At the beginning of this term, I was able to accomplish everything according to schedule. However, after the reading break, I found myself overwhelmed with work and school requirements. I started to feel that I wouldn’t be able to finish everything within the given academic timeframe.

I consider it a positive thing that our facilitator didn’t give us any extension in the submission of activities. It obliged me to work on my deficiencies ASAP! I have already asked my boss for a WFH set up within the week and be on leave for two days to prepare for the final exam scheduled for the coming weekend. And I am grateful that he permitted me.

It was challenging to work on numerous assignments within a limited time. However, it also pushed my reading, thinking, and writing skills to the optimum. I never knew that I would be able to accomplish ten written activities within two days.

Aside from this, I enjoyed the learnings I acquired in this course for this term. Although I had a general idea about these things, the reading modules and discussions allowed me to delve into these concepts deeper and more meaningful.

Assessments

Assessment has been a familiar term for me and everyone. But now, I realized that doing an assessment is more than just making questionnaires. It is a plan that requires a deeper understanding of what you want to achieve at the end of the course without neglecting the needs of the students.

Additionally, using the right assessment tool or tools also involves careful selection. You cannot simply choose to use traditional, objective-type tests because it is quick to prepare. Likewise, using formative assessment tools when you need a district-wide or nationwide proficiency measure where standardized and aptitude tests may be more appropriate.

It also was an AHA moment for me when the Table of Specifications was presented. I enjoyed doing one as part of an exercise since I am a big fan of matrixes. Additionally, the rubrics given at the beginning of the course for all activities made things less complicated, knowing what is expected from every output.

Never-Ending Process

I have mentioned this repeatedly; learning does not stop when you get your diploma or when you start working. During an assessment, we think that the process ends when a grade is given. We tend to forget the fundamental goal of evaluation is to measure the students’ learning progress. Hence, assessment results are meant to guide both students and teachers on what they need to adjust to achieve the level of learning we want our students to meet. Moreover, educators can also use these results as a benchmark in preparing their teaching modules and strategies for the next semester. This process goes on, knowing that students will have different needs from the previous ones in the succeeding years.

There are other important lessons I have learned in the past three months. And maybe, I’d be able to discuss them in my future things blogs. But for now, after finishing all necessary discussions, assignments, and activities, I need to prepare for the exams on May 15 duly. So, see you all at the FINALS!

12th and LAST post for EDS 113, May 13, 2021

Believe it or not, I first experienced peer assessment when I was already working, and I was the one who even created the assessment form for myself. I was a chief of a division at that time and what we had was only an assessment for staff, but there was no way that team members could give feedback to their superiors.

It was not a very good first peer-assessment experience for me since I got some not-so-good comments. Since the staff accomplished the forms anonymously, there was no way for me to ask why he or she said what was written on paper. Instead of sulking on these results, I tried to evaluate and analyze the given feedback to answer why they said what they said. I worked hard to improve on these “flaws” and kept on doing my work the best way possible.

You might think that I never again allowed my staff to assess me as their division chief since it was not actually required in the office. But I did in the succeeding semester. The good news is that I got better feedback, and my team rated me much higher than they did the first time. I know that this is not an assessment made in an academic institution. However, I was able to learn a pretty huge lesson from this experience. As we all want to achieve at the end of each course, I was able to use the evaluation results to improve myself.

Maybe that is how we should all perceive tests and exams – that they point out our strengths and weaknesses so that we can keep working to have a better version of ourselves.

11th post for EDS 113, May 12, 2021

I have already mentioned in one of the previous blogs that I am somewhat – yes – GRADE-CONSCIOUS! For me, you can never lie when it comes to numbers and figures. I would always be mindful of my grades and our daughters’ school grades, constantly checking their google class what grades they got in their quizzes and summative tests. However, after reading the materials for this module and the discussions in our class portal, I realized that I shouldn’t be that way to my kids since grades are not the end of it all.

This month and the next is when parents are looking for the “best” high school for their kids. We have already submitted a few applications to various schools for our youngest daughter. Now that a couple of schools positively responded, I am now inclined to look more closely to one of the schools that implements a non-graded education system. Today, as I was completing one of the TIDs in this module, was the first time I checked all the pages of this school’s website and carefully read their performance-based method of teaching and learning.

As always, everything I encounter and do will remind me of our kids, what works best and how to make things better for them. I know that there is no perfect school, but at least now we have an option to let her experience a different kind of learning where she might be able to achieve her full potential at her own pace, without the pressure from other people and students. Well, we still have a couple of months to finalize our school choice. We are still waiting for the results from other institutions. It is just so reassuring to know that our daughter will have a choice when it comes to what high school she thinks would answer her needs best.

