IN the past two quarters, lessons were delivered through the Alternative Delivery Mode (AMD). All learning areas were downloaded, sorted, printed and distributed to learners. At first, there were apprehensions about the new learning mode which continue until today.
There are questions on how parents could assist their children in finishing all the modules. There are concerns on the quality of learning especially in the elementary level.
Amidst all these, ADM pushed through in response to the pandemic.
In its earlier phase, there was a semblance of eagerness and excitement among the learners. But as weeks passed by with endless modules, some parents and learners started experiencing module fatigue. It became more difficult for learners to accomplish their given modules on time. Even with parental guidance, children seemed to lose motivation to open their weekly activities.
This is understandable since there are no variations in the printed modules. There are even modules that are long and text heavy. For children with difficulty in reading and comprehension, this situation aggravates their dislike of modules. There are even instances when children run away when their teacher visits them in their homes. In a normal setting, this could be different in the classroom.
Aside from these, most of the lessons in basic education are concepts and theories that need discussion by the teacher. These are basic foundations that once collapsed is difficult to repair. And these situations are acknowledged by educators. A local education supervisor told me that they are aware of these problems and are trying to pilot localized face to face teaching and other mechanisms to address the situation.
I support these steps since there are still two quarters to go before the school ends. ADM is good especially for learners who cannot attend school and with special needs but for regular learners, this mode would be difficult. With my anecdotal observations, there are children who can no longer cope up with the rigors of modules. This situation is alienating some children from their education.
But with the continuing surge of COVID-19 cases, it appears that the new learning mode will stay for some time. With this, there is a need to innovate more appealing and engaging learning materials for learners to use. Aside from printed modules, audio and moving pictures can be used. In addition, if possible is to reduce the number of modules per week. Let us put more focus on how to contribute in maintaining the physical and mental well-being of children. These are difficult to do but it can be done. Remember, the children are our future.
