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Learning Episode 3:
Field Focus on Gender, Needs, Strengths, Interests,
Study Experiences Language, Race, Culture, Religion, Socio-
economic Status, Difficult Circumstances, and Indigenous
People

At the end of this Episode, I must be able to describe the characteristics, needs and
interests of learners from different developmental levels. (3.1.1).
 describe the characteristics and needs of learners from diverse backgrounds;
 identify the needs of students with different levels of abilities in the
classroom;
 identify best practices in differentiated teaching to suit the varying learner
needs in a diverse class (PPST 3.1.1); and
 demonstrate openness, understanding, and acceptance of the learners’
diverse needs and backgrounds.

Activity 3.1: Observing differences among learners’ gender, needs, strengths, interests,
and experiences; and differences among learners’ linguistic, cultural, socio-economic,
religious backgrounds, and difficult circumstances.
Resource Teacher: Karren A. Lorenzo Grade/ Year Grade 7
Level:
Teacher’s Subject Area: Filipino
Signature:
School: LNHS Date:

The learners’ differences and the type of interaction they bring surely affect the quality of
teaching and learning. This activity is about observing and gathering data to find out how
student diversity affects learning.
To realize the Learning Outcome, work your way through these steps:
Step 1. Observe a class in different parts of a school day. (beginning of the day, class
time, recess, etc.)
Step 2. Describe the characteristics of the learners in terms of age, gender, and social
and cultural diversity.
Step 3. Describe the interaction that transpires inside and outside the classroom.
Step 4. Interview your Resource Teacher about the principles and practices that she uses
in dealing with diversity in the classroom.

Field Study 1: Observations of Teaching-Learning in Actual School Environment (M.D. Lucas, PhD, et.al)
 Step 5. Analyze the impact of individual differences on learners’ interactions.
The observation form is provided for me to document my observations.

Use the observation guide and matrixes provided for you to document your observations.

An Observation Guide for the Learners’ Characteristics

Read the following carefully before you begin to observe. Then write your observation report
on the space provided on the next page.
 Find out the number of students. Gather data as to their ages, gender, racial groups,
religious, and ethnic backgrounds.
During class:
1. How much interaction is there in the classroom? Describe how the students interact with
one another and with the teacher. Are there groups that interact more with the teacher
than others?
Well, based on one of the sections I observed, the student is very active, to the point
that even during the discussion, the teacher needs to call them in order for them to
behave well and focus on the lesson. Although some students did not behave well, they
could still answer the question that the teacher gave them, and even if the students did
something during the discussion like playing and drawing, they could still cope with the
lesson. The other section I observe is that the students are well behaved and will not
take unnecessary action; their full attention is on the teacher's discussion; and they are
very enthusiastic when it comes to doing some activity. They focus more on the lesson
than communicating with their peers during the discussion.

2. Observe the learners seated at the back and the front part of the room. Do they behave and
interact differently?
Yes, the student at the back intended to take unnecessary action because there is a
slim chance that the teacher would notice them, while the student at the front is more
behaved, and you will see that their full attention is on their teacher, although there are
some students who are spacing out even if they are in front.

3. Describe the relationship among the learners. Do the learners cooperate with or compete
against each other?
They are more cooperative with each other, especially during group activities. They
will help each of their members understand what needs to be done. When it comes to
competition, they will actively raise their hands to be noticed by the teacher who is
asking a question, and they even voice out “ma’am ako naman” or “ma’am di pa ako
nakakasagot” just for them to share their answer.

Field Study 1: Observations of Teaching-Learning in Actual School Environment (M.D. Lucas, PhD, et.al)
4. Who among the students participate actively? Who among them ask for most help?
All of them are participating actively during class discussions, but sometimes some
of them are easily distracted by some unnecessary movement outside that leads them to
not pay their full attention to the class discussion. The majority of students who ask for
the most help are boys; they ask their classmates what they need to do or ask their
teacher if what they do is right, but sometimes there are girls who ask a lot of questions
to clarify something regarding their activity.
5. When a student is called and cannot answer the teacher’s question, do the classmates try
to help him? Or do they raise their hands, so that the teacher will call them instead?
When the student can’t answer a question, the teacher will encourage her/him to
think deeply to identify the answer, or the teacher will reconstruct the question for the
student to understand more. If the student still can’t answer, some other student will
raise their hand to answer the given question, and the teacher will call that student, but
sometimes the teacher will call those who do not raise their hand, especially those who
do not pay attention.

Outside class:
1. How do the students group themselves outside class? Homogeneously, by age? by
gender? by racial or ethnic groups? by their interests? Or are the students in mixed social
groupings? If so, describe the groupings.
Some are based on their gender or age, and some are mixed social groupings with
different racial and ethnic groups. Just like the group of students I observe, their group
is Muslim, Catholic, and born again, but they can still interact well without
discriminating against one another and play just like a normal child would. Some are
based on interest, just like a group of boys who love to play e-games, and some are
mixed genders who love to play sports games like badminton, volleyball, and
basketball.
2. Notice students who are alone and those who are not interacting. Describe their behavior.
The students I observe who are alone or not interacting with others are reading
some books in the corner or playing with their phones; some are spacing out, and some
are watching other students who are playing outside.

Interview the teachers and ask about their experience about learners in difficult
circumstances. Request them to describe these circumstances and how it has affected the
learners. Ak about the strategies they use to help these learners cope.
Ask the teachers about strategies they apply to address the needs of diverse students due
to the listed factors below. Write your dialogue on the space provided.

● Gender, including LGBT

Field Study 1: Observations of Teaching-Learning in Actual School Environment (M.D. Lucas, PhD, et.al)
 ● Language and cultural differences

● Differences in religion

● Socio-economic status

---------------------Dialogue Transcription---------------------

Interviewer: Flores, Mary Joy M.

Interviewee: Ma’am Cora Tolentino

Interviewer: Ma’am, may mga pagkakataon po bang nagkakaroon ng conflict o

diskriminasyon sa mag-aaral n’yo dahil sa kanilang gender or dahil sa kabilang sila sa
LGBTQ?
Interviewee: Wala naman, pero paminsan ay nagkakaroon ng biruan lalo na sa mga kabilang
ng LGBTQ at di naman maiiwasan iyon at nakikipagsabayan din naman sila sa biruan at saka
nasisiguro ko namang hindi umaaabot na nakakasakit na ang mga biro nila.

Interviewer: Paano naman po sa kanilang pananamit? Nagkakaroon po ba ng conflict o

pagbabawal?
Interviewee: Wala naman, malaya sila sa kung ano ang nais nilang isuot at nirerespeto ko
iyon bilang guro nila, pero panipaalalahan ko naman sila kapag oras talaga na magsuot ng
uniform na ayon sa kanilang sex identity ay dapat sumunod dahil iyon ang patakaran ng
school, at kapag oras naman ng kanilang civilian ay maaari silang magsuot ng kanilang gusto
ngunit hangga’t maaari ay disente at di masyadong revealing.

Interviewer: Halimbawa naman po sa problema sa katayuan sa buhay , paano n’yo po ito

napanghahawakan?
Interviewee: Kapag kinapos halimbawa ang isang estudyante ko ay nakikita ko namang
nagkukusa ang iba ko pang estudyante para matulungan ang kanilang kamag-aral , lagi ko rin
namang pinapaalala na ang pagbibigayan ay di masama lalo na kung may natutulungan ka.
Nagkakaroon din minsan ng masinsinang pag-uusap at pinapaalalahanan na kapag may
problema ay huwag mahihiyang lumapit at humingi ng tulong sakin o sa kanyang kamag-
aral.

Interviewer: Sa pagkakaiba naman po nila ng paniniwala o relehiyon? Ano po ang nagiging

istratehiya po n’yo kapag may usapin patungkol ditto?

Field Study 1: Observations of Teaching-Learning in Actual School Environment (M.D. Lucas, PhD, et.al)
Interviewee:
Sa pagkakaiba naman ng relihiyon ay nagiging bukas naman sila sa paniniwala ng iba at di
naman nagkakaroon ng problema, kapag naman nagkaroon ng talakayan na may kinalaman
sa relihiyon ay nagpapasintabi naman ako para hindi magkaroon ng misinterpretation ang
estudyante ko at so far ay wala namang nagiging problema doon.

Interviewer: Salamat po Ma’am

Weekly Reflection

Students have different personalities and cultures that they belong to, and there are
some who are very hard to handle and some who are too wise to handle, but as a
teacher, you need to teach them without discriminating against one another just
because they are troublemakers or you can’t handle them or thinking that they already
know how to do something just because they excel compared to their peers. You need
a lot of patience to handle them fairly and give your attention to every one of them to
understand their behavior or to grasp the reason behind their every action, so you can
think of a way to manage them without hurting the student's feelings or being biased
by the decision you will make.

Being a teacher is really not easy, but it is noble enough to understand and help your
students heal from pain by giving them advice and encouraging them to pursue their
learning, which will help them someday. So being a teacher requires a lot of strength
and courage to lead your students to the right path and guide them to be better
individuals with the passion of not giving up on what they already started.

Field Study 1: Observations of Teaching-Learning in Actual School Environment (M.D. Lucas, PhD, et.al)
 Capture

Field Study 1: Observations of Teaching-Learning in Actual School Environment (M.D. Lucas, PhD, et.al)