FS1 EPISODE 3

1. Gender, including LGBT

- To address the needs of the LGBT and other gender in the execution of my lesson, I
made sure that the activities I gave to my students promote gender equality and equity among
learners. In the conduct of the activities, I made sure that there will be no discrimination among
students especially those who belong to the LGBT. If there are physical activities that would let
the student run, jog or perform strenuous tasks, female students were given consideration or
were given a shorter distance to run or a much lighter task considering that males in nature are
more physically active than females. It allows female learners to cope with the task without
compromising the attainment of the objectives of the activity.

2. Language and cultural differences

- The Philippines being considered as a culturally varied country posed a big challenge to
us, teachers. At the beginning of the school year, I made sure that I am familiar with the family
and cultural background of the learners such as their Mother Tongue and if they belong to a
certain indigenous group. In this way, I can consider my classroom activities whenever I plan my
lesson. As teachers I believe that the first step in being proficient with this objective is to be
aware of our students’ background and to acknowledge their cultural differences because it will
guide us in every activity that we give our students.

Sometimes in my Science class, I explain concepts and processes in Filipino or Bicol even
though the medium of instruction for the subject is English. It has been a practice because I
observed that students will more likely understand the topic if it was explained in a language
that is familiar to them and they can easily understand. Ion the other hand, in my seven years
of teaching experience, I had never encounter a student who belong to an indigenous group.

As teachers I believe that the first step in being proficient with this objective is to be
aware of our students’ background and to acknowledge their cultural differences because it will
guide us in every activity that we give our students.

3. Differences in religion

- In my experience, most of my students are Roman Catholic but there are few who are
Iglesia ni Cristo, Christian and Rizalian. Sometimes when we have a discussion that would be
related to religion or an integration of the lesson to religion, I also made sure that the examples
I give would be relatable to all religions. Sometimes I allow the learner to share their religious
practice to the class as a sense of comparison to the Roman Catholic practice. This is also
another form of learning to all students and to avoid discrimination to students who have a
different religion. I always emphasize to my discussion that students should respect their
religious differences.
FS1 EPISODE 4

1. What are the most noticeable characteristics of the learner? (emotional disposition,
behavior and discipline, sense of responsibility, study habits, academic performance,
relationship with peers, relationship with adults, social adjustment)

- The most noticeable characteristics of the learners are relationship with peers, sense
of responsibility, active participation in schools’ co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.

2. How does the teacher communicate with parents? How often? What do they discuss? How
do they decide of the best course of action to resolve issues or problems?

- When I have issue or problem with students, I send letter to the parent to invite
him/her for a teacher-parent meeting. During the conversation, I communicate with the parent
the issue or problem regarding his/her child. I would usually ask for the family background of
the child and ask the parent on what could be the problem experienced by the child in my
subject so that as teacher, I will become aware of the root cause of the problem. Then, I talked
with the parents on how to assist his/her child in their home and explained to them the
important role they play in the education of their child in their home. Collaboration and
cooperation with parents is essential to address certain issues or problems.

During HRPTA meeting, I communicate also with the parents especially with regards to
their academic performance and behavior. HRPTA meeting is usually conducted every quarter.
The attitudes of the students towards their studies, incomplete outputs and interventions to be
done by the teacher is also communicated.

3. How does the teacher utilize resources in the community to support the teaching-learning
process? How does the teacher work with the community to meet the needs pf the learners?

- In Science class, the laboratory apparatus and equipment are not readily available,
therefore the teacher needs to be creative and resourceful in utilizing available materials in the
community. Sometimes, students were asked to bring materials that could be used instead of a
laboratory apparatus. Sometimes in my Science class, I asked my students to bring “gasera” in
substitute to alcohol lamp. This will allow the students to perform the activity using the
materials available in the community.
During culmination activity, the teacher also communicate with the barangay official
sometimes to ask assistance and support in the realization of the activity.
EPISODE 13

1. What are new features of the latest grading system? What things are you required to do
with this grading system which you were not asked before?

- One important feature of the latest grading system is that it that it measures the
learners’ academic performance holistically such that it does not only focus on grading the
written work of the students but also put emphasis on their performance. Therefore,
assessment was not merely about paper and pencil examinations but also authentic
assessments that are relevant to the learners’ experiences.

2. Which do you prefer – the old or the new grading system? Why?
- I prefer this new grading system because as I have said students were graded
holistically focusing on written works, performance tasks and quarterly assessment. The
distribution of percentage per criterion was given weight based on the subject. Example in TLE,
the performance task was given more weight than written work since we all know that in this
subject the skills are more important than merely understanding the concepts or theories.

ACTIVITY 13.8

1. How did you give feedback to your students regarding their performance? When do you
give feedback?
- Giving feedback was given in a timely manner. I usually give feedbacks to my students
through a written note in their output. I wrote the things that could better improve his output
and also gave praises or comments that would boost students self-confidence. It is important
that we “sandwich” our feedback to students. We give positive and negative feedbacks just like
a burger bun and the burger patty would mean the suggestions that we could to the students
for his/her improvement. Sometimes, we also do home visitation to students who are really at
risk of failing or dropping out.

2. How do you report students’ performance to parents? Does the school have a regular way
of reporting grades to parents?
- We report students’ performance to parents through a parent-teacher meeting. There
is a quarterly Homeroom PTA Meeting wherein advisers release the cards of the students and
reporting the grades to them.

3.What problem on grade reporting did you encounter with parents? How did you address
it/them?
- One of the problems we faced in reporting the grades to the parents is that some
parents do not attend the HRPTA Meeting during the release of cards especially those parents
with students who are at risk of failing or have a low grade in the subjects. Sometimes we call
for a one-on-one conversation to this parent to address the issue or sometimes we conduct a
home visitation to be able to talk to these parents.

Thoughts about OBTL

- Outcome based education is one of the approaches that we usually employ in Science
that is why I am in favor of using this strategy. This strategy puts an emphasis on a clearly
articulated idea of what students are expected to know and be able to do, that is, what skills
and knowledge they need to have, when they leave the school system.
One feature of this type of learning that I liked most is the attempt to measure
educational effectiveness based on results rather than on inputs such as time students spend in
class. The student learning outcomes constitute the criteria by which curriculum is developed or
redesigned, instructional materials are selected, teaching methods are adopted, and evaluation
is conducted.