and make sure that it is ready before the class. In terms of asynchronous
class, they prepare the activities beforehand and post it to the online platform that they were using.
“Before the online class, I prepare the things I will need”, told the teacher when asked how they prepare
before the class. Meanwhile, parents helped their child in preparing starting from the time they woke up
to the time when the class starts. The preparations include eating, hygiene routine and preparing the
needed tools for the child’s online class. Thus, this preparation agrees with the argument that parents
should establish a routine which balances the chores and school work because it will develop a sense of
responsibility to the child (Wiseman et. al, 2020).

III. Constraints in Emergency Remote Learning

3.1 Connecting to the Virtual Classroom
Emergency remote learning, connecting to the virtual classroom imposed problems such as intermittent
connection to the participants specifically to parents and pupils. Intermittent connectivity was a barrier to
the student learning experience and it is a problem recognized by the parents. According to one pupil “I
cannot understand the lesson due to slow internet”. A parent had stated that “It's hard for him/her, during
the morning the internet is fast but in the afternoon when there is classes it is slow”. These said statements
were validated according to Lapada et al (2020) which stated that problems in virtual comprehension
were present in online learning due to intermittent and slow internet connection.

3.2 Workload, Life, and Balance

The concept of time management, and professional/non-professional obligations of the participants was
challenged by the notion of emergency remote learning.  Aside from the copious domestic obligations,
parents became full-time MKO’s to their children, managing their time inside and outside the virtual
classroom. According to a parent, “Parents’ involvement in students’ learning was imperative, hence we
should focus on them”. Another parent also stated that “you really have to guide the children because
sometimes they really don't know what to do. With regards to these statements in the remote learning
setting, the role of parents as a full time MKO is essential to the student learning experience (Hung et. al.,
2010).
Aside from abundant tasks required for their professional endeavor, the teacher as a professional
individual and a manager of domestic responsibilities, bears the challenges of balance and time
management. According to the teacher “It is really a struggle because of the 7 subjects I handle”. She also
uttered that, “I really have to sacrifice my saturdays, especially that I am a 24/7 mother and my child is
five years old and my husband is also a teacher. It is really imperative to have efficient time
management”. The teacher provided necessary strategies for time-management in order to handle a class
well, have cultivated strategic working practice and it is evident in this context (Raffo, 2015). 

3.3 Financial Management and Incapability

The need to provide near-complete resources amidst financial constraints challenged the notion of
incapability of the participants. The resources needed to shift to emergency remote learning was
demanding specifically to parents, who also needed to provide for their domestic affairs. Some of the
parents needed extra work to provide the necessary provisions for online learning, according to a parent “I
do laundry jobs, extra-work, and ironing work”. Another parent also stated that “I worked early in the
morning. 4 o’clock to be finished at 8”. Access to resources needed as a challenge of remote learning
(Fauzi, 2020), pushed parents to sacrifice things  in order to manage and solve it. 

3.4 Distractions within the Physical Environment

Learning comprehension on the emergency remote learning has been challenged by the distractions
within the physical environment. Students that were engaged in virtual learning, as well as their parents as
full time MKO’s have stated several things that distract them to fully utilize the new learning modality. A
student has stated that “I am having a hard time understanding what my teacher is saying because
everyone of my classmates were speaking”, another student stated that “The house is noisy because there
were many people”. An observation from one of the parents was that “Sometimes the speaker is too loud
or bassy due to intermittent connection hence it is distracting, sometimes everyone answers a question at a
same time”. These statements were the main distraction that affected students' learning experience in an
emergency remote learning modality.

IV. Coping and Survival Strategies

4.1 Provision of Needs and Resources
The availability of gadgets with strong internet connectivity plays an essential role in remote learning set
up.. But the majority of participants couldn’t afford a gadget for schooling, and there are some that the
gadgets they have was not enough for the number of users in the household. This is reflected in what the
participants shared in the interview conducted with them. According to the Parent, "I have four children
who are studying, one Grade 12, one Grade 8, one Grade 6 and one Grade 2, so sometimes they are
sharing. [on gadget]). And when asked about how many of them at the house use the device, specifically
the tablet, the pupil answered – "two”. 
On the other hand, some pupils were actively supported by their parents in online learning by providing
them with needs such as devices and internet connection. However, there were pupils who rely on
government support such as free gadgets and WiFi connection via load just to ensure that the pupils
would not be left behind while they continue their education. "We have monthly subsidy for load [WiFi]
and a tablet from the Mayor”, stated by a parent. All the experiences of the participants under Emergency
Remote Learning were mentioned in Alvarez’s (2020) research article which stated that apart from the
lack of gadgets for online learning, the most common problem of lower income families with gadgets at
home is the quantity of its user. The proportion of available devices in a family is not enough for the
number of students who use it. Therefore, one way for parents and students to continue learning is to take
turns using it. On the other hand, in response to the teacher's limitation on the use of the gadget by parents
and students, the teacher deliberately laid out the class schedule at times when it would not keep up with
the class of another grade level/sibling so as to be able to attend the pupils in their class.

