English Curriculum Page houses curated LRs for distance ed

In keeping with the policy direction to support the teachers and learners in their transition to distance education, English Supervisor Marnelli B. Tolentino developed the English Curriculum Page as a repository of learning resources in English. It was a result of the seminar-workshop she attended that was managed by the Information and Communications Technology Unit (ICTS) at the Central Office. The curriculum page was envisioned to serve as a dedicated portal for all English learning resources that would be locally developed subject to the usual quality assurance being implemented by the Division. This would also house other learning resources available in the internet that would be curated according to the most essential learning competencies (MELCs) as released by the Central Office.

This project was also a subject of a research work by the same developer as she presented its framework, the walkthrough, the coverage of its reach, and how it could impact the teachers and learners in their journey of home-based instruction. The findings were submitted in the Office and consequently, were presented in an international research forum organized by International Alliance of English Language Teachers on March 12-14, 2021 via Zoom platform. The said innovation project was aligned with the theme, “Bridging the Pandemic Gap: Utilizing English for Professional Purposes” during the International Educators’ Congress on English in the Workplace sponsored by Ebenezer Christian Academy, Inc., Liceo Di San Lorenzo, and in coordination with the Policy, Planning and Research Division of the Department of Education, National Capital Region.

The English Curriculum Page served as a support mechanism in terms of curriculum implementation, the provision of technical assistance, and the conduct of quality assurance on the English learning resources. It aimed to help the teachers navigate the complexities of the emerging pedagogy and build on their competence using available technologies to help increase efficiency and engagements of teachers who may still be grappling with distance education. It is powered by the wix website which is free and has functions that enable the supervisor to facilitate the school readiness of English teachers.

In the homepage, one can see easily see the contents which are divided into four categories, namely: Lessons which contains video lessons, slide decks, outputs or products of teachers from related webinars; then under the Skills development tab are the worksheets and modules designed to have more activities and exercises; another category is the assessment where it can be interactive like outputs in quizziz, padlet activities, or puzzles as developed by English teachers; and the last is the connection page where there is a dedicated space for feedback, consultation, or any form of technical assistance via submission of forms. There is also a tab indicating the names of the English teachers who helped develop the learning resources by grade level as a response to the regional challenge of putting up localized modules and worksheets.

One of the smart features of the wix website is the generation of data-drive reports that could be used to inform instruction supervision. It could yield data analytics measuring engagement of users over time, like the location of users, frequency of site sessions, number of unique visitors, to name a few. This results in greater opportunities to expand its reach and provide curriculum inputs to users who are even outside San Juan City or the Philippines itself as it operates on a global landscape. This creates greater space for collaboration and diversity for users who may want to compare or supplement their learning experiences in as far as English Language Arts is concerned.

Findings of the innovation project revealed the following:

The English curriculum page supports the eventual migration of DepEd San Juan to digital education. It provides access to curriculum support aligned with the MELCs.
It allows for publication of locally developed learning resources that are MELCs-based. It serves as the repository of the outputs created in division-led webinars like video production and development of assessment tools, to foster contextualization and learning resource management aimed for wider reach.
It provides supplementary learning resources that are curated according to the existing curriculum following protocols on Quality Assurance.
It creates spaces for feedback and evaluation from users to facilitate the cycle of continuous improvement.
It yields various reports necessary for data-driven decisions and technical assistance relevant in distance education. It captures trends and practices in the field that can help inform the technical assistance needed by English teachers. It can illustrate the behaviors of English Language Arts users and the gaps that can be addressed in the pandemic era.

Part of the recommendation include a qualitative study on its effectiveness or the impact it had to teachers or learners, to populate it even more with the ongoing development of learning resources following stringent quality assurance activities, endorsement or advocacy campaigns of key officials and school leaders to use the portal, and last is to replicate it with other learning areas for a more responsive learning resource management per learning area.

In closing, the project served as a conduit in ensuring an enabling and supportive environment especially in the transition to distance education at the height of the global health emergency crisis brought about by the COVID-19 virus.

Snapshots of the research presentation featuring the English Curriculum Page during a virtual congress on March 12-14, 2021.