Advantages and Disadvantages of

Modular Approach in Learning

INTRODUCTION

The coronavirus outbreak, known as COVID-19, first occurred at

Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan city of China in December 2019. It has
turned out to be a global health emergency within a couple of months. It has
rapidly affected thousands of sick people or being killed due to the spread of
this disease. The COVID-19 pandemic also resulted in widespread disruption
such as travel restrictions, closure of schools, and global economic recession.

Most countries worldwide have temporarily closed educational

institutions to prevent the spread of the virus and reduce infections. Face-to-
face engagement of students and teachers within the school has also been
suspended. Because of this, the Philippines is transitioning to a new normal
type of education, and educators’ constant innovations and active participation
from other stakeholders are driving forces behind its success. The Department
of Education developed Modular Distance Learning to ensure educational
continuity and for each school to continue to fulfill its objective and vision of
providing quality education to every Filipino learner.

CONTEXT

Modular Learning is the most popular type of Distance Learning. In the

Philippines, all public schools currently use this learning modality; 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. It also considers the learners in rural areas where the internet is not
accessible for online learning.

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 The advantages of using modules for learning include: students can
choose their most convenient time and place to answer, it is self-pacing, it
provides flexibility for teachers, and the acquisition of better self-study or
learning skills among students. They develop a sense of responsibility in
accomplishing the tasks provided in the module. With little or no assistance
from others, students progress independently.

On the other hand, the disadvantages of modular learning are: not all
students do their modules wholeheartedly, some parents spoil their children
and do the deed instead of their children, it adds to the burden and extra work
for parents, some students tend to copy their answers from others which is very
rampant online, someone is getting paid to answer their modules, many
students said they never learn from the modules. It is just for formality cause
and not internalized by the students. COVID-19 will also impact the students’
mental health, UNICEF warns.

A departmental report released in March 2021 found that 99% of public-

school students got passing marks for the first academic quarter of last year.
However, other surveys claim that students it has disadvantages. Over 86% of
the students polled by the Movement for Safe Equitable, Quality, and Relevant
Education said they learned less through the education department take-home
modules.

CONCLUSION

The significant number of activities in each module is one of the main

problems that emerged in the implementation of Modular Distance Learning.
The Department of Education should consider this problem, reduce the
activities, and take out the unnecessary topic to attain mastery as much as
possible. One of the concerns of the students is that they do not have enough
time to answer all the modules within a week. Therefore, if DepEd cannot
extend the modules’ duration, they must lessen the activities. The instructions
in every exercise must be clear enough for the learners to understand. The
topics must be simplified, and teachers must give more examples. Therefore,

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all the printed modules should be clear. The COVID-19 cases in the Philippines
are still insignificant, especially now that there is the Omicron variant, so face
to face is not yet possible. The Department of Education and the government
must collaborate towards the success of the Philippine Educational System
despite the pandemic.

RECOMMENDATION

From the gathered information and facts, several recommendations

were created. The methods and strategies to further improve Modular Distance
Learning are reducing activities from the modules, more examples for each
subject, home visitations, blended learning, and provision of colored printed
modules. Teachers are also recommended to be active online most of the time
to address the concerns of some students, which to be patient enough in
attending to the needs and to respond to the queries immediately with regards
to learning. For parents, teachers can assist them through text and call,
consultations, meetings, posting updates on social media, and giving them
words of encouragement.

REFERENCES

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, October 30). COVID-19 pandemic.

Wikipedia.https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19pandemic

Tria, J.Z. (2020 June 3). The COVID-19 Pandemic Through the Lens of

Education in the Philippines: The New Normal.ResearchGate.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341981898/TheCovid9Pande
micThroughtheLensofEducationInThePhilippines.New Normal

Bernardo, J. (2020, July 30). Modular Learning most preferred by

parents: DepEd.ABS-CBNNews.

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 https://news.abscbn.com/news/07/30/20/modular-learning-
most-preferred-by-parents-deped

Nardo, M. T. B. (2017, October 20) Modular Instruction Enhances

Learner Autonomy. Sciepub.

Sumaong, J.D. (2020, November 27-29) The Implementation of

Modular Distance Learning.

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