𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐒, 𝐔𝐍𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐒

𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐒, 𝐔𝐍𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐒

𝘉𝘺 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘋. 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘢 𝘋𝘶𝘨𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘚𝘶𝘳 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯

𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝗽𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗵𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀, 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿-𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀, 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺. 𝗔𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝘄𝗼-𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗻.

This collegial meeting is commonplace in all schools as teachers need to keep pace with the many challenges in the blended learning setup. As the limited in-person classes commenced in many schools recently, the challenging factors demanded new solutions that unraveled points for improvement. Thus, the school-based learning action cell (LAC) sessions and focused group discussions (FGD) played a vital role in sustaining a positive climate in the school.

One of these factors is the limited time for instruction. In an interview, Ms. Ria L. Petilo, a Junior High School teacher at Maglambing Integrated School, explained that a half-day class was not enough for an in-depth discussion of the lessons. Nonetheless, managing the time wisely and carefully planning the activities helped her prioritize the most difficult topics for elaboration. Mr. Clint R. Mahinay, an Elementary School teacher at Falcon Memorial Elementary School, added that a direct approach to teaching by focusing on the most important competencies [MELCs] allowed him to deal with the shortened time for actual teaching.

Furthermore, Mrs. Amorel P. Arreza, an Elementary School teacher at Carrascal Central Elementary School, confessed that she had to review the previous topics, especially for her pupils in the lower section. In Mathematics, she discussed the gist of the lessons as she used a lot of examples and illustrations to ensure that the pupils would master the basic mathematical skills necessary for the third quarter lessons.

In terms of motivating the students, the Senior High School teachers of Quezon Integrated School and Maglambing Integrated School, respectively, have also shared their experiences on how they managed to sustain the learners’ interest. Mrs. Gracely Flor A. Dalagan claimed that most of her students were silent in her class in the first week. But after telling them some good jokes and engaging them in creative activities, she was able to catch their attention to be responsive in the class. Mr. Crisler R. Atibula, on the other hand, used educational videos to discuss the lessons thoroughly while considering the time limit per learning area.

Another factor that needs immediate attention is the learners’ actual performance. In the modular classes done at home, the teachers might have some plausible reasons to doubt the authenticity of learners’ responses. But during in-person classes, though limited, for now, teachers have a greater assurance of getting the learners’ actual performance. Given this situation, Mrs. Fivie S. Galdiano, an Elementary School teacher at Sto. Niño Elementary School explained that she maximized her time for face-to-face interaction with her learners to identify and satisfy their educational needs. Then, she employed the “throwback” approach to help pupils improve on their unmastered competencies.

Of the strategies and adjustments made by teachers, the collegial meetings such as LAC and FGD have provided an avenue for sharing their best practices with their colleagues. If pen and notebooks could facilitate the writing of great ideas, then collegial discussions could generate practical and effective solutions to the emerging teaching-learning problems. By learning from one another and fostering harmonious collaboration, the school head and the teachers can truly make a difference in the lives of the learners, even in the limited in-person classes with seemingly unlimited challenges.

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