M. Victoria Carpio-Bernido and Christopher C. Bernido
https://doi.org/10.57043/transnastphl.2004.4703
Abstract
The current situation of Philippine education presents problems and challenges of staggering proportions. With old paradigms deemed insufficient, we present investigations of new structures that could boost the effectiveness of the Philippine educational system. These apply the key observation that, Money is not the problem. Culture is the problem. In particular, we address the questions: What programs can foster the highest levels of learning, creativity, and productivity while overcoming severe constraints of poverty, low standards of living, substandard learning conditions, and formidable cultural barriers? What programs can generate higher levels of human development for a country by cultivating a healthy, cultured, and socially responsible citizenship? We present an innovative, differentiated, and target-oriented program for high-impact multidisciplinary learning in High School. Essential features include (1) Parallel Learning Groups (Modified Jigsaw Strategy), (2) Activity-based Multi-domain Learning, (3) In-school Comprehensive Student Portfolio, and (4) Strategic Study and Rest Periods. The program, implemented since school year 2002-2003 in a rural private high school in Bohol, proves to be a robust and workable scheme even in its initial stages. It is student-teacher-administrator friendly and can easily be modified and adapted to different levels of affluence (or poverty) in public and private high schools. Although implemented with the 2002 Basic Education Curriculum (BEC), the program is compatible with other curricula. The program has resulted in the progressive enhancement of cognitive and affective learning of students, with each year’s graduates, on average, exceeding the performance levels of the previous year. This is shown by external checks of performance such as the number of students who pass the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT).