Natashia’s Interview Transcription

Interview Question #1

Charlie: So to start this interview question, we have the first general question for this
morning. For the first general question we have Nat, What is your reaction to the use of Self-
Directed Learning during the pandemic? Entering first year college ka palang ni when you
discovered nga, form the usual or conventional nga face-to-face set up ma transition kita sa
online set-up and with it comes the Self-Directed Learning, wherein kita ma facilitate sang
most of our learning experiences. What was your initial reaction to that, upon knowing nga
ma amo na kita sina, while considering also nga Nursing pa mo gin take-up which is heavily
skilled base bala haw nga program, so how did you react to that?

Natashia: At first I was skeptical if the online set up would work and if it would be
applicable for all students, considering that we’re all different and unique when it comes to
learning styles. And personally it was quite disappointing for me, because we’re about to
enter college, so bag o nga experience, bag o nga friends, bag o nga set-up, different teachers,
so it was something that we were looking forward to, especially since we were graduating na
senior high school. And I remember thinking nga, I think it’s somehow an advantage, because
we will be at the comfort of our own home but since we are nursing students, I know it will be
challenging for everyone, because again as you’ve said Nong nga it’s a skill base gid nga
course, so it was something that I was also dreading since we wont be meeting our Clinical
Instructors face-to-face, so I was thinking nga paano ko ni sha mahimo ang mga skills, paano
ko sha i-perform and all. So, though I know it will be somehow an advantage for us because
we will be at our home lang, less expenses mag go sa school and less balon, pero of course
disadvantage ang balon kay wala kami balon, but it’s still quite heavy sa amon nga nursing
students. So, at the same time I was okay with it, but also thinking of the cons, it was also
challenging for me Nong.

Charlie: For follow-up question Nat no, na mention mo nga although challenging siya, it
helped you in someway, so in what ways or what made Self-Directed Learning beneficial for
you in some point.

Natashia: For me Nong, kay personally I like to study on my own, so I have like an
organized time table and schedule as to when I will like put bala kung ano nga stubjects i-
study ko and everything. So doing it in the comfort of my own home was quite helpful for me
as well, because that’s the kind of learning style that I have Nong.

Charlie: So you mentioned may ara ka organized time table, usually in average of a day how
many hours do you spend facilitating your Self-Directed Learning.
Natashia: Usually Nong ga sleep ko very late na gid, so kis-a even mga 8 hours a day guro
ko ga study or 6-8 hours a day, usually Nong, estimated na siya.

Charlie: Kagina no, you mentioned naman you were also skeptical with the transition bala
haw from the conventional nga face-to-face to the online set-up and with the Self-Directed
Learning, so with that mahambal mo man somehow nga you were ready or daw ka amo na for
the transition, and if ever ano man gid imo answer, how did you cope with the changes that
came with the transition?

Natashia: So at first Nong I was skeptical, because in the Philippines, daw indi gid siya amo
na ka gina practice bala ang learning in an online platform, but gina ready ko nalang akon
self, kay sang before first year Nong ga advance study nako in case bala haw for college, so I
was able to cope up naman with the transition, because at the same time before I was already
studying on my own, so I think that that study habit helped me to cope na bala Nong with the
new transition. And also, I prepared myself na nga knowing it will be a challenge gid, so amo
na nag find gid ko ways on how to practice my Self-Directed Learning, how am I going to
organize my schedule and balance my studies at the same time balance the time that I have for
myself and for my family Nong.

Charlie: Okay, sige thank you Nat, so far I think that’s for the first general question, if may
ara pa kamo guys other follow-up questions you can ask, anyone from the group? Okay sige
thank you Nat, so lets proceed with the second general question.

Interview Question #2

Mark: Okay, so for the second general questions, para sa imo, what are the strengths and
weaknesses of Self-Directed Learning in an online platform?

Natashia: I think of the strengths of Self-Directed Learning in an online platform, it would

have to be number 1, flexibility, since students are able to control when, how and where sila
maka study, like I said that I have my own schedule and I also make sure that I spend time
and also for my family?(na cut), so there is really that freedom nga gina tawag ta when we
can choose the time specifically for studying and for also attending to our other needs.
Another strength would have to be, it also foster self discipline and good time management
skills in students and help students improve in those aspects. And also, because we are in an
online platform, we have a lot of modalities that we can use especially resources, like
personally I have downloaded PDF books, like mga nursing books online and then we also
have YouTube videos provided by our Clinical Instructors to help us learn better. So because
of the wide variety that we can see online, it really helped us, nursing students also grow and
develop our skills and most especially knowledge. And as I’ve said flexibility siya, kay we
can set our own pace, since students are not only fast learner there are also slow learners, with
Self-Directed Learning we can choose our own pace as to how we will be able to study. And
also not only is the internet accessible to everyone, but also those who are not necessarily in
the city, which is also an advantage for those students nga lagyo sila and they’re not really in
Bacolod City.

As for the weaknesses naman, mainly in the technological aspect, because not everyone has
the capacity to buy especially insigida nga nag transition lang kita from face-to-face to online,
so some have financial problems of difficulties with this. And also when it comes to the
internet connection, it can be unstable at times which is not something that we can have
control of, especially if mag rain, if mag brownout, so it’s already out of our control and we
cannot stop if from happening, so it disturbs the Self-Directed Learning of the students. And
as I’ve said it is also difficult for dependent learners, since each has their own style in
learning. And also because online nga platform, it means more screen-time also, so it will
lead to poor posture and more headaches, especially if mag study may ara gid na siya
headache gid ya kay ara kita permi sa screen. And because we’re always on the screen, it can
also be a distraction, since social medias can be only a click away, so it can lead us to do
other things instead of learning. And as you said nga nursing students kita indi kita maka
perform nursing skills with the actual hands on guidance of our Clinical Instructors, which I
think is an important weakness when it comes to Self-Directed Learning for nursing students.

Mark: For follow-up questions, ano mga gapahapos sa imo mag Self-Directed Learning ka,
when it comes kung mag himo ka activities parihos sang online simulated activity?

Natashia: I think ang important gid da Nong is ang availability of technology, like if ara
laptop and if ara ang imo phone for example, it’s easier na now because we are in the modern
technology era gid. And when it comes to the activities naman, everything can be searchable
online as long as the sources are legit and they are not like bias bala Nong haw, so I think
that’s the number 1 gid nga naka help sa akon with the activities, because of the availability
of resources online and the accessibility as well.

Mark: Aside sa mga technology, may ara ka pa iban ng mga materials nga gina use para mag
Self-Directed Learning?

Natashia: May ara ko Nong, nag buy ko sa school sang aton mga books sa Maternal Child,
mga amo na and also nag buy man ko sang akon nga own Drug Handbook kay mas namian
ko nga may physical copy gid kag pati ang Nursing Diagnosis Handbook pagid Nong may ara
man ko.

Mark: Ga print sang mga powerpoints sang mga teachers?

Natashia: Sa akon Nong, kay right now, guba akon printer so wala nako ga print but before
sang first year ko ga print gid ko sang notes, subong ga use nalang ko Ipad para mag highlight
kay wala nako printer.

Mark: Anong gapabudlay simo mag Self-Directed Learning ka?

Natashia: Mag Self-Directed Learning, of course may ara gid na kis-a distractions, like I’ve
said mga social media isa gid na ka distraction, but aside from that when it comes to other
pagid nga responsibilities at home, kung gina sugo bala or may ara pagid times nga even
though I have my own conducive environment for learning, indi room ko sound proof so
mabatian ko gid ya tanan nga chikka da sa piyak balay, mabaitan ko gid na mga noises, so
amo na ang gina do ko nalang is listen to music nga para bala maka focus gid ko. Amo lang
gid na ang main distraction, is social media and also the background noises diri sa balay
Nong.

Mark: Okay thank you may mga follow up questions pa kamo Cha, okay so done na ko sa
akon, proceed lang ta sa next question, thank you.

Interview Question #3

Myca: Hi Nat so sa question number 3 ko how is your environment while using Self-Directed
Learning during this pandemic?

Natashia: So i-sugpon ko nalang sa first ko nga answer Nang nga, may ara ko own nga Self-
Directed Learning nga space here at home which is my own room, nga may ara gid ko desk
and I also have my books and other learning materials available on-hand and also may ara
naka set-up akon laptop and everything kay I like to be organize bala Nang haw kung mag
study ko, and because if may ara clutter or if messy ang room, indi ko ka tuon mayo, daw
may ga backlog nga responsibilities, so I really make sure that I have an organized space in
my room. And as I’ve said, the distractions mainly, since my room is not sound proof I can
still hear the noises outside. And also even though I have my own room, nga sometimes being
in this room lang bala during online classes the whole day or when I study, it can also be quite
suffocating nga daw ka close gid bala sang space haw, so I really make sure that during
breaks I like to go outside and take a breather man, because it helps me also cope with the
stress nga with all the assignment, all the dues and all the studies that I have to accomplish
within a day, I really make sure that I also take care of my mental health by going outside
man Nang kay, of course staying in an isolated room the whole day daw ka suffocating gid
siya.

Myca: Huo kay kinanglan mo man bi kis-a nag lingaw ingaw bala kung tam-an ka naman ka
tuon.
Natashia: Yes Nang, amo gid na Nang.

Myca: Te maka-bulig gid gali sa imo and SDL sa imo nga environment?

Natashia: Yes Nang.

Myca: So ang akon nga follow-up question, ano man ya ang mga epekto sang imo palibot
simo samtang ga self directed learning ka?

Natashia: The mean effect gid Nang since I like to study in a quite space, kung may ara
distractions indi nako dayon ka focus or concentrate, like mawad-an nako gana mag continue
study, so I really make it to a point nga everything bala is daw ka comfortable sang space,
daw ka ambient ang atmosphere para maka study gid ko mayo, so amo gid na siya ang mean
nga daw ka effect when it comes to my Self-Directed Learning.

Myca: Follow-up pa gid, how did you manage to overcome these sorts of challenges during
Self-Directed Learning?

Natashia: So what I do when I get distracted is first I take a break lang anay kay kung mag-
padayon ko I’ll just get frustrated with myself nga indi ko bala ka focus, so I’ll tell myself nga
indi ko na pag i-push anay if indi ko anay kaya mag-study, so I take a break. And then, if
there are background noises man gid I listen to music which helps me study, ang mga music
lang na nga daw wala bala lyrics or daw ka beats lang, nga daw piano nga style or daw violin
style, kay if may ara words kis-a, kung mag-study ko bi gina lawag ko gid siya, like indi ko
kasaho nga gina basa lang, so indi ko kasaho man nga may lyrics bala ang song haw kay daw
kakaconfuse nako sa words, so that’s how I cope up Nang with the background noises kung
mag-study ko.

Myca: Ang last ko nga follow-up simo gali Nat, do you still have time for your recreational
activity despite the circumstances you encountered in SDL?

Natashia: Ga find gid ko ya time nga during breaks I can also enjoy myself, ga spend ko time
with my family by watching movies or kis-a with myself man, ga watch ko k-drama or ga
listen to my favorite nga bands. Tapos I also go out during the weekends with my friends kis-
a if they’re not busy and I make to a point nga indi lang ko bala sigi tuon, nga gina push ko na
gid akon self to my limit, I also make sure to take care man Nang of the other aspects of my
life.

Myca: Sige thank you Nat sa question number 3.

Interview Question #4

Marlie: May other kamo questions mga classmates? Okay let’s go sa question number 4,
what are the tools/gadgets you use when you conduct or do self-directed learning during this
pandemic?

Natashia: The main tools that I use is my laptop gid, especially when making assignment,
documents, mga notes ko nga gina organize and also to use NeoLms is mainly in my laptop
because I find it more convenient for me. And then for studying naman, since I mentioned
nga guba na amon printer, I haven’t printed notes, so I opted for an Ipad nalang kay it’s much
easier to transport the PDF files from my laptop to my Ipad para maka highlight ko, kay when
I study, indi man ko kasaho nga wala highlight to remember the important points, so those are
the 2 main tools/gadgets that I use, aside from the learning materials nga books that I
mentioned earlier.

Marlie: Follow-up lang, how do these gadgets help you in doing self directed learning?

Natashia: I think Nang because of the digital era that we are in right now, it’s much more
easier for us to navigate through our gadgets especially online and these tools really helped
me a lot, kay especially now nga online lang gid nga, wala face-to-face nga interaction, it’s
important nga these technology have paved the way man for my learning. So amo na siya
Nang nga ang accessibility and availability of resources gid ang naka-bulig sa akon sa akon
Self-Directed Learning. I think without these resource, it would be difficult for me to padayon
learning sang mga subjects naton sa nursing.

Marlie: So do you think nga daw may ara, probably mga disadvantages of not having these
gadgets or disadvantage of having it like distractions?

Natashia: I think kay tungod one click away lang gid ang social media and YouTube, mga
Instagram, Facebook, it’s a distraction and disadvantage for us na bala haw, especially
sometimes when there are classes, we can’t help but look at our phone to check online kay
kis-a may boring nga lectures or something, so it’s also a disadvantage. And another
disadvantage is if wala ni nga resources daw ma budlayan gid ang students nga maka-learn
kay tungod online gid ya subong, and we can’t really get gid bala resources from school nga
base lang gid sa books, kay teachers also get their own resources online, so it’s really
important that you have maskin na phone lang or any gadget to help you with your Self-
Directed Learning.

Marlie: That’s all for question number 4.

Charlie: Sige may follow-up question ko kay Nat, you’ve mentioned kagina nga there are the
different disadvantages of not having these tools/gadgets, may ara ka Nat mga stories or
experiences that you have heard from your classmates or from friends about their struggles
man, because they lack the accessibility to these gadgets or these tools, do you know
someone? And have you heard there stories maybe you can share some.

Natashia: So sa classmates ko Nong may ara ko isa ka classmate nga I think wala siya bala
laptop, so ang gina do niya is I think gina use ya lang iya phone para mag save sang amon
mga powerpoints that we get from our Clinical Instructors, so gina sulat ya lang gid bala
Nong tanan and of course ang slides pila pana kabilog, 100 plus, so nag ask siya sakon help
bala if pwede ko siya ma sendan notes, kay ako may ara gid ko organized notes per subject,
and of course knowing nga daw na budayan siya, I shared my notes man bala and my
reviewers sa ila kay gusto ko man mabuligan sila when it comes to Self-Directed Learning, so
I think amo gid to sha ang daw nag tatak sa akon, nga disadvantage gali if wala ka bala
laptop, kay mabudlayan ka gid ya sa mga PDFs nga gina send sang mga teachers, and of
course note-taking takes a lot of time gid ya, especially if hand written pa gid na, so it also
decreases the time that you have to study bala for a specific test or do other assignments, so I
think it’s important nga for us also, those who have these gadgets to also help those who do
not have, kay of course everyone is struggling man, amo gid to siya ang story nga na
remember ko, nga ay amo ni gali ang disadvantage man for my other classmates, so I try my
best man Nong to help them, in a way man.

Charlie: Sige Nat, follow-up question again, did you notice man nga ang ini bala nga
situation may ara effect sa ila nga academic performance at some point or didto sa specific
person nga gina refer mo? Or na apektohan bala ang iya academic performance or results sa
tasks, quizzes or etc.

Natashia: Oo Nong may effect gid na siya, kay tungod wala sila sang own nila bala nga
laptop mabudlayan sila when it comes to passing their assignments or taking notes of the ones
nga gina send sang CI, kay considering nga it takes time to write their notes by hand, wala na
sila bala time to study well, and kis-a ga pulaw na na sila Nong nga pila lang ka hours tulog
nila, so if ang sleep affected of course ang ila academic performance affected man na siya.
And also even though gina give ko man sila notes, in a way I think it also helped them with
their quizzes kay gin study nila akon nga notes, so I think problem gid if wala ka gadget, but
in a way also there are also people nga who would help these students man who do not the
financial capacity bala Nong haw, so amo na siya Nong buliganay lang gid ya during this
pandemic when it comes to Self-Directed Learning.

Charlie: Yes tama, thank you Nat, that’s all for the follow-up question sa aton 4 th general
question. Let’s proceed to the last, I think this is the last na
Interview Question #5:

Charlie: Let’s proceed to the last, I think this is the last na, what is/are the difficult part(s) of
self-directed learning during this Covid-19 Pandemic?

Natashia: Ang sa difficult part gid number 1, as a nursing student is that we are not able to
use our skills to the max gid, and though the materials for lecture like our notes, PDF files,
they’re provided already sa NeoLms and we can study them, we are not that expose to the
actual hospital work like for example for duty, kay sang first sem namon may ara kami
Community Health Nursing and we were excited man tani to go bala sa mga communities and
be more expose but then online lang siya, so gina tagaan lang kami sang clinical scenario bala
haw, and then kami na bahala mag imagine sang amon patient, and sometimes the CIs would
also ask us to hypothetically add bala mga information. So it was quite hard man for us to
visualize what it would be like to have that kind of patient and all, so I think that was a really
difficult part for my group sa amon duty, kay gina imagine lang namon ang patient, so gina
think man namon nga what if in the future, we already have actual patient, what would we
do? Or how would we perform the interventions bala haw, so amo na isa gid ka difficult part
when it comes to online learning sa COVID-19 nga pandemic. And then also another is the
lack of resources at home for Graded Return Demonstration, and kami lang ga mato mato
make mga dummies or we also ask our parents kis-a or our siblings to be our patients for our
Graded Return Demonstrations, so sometimes it’s hard for those nga they don’t have anyone
at home at the moment bala haw to help them with their Graded Return Demonstration and of
course the resources and we were excited actually to use or utilize the facilities that we have
at VSAC but then amo na nag online, so we have to find ways and be resourceful nalang as
nursing students man. And another is, it can also be stressful, as I’ve said there are many
distractions at home man, though I try my best to balance my duties both in school and at
home, it might be difficult for others to do the same, because again we’re all different when it
comes to learning style and ability to cope, so I think that’s another difficulty when it comes
to Self-Directed Learning. And in general, amo to ang distractions at home, not having a
stable internet connection, mostly for my classmates, as I’ve observed kung mag class kami
kis-a dyutay lang ang gasulod kay ang iban nabrownoutan or ang iban na kulangan data, so
amo gid na ang difficulty sang iban nga students.

Charlie: Sige thank you Nat, follow-up question, what are the contributions of Self-Directed
Learning sa imo nga personal nga mga skills or attributes or characteristics, how did it help
you hone these skills or attributes?

Natashia: Definitely it helped me when it comes to my time management skills, because I’m
in control of when I’m going to study, where am I going to study and organize my schedule,
kay considering of course our lives are not only revolving around school but we also have
other aspects of our life man nga we have to focus on, so I think Self-Directed Learning has
helped me to become more discipline with myself and when it comes to my time management
skills and mas na-improve ko ang pagka-responsible ko and pagka-organize ko in my studies,
so in a way, as I’ve said when we visualize our patients, it’s quite challenging for us, but it
also helped us to critically think bala how nga these are the possible signs and symptoms,
these are the possible diagnosis that we can think of, so it did not only helped me for my good
time management skills but it also helped me to critically think bala Nong how and to use also
my hands on skills in a way by being more resourceful man Nong and flexible.

Charlie: Sige thank you Nat, I think that’s all sa ako nga end, and how about others may ara
kano follow-up questions? Okay goods na sila. Sige I think we’re all good na Nat, thank you
so much gid sa imo nga time and patience and also sa imo man presence this morning. Rest
assured gid nga whatever answer or whatever you share in this interview will be kept
confidential, private and if ever i-publish ni siya namon, we will also ask your consent man,
also when we’re done na with the thesis, we can also share this with you so that you can also
know what information we draw from your sharing and your experiences as a group. Thank
you so much Nat, kung kamo naman mag-thesis, you can also ask help from us na for
interviews if you need participants, kay mabulig gid kami sinyo. Thank you so much I think
that’s all for this morning.