REFLECTION

1. The impact of COVID-19 to the learners and the learning process?

Answer:
Life is unpredictable and beyond our control. No one expected that year 2020
would bring tremendous changes and impact the world’s economy, education, and
lifestyle. The COVID-19 pandemic has paved a way to defining the “new normal”. That
means the current situation is different from what has been experienced or done before,
but is expected to become usual or typical. Before, home schooling was only for the
selected few, but because of the new normal the students must stay and study at home.
In the previous school years, the students had to report to school daily to study. The
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was clearly revealed with strong reactions among
students and teachers’ level of anxiety amid school closures. Face-to-face learning was
considered traditional, which refers to the learning modality where students and the
teachers are both physically present in the classroom, and there is opportunity for active
engagement, immediate feedback, and socio-emotional development of learners. Due to
the pandemic, the schools must adopt to the Distance Learning Modalities, Modular
Distance Learning, Online Distance Learning, and TV/Radio-Based Instruction.

The choice of the learning mode depends on the choice of the parents and the
students based on the availability of resources and their convenience. Some learners
choose online classes because of the presence of the teacher giving direct instructions.
However, online classes have effects on the students’ health. Learners are expected to
have a balanced activity. With that reason, there must be a time for studies, play, and
relaxation. Its deal to study hard, but it’s also equally important to socialize and be with
friends. Due to the pandemic, the young stay most of the time in the house; as a result
they are deprived of the usual outdoor activities like playing ball games, swimming,
strolling around the plaza/park, and the like which help them stay fit. Most often, the
learners are stuck in the house and answer self-learning modules.
2. Are there also challenges to teaching?
Answer:
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected educational systems worldwide, leading to
the near-total closure of schools, universities, and colleges. Most governments around
the world have temporarily closed educational institutions to contain the spread of the
virus. Among the most important challenges created by COVID-19 is how to adapt a
system of education built around physical school.

Teachers had to face work and life changes during the pandemic situation.
Teachers face challenges with the modular and blended learning approaches as they
embrace the new normal setting. Teachers needed to abruptly transition their lessons
from physical classrooms to distance learning platforms in response to this crisis.
Though teachers struggle with many challenges in their efforts to meet the development
needs of their learners, they remain committed to their learners’ education, emotional,
social, cognitive, physical, and spiritual well-being. Amid a crisis and with so many
expected situations and events, teachers must respond to the changing needs of
learners. Whether in school, working from home, or adopting a blended approach,
teachers are committed to helping, guiding, and teaching their learners.
3. How will you see teaching will be different from the past (before the pandemic)?
Answer:
Across the world, students’ learning experiences have been altered dramatically by the
COVID-19 pandemic. In-person instruction has been shown to create more student-tutor
and student-student interaction, which can promote better engagement. As explained
through social learning theory, new patterns of behavior arise from direct interactions
with peers or by observing the behavior of peers. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all in-
person opportunities for formal and informal have been impossible. Before the COVID-
19 pandemic, students' learning typically took place in school, like face-to-face lectures.
They are physically present in school and do the group activities without the fear of not
following health and safety protocols, for example, wearing face masks and maintaining
social distancing. Teachers before the pandemic would be able to monitor students'
progress easily and take necessary actions or enhancements for the students to cope
with the lesson that brings them lower grades. It was easy for us to compute students'
grades based on their performances, but when the pandemic came, students started the
modular set up, making it hard for us teachers to give grades based on their
performances because some of them do not answer the modules on their own but rather
have their eldest brother, sister, or even father and mother do so.

4. How “Educational Psychology” can help?

Answer:
Educational psychology largely deals with understanding learning behavior. It has
contributed significantly to the betterment of the education system. It also considers
every person involved in the learning process. Thus, educational psychology helps
children grow into responsible and well-educated adults, which leads to a prosperous
society. Educational psychology finds ways to make learning experiences effective and
enjoyable. It helps in deciding which experiences are required at which stage of the
learner’s development so that they learn appropriate concepts at a suitable age. As a
teacher, we will touch the future because children are the future of any society. By
studying the different theories as well as different perspectives of any philosophist in
educational psychology, we will be able to explore what the field of educational
psychology is all about and how it can help us contribute positively to children's future.