10th post for EDS 113, May 11, 2021

I remember the arguments that came up last year when the pandemic hit the world. Some people recommended for academic freeze for the benefit of the children and teachers. Honestly, I disagreed with that recommendation. I have always believed that continuous learning is necessary, especially for children whose cognitive skills are yet to develop.

Good thing the Department of Education didn’t yield and pursued the opening of classes, though already in the last quarter of the year. I was so impressed with how the school administrations and teachers stepped up and sought skills development to ensure that they could be technologically capable when they faced their students virtually.

My sister is an educator, and I have many friends who are also in the academe. They would share their challenges during the transition from face-to-face to online classes. However, since technology is not available to everyone, they still have to go on with the printed modules. So, it means that they have to cope with the demands of the multiple modes of learning. Not only do they need to adjust to the new methods, but they are also expected to understand their students individually who are not personally in front of them.

To those who say that teaching nowadays is a lot easier than in the pre-pandemic environment, think again. I can attest how my high school daughter’s teacher would regularly remind students to submit their modules, even if they are late, and tell them what still needs to be done. Her classmates will chat endlessly until midnight, and their adviser will say to them that it’s already time to sleep since there’s an early class the next day. These things used to be only the parents’ jobs. But now, teachers also truly become their second parents! They have now become directly responsible for the children’s academic achievements and their health and well-being. I can say that we need the teachers, more than ever. I cannot imagine teaching my kids all academic lessons all by myself every day. So, kudos to all moms who homeschool their kids and all teachers who do their best to give Filipino students quality education.

9th post for EDS 113, April 16, 2021

I have always been the person who takes down notes, writes reminders, and sticks them on the wall, my computer screen, or bulletin board. Rarely do I use my cellphone or tablet for reminders, other than the usual alarm clock. I also use tables and matrixes to remind my kids what they should do daily. In fact, I regularly prepare a table of day-to-day schedules for the whole school year. It includes the time, what to do, and the responsible person.

Although we do not strictly follow everything in the schedule, we have a guide on what we are expected to do every day. It also gives me the approximate time to wake people up, cook, and do other chores. This schedule also provides all family members the information on what they are expected to accomplish, at home, at school, or at work regularly.

When our EDS 113 Module 6 tackled assessment design and talked about the Table of Specifications, I could relate easily to the items included in the TOS. It is just like doing my schedule matrix, but this time the goal is focused on the lesson at hand and the students’ learning growth.

It was the first time I encountered such an assessment tool design. I have always known the syllabus, course guide, and rubrics, but I haven’t seen a TOS before. It made me excited to know that teachers can use an assessment guide to ensure that the content of quizzes, tests, and examinations is aligned with what the students learn in class. This method avoids disappointment among students when they feel that what they have studied in preparing for the exam doesn’t come out as part of the questions. Additionally, it prevents teachers’ frustration when students’ test performance does not show their expected output.

I definitely can use the TOS when the time comes when I need to prepare tests and exams for schoolchildren. Moreover, I can also now prepare a simple TOS every time I make reviewers for my kids’ quarterly examinations.

8th post for EDS 113, April 10, 2021

I would say that I have always been a good student. I prepare and study for exams and make sure that I submit projects and school works on time. I have always enjoyed answering essay exams, maybe because I simply like to write.

During my high school and college years, I would studiously read books and other materials in preparation for exams. I always kept in mind that teachers would give us an enumeration with definition and explanation type of tests. I prefer this type since I tend to guess the answers when it is multiple choice. I am not good at memorization. So the enumeration with definition-explanation variety helps me both in memorizing items and understanding their concepts as well.

Generally, students are terrified with tests, even short quizzes. Maybe because they know that the tests’ results significantly affect their quarterly or final grades, whether it is an objective or non-traditional type of assessment, students look at them as something to be wary about.

As a student and hopefully a future educator, I would say that a combination of objective and other types of questions is ideal for any student. It gives equal opportunities for students who may be good at answering multiple-choice but not essay ones, and vice versa. Adding non-traditional assessments like projects and assignment portfolios is also an excellent way to evaluate students’ learning who may not be performing well using the traditional ones.

7th post for EDS 113, April 7, 2021

In this troubled time when your health is wealth, one of the cheapest ways to stay healthy is exercising. You can do simple push-ups, sit-ups, stretching, or jumping jacks since it is safer to exercise inside the comfort of your home than outside running or biking nowadays.

However, another part of our body needs to get regular exercise – and that is our brain. If you are like me, who is in quarantine at home that your body longs to go out of the room but cannot, then you have to be creative enough to find productive things to do.

I have enrolled this term, which makes my sanity in order while I am “locked down” in my bedroom. I have tons of modules to read and assignments to accomplish that is keeping my mind busy. Maybe this is also why we were able to finish Exercise 1 much earlier than we expected. 

