EDS 113 has taught me to look at my assessments from a different perspective. I have definitely become more mindful of how I conduct assessments and of course, how I formulate them.

There is a lot of good changes and ideas that I have gathered from this class. I think I will be able to be more open-minded with how I construct my assessments. This is also an excellent course in preparation for adapting to our COVID19 reality.

Taking this course has taught me a lot about customizing and adapting to the needs of my students. I am more conscious now of their reactions and results especially since I was already teaching in a school when I started this course.

Thank you for making us better educators, Dr. Lou. 🙂

My students are afraid of getting low marks. They get frustrated. They cry. Sometimes, I don’t know what to say to help them or to comfort them. But then, at my age, failure seems like something from long ago. We become wiser as we grow older. We make reasonable choices and we don’t rush decision-making. We also don’t grow easily frustrated as we learned to choose our battles.

All I can do for my girls is to tell them that it’s okay. Failure is a part of life and if you do learn from it, you get less and less of them. I’m always keen on reminding them: The failure reflects your choices and not your totality as a person. You’re young. Learn from it. Use it to fuel your growth.

As we are models to these teenagers, let’s be kind. The world is already full of scary experiences, why not share a little more kindness to the world? Our students will remember us for these actions. Let’s leave a legacy of kindness. A legacy of using failure to empower and not oppress.

I’ve always loved laboratory activities ever since I was a student. I loved getting my hands dirty from just digging up to find the different types of sediments in soil. I loved having activities that involved fire. Anything just to get out of the classroom, really.

Now as a teacher, I find that this reflects my teaching style. Before taking the PTC course, I didn’t know what to call this strategy of my over-usage of laboratory activities. I now call it constructivism.

Now, laboratory activities aren’t just for STEM students. I love designing simple ones for my non-STEM kiddies. Even if its a simple dry lab activity, anything to just get them out of their seats and have them move around. Its like playing while learning. Doing these kinds of activities, and then having them sit down and relate it to concepts, it shows a unique glimmer of understanding in their eyes. I live for the joy of having my students who used to hate science, suddenly find comfort in what used to be a source of fear and anxiety.

Let’s not give up and take the easy road, fellow teachers. Let’s keep giving education a heart and let’s hopefully have enough spirit to keep making better experiences for our students!

I work in a school where collaboration is always welcome. There used to be a problem of having different groups in different subjects and thus, the cell group was formed.

The cell group is formed by the homeroom teachers and the guidance counselors. We utilize data from their personality tests, interests and the good, old, way of how we know them from inside the classroom.

This tends to minimize the number of groups that students have to work in. Despite the use of data, the grouping can still be a hit or miss. As the school year goes on, a lot of factors and experiences can change the kids’ personalities and this can affect how they cooperate with each other. Thus, this my change how well they work together.

Students personalities differ a lot but nonetheless, its important to teach them the importance of collaboration. We don’t get to choose who we work with in the real world but we can teach ourselves how to handle these kinds of people and how to work around them.

Let’s admit that we’re human and sometimes, being human gets tiring because of all the factors outside of work. We may be superheroes to the kids but deep inside, we know we are not. We’re not just teachers. We’re parents, we’re family members who have a lot more responsibilities weighing upon us as we leave the classroom and go home to our family lives. It doesn’t get easy especially when we still feel the problems of yesterday upon our shoulders the next morning.

Nonetheless, we remain professional. We remain steadfast in our vocation. We still try to take a good command of the classroom even if the students are too many and the facilities too underwhelming. And then a student breaks it to you: “Maám, hindi ka naman po nagtuturo / Maám, you’re not teaching us well.”

This just adds to the heartbreak that we teachers go through. Its frustrating. Its annoying and it makes us feel taken for granted. But then again, it gives me an opportunity that I don’t get too much in my busy days: an opportunity to reflect.

Maybe I wasn’t doing well in the classroom. Maybe I didn’t really check up on the kids as well because I was too overwhelmed by my own problems. The students are relying on me to take care of them and maybe they need more help than I assumed.

Its a never-ending cycle of responsibilities for us teachers. But at the end of the day, we’re expected to be just as what the kids see us to be: super heroes.

There are different learning styles and our students are all diverse. It’s always easier to go to standardized types of pen-and-paper exams but what kind of teachers are we if we go don’t go beyond for our students?

So during this week, I was discussing the DNA replication process to my students. In having a quick check during my class, wee opted to compare the process to the child’s song: Bubuka ang bulaklak.

This particular elaboration paved the way for some of my students to remember the process more effectively. We learn new stuff from the kids everyday. Teaching is never boring.

In a way, being receptive to these kinds of interactions measures our growth of learning as teachers as well. So teacher, can you say that you are learning as well?

Assessments should be more than the standard pen and paper tests given to students. Incorporating what we’ve gleaned from the theories of learning, learners have multiple intelligence. This makes learning inclusive and diverse, and breaking the typical bookish smartness that schools tend to impose.
Assessments are important because they evaluate the medium of learning that is administered to students. This can also give us feedback as educators, if our strategies are effective. Interpreting the results that we get from students can further improve our teaching strategies and ultimately, the curriculum.
I hope that as educators, we can continue to ponder on our methods of assessing our students. I personally try to use jokes and memes to help students apply their learning in my assessments. Cheers to our readers! Happy teaching!

Welcome to my e-journal! I anticipate the modules we’ll be having. I am sure that these will nourish our growing brains just like how vegetables nourish our bodies. 😀 Happy learning, classmates!

This has been quite an experience. This was beyond my expectations. I would have never thought that an online course would be as enriching as this one. I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to Dr. Lou for designing this course so well. It’s a breathe of fresh air from my usual stuffy world in the natural sciences.

Dr. Lou’s design of the course is immersive. I sunk deep into the bottom and rose above the waves carrying a deeper understanding of learning. Give a teacher a lesson plan for the week and she’ll survive for that week. However, Dr. Lou’s approach is to teach us how to teach as to enable us to becomes teachers of men. Nonetheless, she constantly reminds us not to pressure ourselves and enjoy the process; a stark contrast to how most classroom environments would be. There were definitely challenging discussions and activities that stimulated and made us think deeply about our own beliefs on education. This course, aside from giving me a background on learning, has also imparted lessons on how to be a compassionate and compelling educator.

Moving forward, taking EDS103 has definitely impacted my understanding of how teaching works. It has certainly brought me clarity, whilst still making me question how I approach and practice my profession. The actual experience was not a walk in the park. I can’t say I will miss the hard work I had to put in but it certainly is nice to feel that I have accomplished the tasks at hand.

Thank you for the mental workout, Dr. Lou. Truly unforgettable. We do not say goodbye. You’ve taught us more than that, rather, we say “Happy learning!”.

Constructivism is a good theory to practice in the field of science education. Almost all the concepts will have some sort of simulation or application in the field. The question is: How do I facilitate more activities?

The first thing I need to ensure is that I want to facilitate such activities as an educator. My students love to jump into experiments and activities that lets them get out of the classroom and get their hands dirty. On my own, I can’t single-handedly craft the best strategies. This is where I would ask the more seasoned teachers for advice. I also research for pedagogy techniques online.

When I’ve cooked up an idea, my mentors in school would help me refine it. This type of interaction empowers both me and my students. I can craft better, more engaging activities because other people have also shared their inputs and improved the strategy.

As a teacher, we don’t work alone in teaching our students. Heck, sometimes its our students who inspire us and give us ideas on how to improve ourselves. Collaboration and research should be part of our development to ensure that we could never comprise the quality of our mission.