4.2 Active and Collaborative Communication between Parents and Teachers

In recent months of Emergency Remote Learning, the online messaging application Messenger helped a
lot in keeping parents and teachers connected and updated about the child’s progress of their learning
both online and modular. "So, what I did, I messaged on our group chat. Then I always post in our group
chat if they have a concern, any suggestions on how to improve facilitating the online class”, says the
teacher participant. But unbeknownst to the parents, the teacher still had a big problem, making it difficult
to reach parents who do not have a Messenger account or any social media account because their mobile
phone numbers cannot be contacted. "I'm through Messenger. Because sometimes I can't contact their
cellphones. Those cell phone numbers I have here, I can't contact them. Sometimes out of coverage. I
really don't know if they changed their number, I can't really contact them”. For Comer (2009), it is
important for parents and teachers to interact effectively with one another. Each has a role when it comes
to a child's growth and development, and when knowledge is exchanged, everyone benefits. Constant
communication helped to ensure that both the institution and parents were attentive to provide students'
individual needs and, as a result, children's overall development is supported.

4.3 Time Efficacy

It was a big challenge for the parents to balance their time because most of them were working and often
not in their homes. Others who do not have work and stay at home struggle on how they monitor their
children in their online class. One of the parent shared their experience under remote learning, "my
schedule is between 5PM to 2PM and at 12NN it's my lunch break until 2 PM and the latter I almost don't
have any business to do so that's my perfect time. So I'll accompany her to her online class. After that I'll
wait for the teacher to give an activity we will do on the same day or otherwise, tomorrow as long as that
I make sure that in a week we can do the online class”.
According to Garbe et. al. (2020), parents consume more than one hour every day to help their children in
both studying and schooling. It's also crucial to become more organized in terms of the children's
schedules, from the morning routine, classroom preparation and discussion, lunch and more because in
these difficult times, it's necessary to stay organized. In order for the student to be productive and make
him focus on his study, according to Bhamani (2020), parents should create and maintain a strict schedule
for their children just to prevent him from too much screen time. Establishing a schedule makes students
develop a sense of responsibility (Wiseman et. al, 2020) Because of the versatile nature of distance
learning, the fact that distance study is fitted into an already busy life, and the distance from class and
other students who can indirectly help each other stay up-to-date, time management is critical for distance
students. It is important that distance students make the most of their time. Above all, the role of parents
is essential in managing this kind of organization amongst their children.

V. Assistance from the Local Government and Other Stakeholders

5.1 Subsidies and Gadget Distribution
One of the challenges faced by students, parents, and teachers for Emergency Remote Learning are the
lack of subsidies and gadgets used for online classes. It appears that LGU’s and other stakeholders have a
vital role in playing for the outcome of Emergency Remote Learning. Some of the participants shared
their concerns and comments about it, as such according to a pupil,“My brother’s tablet”. This was also
proved by a parent that “So far ma'am, we receive nothing [Assistance from LGU]”. On the other hand,
the teacher stated that “Even teachers, the Mayor provided laptops, flash drives and pocket wifi and a
monthly load allowance”. These attest that the assistance from the Local Government or the stakeholders
served as the support system for the pupils, parents, and teachers. The needs of each participant to the
LGUs and stakeholders must be provided to keep up with the transition to Emergency Remote Learning.

5.2 The More Knowledgeable Others

Due to the sudden shift in Emergency Remote learning, some have difficulty in keeping up with the new
normal set up. A student stated that “Mother explains so I won't have a hard time”, a parent also uttered
that “Sometimes the teacher tells the children what to do”. A teacher stated, “Communication with the
parents is really important because they are the ones with the child at home while studying. With the help
of our parents, we survived the first quarter”. In accordance to Lee, et.al (2017), the autonomy of
elementary students differs from that of college students, who are capable of being self-directed in their
learning processes and mastering information and skills. This is due to the fact that children's brains are
still developing and there is a need for frequent assistance and reminders from the teacher. Elementary
students should have first access to all of the services needed by the modern mode of learning, including
internet access, gadgets, interactive learning materials from their teachers, and learning applications and
are supervised by their parents (Fauzi and Khusuma, 2020). 