Our EDS 113 course is about Principles and Methods of Assessment. Our paper talked about English reading comprehension. So, I additionally learned the different activities we can use (not only as teachers but as parents as well) to guide our children in terms of reading and understanding stories.

However, the most important thing I realized while doing this exercise with my hardworking and dedicated groupmates (shoutout to Elle and Jordan) was that we need more than merely academic assessment. Of course, assessment results help us determine where our students and we are in terms of learning. But, doing the personal evaluation is also essential, and connecting these reflections with the lessons learned may benefit students and teachers more.

I remember my kids’ Bible class in grade school, where they do weekly reflections about themselves. They have the 6 Ps as follows:

• Points to Ponder
• Promises to Pocket
• Plans to Pursue

Since these Ps play a crucial role when understanding bible verses, I noticed that these Ps could also be used at the end of any lesson. Points to Ponder can include identifying salient ideas the children learned in a given task and telling why they think these are significant issues. Promises to Pocket are the moral of the story and how they can adopt these principles in their daily lives. Finally, the Plans to Pursue can be what both the students and teachers want to do after acquiring new learnings. These new learnings can serve as inspirations to pursue new projects and activities for further self-development.

6th post for EDS 113, March 25, 2021

Many have been asking why I keep studying when I already spent almost 12 years in pre-school and primary education, four years in high school, four years in college, and more years for my graduate degree. They usually ask me if I ever get tired of studying.

The answer is a simple “NO.” Some might say that we can learn more from experience. True. But I still find enrolling in a formal course very appealing, though challenging.

Firstly, I find the Open University set up a perfect learning opportunity for me. It focuses on one’s self-learning, peer collaboration, and learning from others. It is very far away from the usual school setup I have gotten used to.

Secondly, after one trimester of difficulties and keeping-up with the modules, I have learned how to manage my time better and choose the proper reading and learning materials instead of going through all suggested references.

Lastly, the assessment tools and tests used are somewhat different. Though there may sometimes be objective types of examinations, most questions delve into what you have understood in the course and how you can apply them in your life and work. It also encourages you to think about the future and how to make it better than it is today.

If anyone again asks why I keep studying, the answer is too simple: I am still learning to learn.

5th post for EDS 113, March 13, 2021

Everybody needs something. You will never find a person who will say that they don’t need anything at all. Needs are the deficiencies or gaps between a person’s actual and desired states. Additionally, it is necessary to bridge these gaps to ensure a person’s stability, safety, and health.

I have listed five key places/factors where my needs as a person and a learner are identified and possibly met:

1. Home

The very first environment that has the primary responsibility of meeting my needs is our home. I remember that even before I officially went to school, my Mama used to teach me how to identify letters, images, colors, and count. My initial memory of counting money was when they would ask me to buy something from the nearest store. I also learned about fractions when we had to divide one big fish into six equal parts so that all of us would have a share of the food at the dinner table.

Similarly, I was able to identify colors when we had to wash clothes over the weekend, where we had to separate the white from de color. I learned what apples, oranges, bananas, eggplants, eggs, rice, bread, pork, and chicken looked like when we used to go to the wet market to do our weekly “pamamalengke.” And do you also remember the “Ang Abakada” booklet? My mom bought one for me to get familiarized with the alphabet.

2. School

The school is the formal institution where my learning needs were filled, though not all that I needed. The educational system ensured that I get the necessary skills and learnings that would allow me to interact with others and build up my confidence.

Image source: https://cegalerba.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Sablayan-HD/G0000IvCVMZs5kZU/I00001JawcWNx530

3. Work

Actual learning about the real professional world comes from our work experience. The companies or agencies we work for provide us with skills and proficiency beyond what schools offer. The people we work for and work with also give us the knowledge we cannot learn from books or training. Like in academic institutions, our working environment implements training needs analysis to ensure that our capabilities align with what the company requires.

4. Community

The needs of other people in our community teach us the importance of sharing and volunteerism. Although these people do not deliberately assess our learning needs, they still manage to teach us the concept of cooperation and social responsibility for a better and peaceful community.

5. Technology

The 21st century has opened windows of opportunities for learners to widen their knowledge without traveling to different places. We can build networks with various people in other countries, showing us different cultures and traditions. With just a click of a mouse button, we can quickly search for information that we need.

I ask myself now, am I ready to take my turn to educate children? When it is my turn to analyze others’ learning needs, and there is a need to decide what to prioritize, what will I choose between the learners, the institution, or colleagues? I don’t think that I need to choose one on top of the other. The needs of these three groups, though they may vary, are still dependent on one another. Focusing on one group alone cannot give us a holistic view of the learning gaps we need to fill in. Therefore, it is best to assess not only my needs but also your needs and that of others, as well.

4th post for EDS 113, March 8, 2021