by Neal Alfie Y. Lasta
MSU-IIT”s College of Education (CED), in cooperation with the Department of Education (DepEd), Iligan City Division, has concluded a seminar workshop last April 22-24, 2019 at the MSU-IIT CED Amphitheater.
The event, entitled “Improving Science and Math teaching Practices through Community of Learning Seminar Workshop,” was attended by select elementary and secondary teachers from various public schools in Iligan City, including Ubaldo D. Laya Memorial Central School, Luinab Elementary School, Iligan City East National High School, and Hinaplanon National High School.
The seminar-workshop was headed by Dr. Amelia T. Buan, current chairperson of CED’s Department of Mathematics and Science Education (DSME), and was facilitated by the CED Science and Math Extension group, composed of teachers from CED and the Integrated Developmental School (IDS).
Community of Learning
The seminar-workshop began with an emphasis on establishing a Community of Learning among teachers from MSU-IIT and the selected participants from the above-mentioned DepEd schools. The workshop rationale was introduced by Prof. Evedanie Beldad of IDS, while the first plenary speaker, Dr. Buan, stressed the value of collaboration to improve teaching practices. A commitment to produce education research was also highlighted as the participants vowed to re-integrate and implement their outputs for DepEd’s incoming school year.
7E Model and Problem-Based Learning
The participants were grouped according to the subjects they primarily handle. During the break-out sessions, the Math group focused on Teaching Mathematics through Problem Solving, introduced by Mr. Joneil B. Medina of CED DSME. The Science group, on the other hand, concentrated on 7E Model: Framework for Inquiry-Based Learning, introduced by Prof. Everlita E. Canalita, chairperson of the Science and Research Department (SRD) of IDS.
During the workshop proper, The Math and Science groups were further divided into sub-groups of five members each. The Math teachers crafted open-ended problems for their chosen topics, while the Science teachers developed inquiry-based lessons that follow the 7E Model approach. The participants were then asked to present their lessons to their respective groups for final polishing.
Lesson Implementation
The second and third days of the seminar-workshop featured the first and second implementations of the lessons developed by the participating groups. Prior to the implementations, Dr. Buan shared another plenary talk on Scaffolding Critical Thinking, which centered on the need for teachers to demonstrate problem solving, step back, and let students solve problems on their own, extending help when needed, allowing students to become better at independent critical thinking.
Some of the participants implemented their lessons in their respective DepEd schools, while majority of the groups implemented their lessons at IDS. The first implementation was immediately followed by a Post Lesson Discussion within the group, a key feature in conducting a research lesson emphasized in this seminar-workshop. The aim was to build on improvements and suggestions for a better second implementation.
Reflection and Evaluation
A planning session for the implementation of the lesson plans to the participants’ respective schools was then held. One significant aspect of this seminar-workshop was that it was a joint effort between DepEd and MSU-IIT CED, and that the participants will try out what they learned in their respective classes.
The closing program, including testimonies, acknowledgements and giving of certificates, was sponsored by the participants from Ubaldo D. Laya Elementary School.