VI. Assessing Emergency Remote Learning

6.1 Assessing learning modality
Majority of the participant’s responses in assessing learning modality described that it came across
difficulties in terms of connectivity and resources.  This supported the findings of Alvarez (2020), posited
that online learning has some critical problems, being the first is a lack of internet access. In line with the
research that Alvarez (2020) conducted, it is stated that majority of the participants describe the notion
that emergency remote teaching and learning as a challenge rather than an advantage for the reason of
internet accessibility constraints as well as majority of the participants in the study were reported lacking
technological devices because of the financial difficulties that the pandemic brought. Moreover, the study
of Lapada et, al. (2020) also stated that most of the participants had trouble using virtual communication
due to low-speed internet connections. According to a pupil, “Sometimes I could not attend our
synchronous session because I have no gadget to use, because my sibling shares one gadget to be able to
attend sessions”. And with the perspective of one of the other parent, ” We are having trouble attending
synchronous session because we only use cellphone and a data connection speed, most of the time it is
intermittent, and we ended up not attending it because we ran out of load”. Moreover, the teacher said that
“First and foremost, the conflict is that there is an intermittent connection, second is the data allowances
since it is easily running out of allocated internet because of using social media instead of our google
classroom”. These responses validated the study of Radha et.al (2020) entitled Online Learning during
Lockdown of Covid-19 Pandemic: A Global Perspective that is difficult to follow classes due to slow
internet connection, this special in most classes conducted in zoom and the like, additionally navigating
tools with the said platform is also a challenge.

6.2 Preferences in Learning Modality

Most of the responses in terms of preference in a learning modality stated that the participants are into
face-to-face classes in terms of the quality of learning that they would take advantage of. The findings are
parallel to the notion of Wiseman et.al (2020), that in a quality education, instilling a positive and focused
mindset to the child is highly encouraged. It is important that children feel that they are in a learning
environment, as if they are going to school. In addition to that, a parent should provide a conducive space
or environment for their children, establishing ground rules and regulations on how the students and
others should act in that space. In line with this, a pupil participant stated that “I preferred to have face-to-
face classes because I engage with my teacher and my classmates, and it is easier to learn”. Also, one of
the parent concluded that “I highly choose to have face-to-face classes, because my children learn best if
they are going to school”. Furthermore, a teacher-participant argued that “There is a concrete learning
with the pupils, that is why I preferred to have face-to-face classes”. Moreover, it is supported by
McMillan and Chavis (1986) which posited that there is a sense of community and belongingness in a
physical classroom than the virtual one, thus there is a fulfillment to sustain teaching and learning inside
the physical classroom. Also, lacking a sense of community tendency for students to feel separated,
disconnected and isolated, resulting in students failing to meet and achieve the learning objectives of
distance education courses (Sadera, et.al 2009).

6.3 Effectiveness of Emergency Remote Learning

Despite the challenges conducting Emergency Remote Learning, there are few responses commending the
effectiveness of ERL stating that some pupils gain more focus and perseverance most especially during
asynchronous sessions. These findings supported the study of Shrivastava (1999), that online learning
environment promotes and encourages students’ self-regulated and self-paced learning, as students can
study anytime and anywhere. As one of the pupil participant uttered that “I am learning a lot because if
there is no synchronous classes, I am routed to do all of my assignment and modules with the help of my
mother and sibling”. In line with this, a parent participant added “I would say that one of the advantages
of online classes is that my child’s teacher can focus to teach, that is why the pupils easily learn a lesson”.
Moreover, from a teacher’s perspective “My pupils’ grades are higher during online classes than face-to-
face, because they have more compliance with the requirements, passing it on time”.   Classes globally
are now transferred from physical classroom to digital setting. Utilizing online collaborative platforms
and websites are the medium of schools and teachers, enabling the lessons and activities to reach out the
students at the distant are the new faces of the classroom in response to the challenges of pandemic in
education. Typically, online classrooms (also known as virtual classrooms) share characteristics with
physical and common classrooms but differ only in integration technology and internet access. In the
online classroom, teachers and students form the so-called online learning community (Seufert, et.al,
2002).

DISCUSSIONS and CONCLUSION 

Transitioning to remote learning is not quite easy for grade 2 pupils but they were able to cope up with
the help of their parents, support of the local government and guidance of the teacher. Throughout the
lesson proper, some pupils were unable to catch up due to slow internet connection, distracting noise, and
some lessons that required more time for explanation and given examples. Thus, the presence of parents
or MKO is very vital during synchronous class. On the other hand, there are pupils who are still adjusting
to the daily routine. Hence, motivational activity, teacher-student interaction, as well as integrating digital
platforms helped to strengthen the focus and attention of the pupils during online learning.
With the help of the institution, the teacher was able to easily adapt to the Emergency Remote Learning.
The teacher-participant was scaffolded by conducting webinars on how to navigate the virtual classroom
and the variety of software applications that can be used to create their instructional materials for the
synchronous class. The participant was also supported by the local government unit by providing load
allowance used for teaching remotely. In terms of balancing between the personal and professional life,
the teacher was challenged adjust their schedules but were able to manage their time later on. When it
comes to the communication between teachers and parents, a social platform was used to reach out to the
parents of the pupil. Also, meetings were held from time to time in order for the teacher to raise concerns
regarding learning of the pupils and the parents can also do the same. 
Parents play an essential role to extend and sustain the quality of teaching and learning at the comfort of
their homes as they became the “home teachers” to their children, where they are expected to assist pupils
and are required to provide the necessary support. Their guidance for the pupils is vital to make the online
class successful in delivering the right educational experience. But this has been a challenge for them
because most of them do not know how to properly navigate internet platforms as well as technological
devices. Other concerns were communication with the teacher as well as support from LGUs and other
stakeholders. 
Emergency Remote Learning is both a challenge and an opportunity to the key participants of this
research. The obstacles experienced are financial and technological, and environmental constraints to
 pursue the learning process in the middle of the pandemic, yet this is also the advantage to explore more
with the complexity of technology, and adapt with the said changes in conducting the learning processes
in this new shift of education.

Acknowledgements: 

The researchers would like to convey their  gratitude to our professor, Dr. Felice Yeban, for her
assistance in developing concepts. As well as our mentor, Prof. Florisa Simeon, who provided us
with the opportunity to improve our study, and our teacher-partner, Ms. Shirley De Leon, who
assisted us in conducting extensive research and exposing us to a wide range of fresh
information. Second, the researchers would like to express their gratitude to their parents and
everyone who assisted them in completing this project within the time frame.

REFERENCES 

Articles
Abik, M., Ajhoun, R., & Ensias, L. (2012). Impact of technological advancement on pedagogy. Turkish Online
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Aguinaldo B. E. (2013). Implementing Blended Learning in an Impoverished Academic Institution Using a
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Allen, M., Mabry, E., Mattrey, M., Bourhis, J., Titsworth, S., & Burrell, N. (2004). Evaluating the effectiveness of
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 Alvarez, A.  J. (2020).  The phenomenon of learning at a distance through emergency remote teaching amidst the
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Christensen S.S., & Spackman J.S. (2017). Dropout Rates, Student Momentum, and Course Walls: A New Tool for
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Blanchard A. L. & Markus M. L. (2004). The Experienced "Sense" of a Virtual Community: Characteristics and
Processes. Database for Advances in Information Systems, ACM SIGMIS Database 35(1), 64-79.
Garbe A., Ogurlu U., Logan N., Cook P. (2020). COVID-19 and remote learning: Experiences of parents with
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Gaytan, J., (2015). Coenduring Faculty and Student Perceptions Regarding Factors That Affect Student Retention
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Lapada, A. A. (2017). Audio-visual aided instruction in science among high school students in the Philippines.
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Phan, T. T. N., & Dang, L. T. T. (2017). Teacher Readiness for Online Teaching: A Critical Review. International
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Theses and Dissertations

Books
Arreola, R. (2000). Developing A Comprehensive Faculty Evaluation System. Bolton: Anker Publishing Company.
Bates, A. W., & Poole, G. (2003). Effective teaching with technology in higher education. San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass. 
Bozkurt, A. (2019). From Distance Education to Open and Distance Learning: A holistic evaluation of history,
definitions, and theories. Pennsylvania: IGI Global.
Wiseman, R., Fisher D., Frey, N. & Hattie, J. (2020), The Distance Learning Playbook for Parents.

Internet Resources
Bernardo, D. (2020). The new normal for the school year 2020-2021: Education in the time of coronavirus. ABS-
CBN News. Retrieved December 2020 from https://news.abs-
cbn.com/spotlight/multimedia/slideshow/07/04/20/distance-learning-philippines-new-normal-2020.
Department of Education (2020). Memoranda related to COVID-19. Retrieved from
https://www.deped.gov.ph/covid-19/covid19-memoranda/.
Fauzi, I., & Khusuma I. (2020). Teachers’ ElementarySchool in Online   Learning of COVID-19 Pandemic
Retrieved from Conditions.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342100923_Teachers'_Elementary_School_inline_Learning_of
_COVID-19_Pandemic_Conditions.