Rex takes educators on a road trip to learning

MANILA, Philippines - What do you call a gathering of more than 500 of the country’s top educators across two full days packed with sessions and workshops on the latest developments and trends in teaching and education, handled by no less than international speakers and facilitators? The 2011 Rex Annual Educators’ Congress, of course!

Rex Book Store Inc. (RBSI), the Philippines’ leading educational publishing company, once again hosted a highly successful convention for Filipino educators at One Esplanade in Pasay City recently. The two-day event focused on UbD+DI (Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction) — two complementary teaching models that underscore the importance of curriculum planning and instructional design in enhancing the effectiveness of learning and instruction.

Participants of the Rex Educators’ Congress were able to learn first-hand from Janie Ray Smith and Dr. Nanci Smith, the UbD and DI experts from ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) who handled the seminar modules. In addition, UbD+DI authors and ASCD faculty, Carol Tomlinson and Jay McTighe, enriched the sessions via video patch discussions and a live webinar, where they shared their extensive knowledge and experience on the two topics.

Rex Book Store has, since 2009, been at the forefront of promoting a deeper understanding and appreciation of UbD. Its past educators’ congresses tackled the introduction to the UbD concept and the related principle of Schooling by Design. This year, RBSI went a step further by partnering with ASCD, a leading international educational organization, to bring UbD to a higher plane with the infusion of Differentiated Instruction or DI.

Filipino educators and school administrators were able to preview Rex Book Store’s newest titles that make use of the UbD+DI frameworks, such as the Math for Life and English Encounters series for the elementary level, among others. Another highlight during the event was the UbD+DI online quiz, which RBSI made available at the conference site. The delegates had the opportunity to determine what type of learner they are through this interactive activity, which classifies the person according to their most prominent learning type.

The 2011 Rex Annual Educators’ Congress also served as a platform for launching the company’s partnerships with ASCD and Knowledge Channel. Anna Gomez, ASCD consultant for Southeast Asia, talked about the collaboration of ASCD and RBSI, which significantly contributed to the congress’ success. Rina Lopez, president of Knowledge Channel, also gave the audience a glimpse of what is in store: an array of textbook titles integrated with educational videos and other media that are sure to make the students’ learning experience complete.

As the congress drew to a close, Rex’s journey towards excellence in education was just beginning. This year, RBSI embarks on yet another massive campaign that will take these learning principles all over the archipelago. The Educators’ Congress signaled the start of the annual Rex Roadtrip – a series of UbD+DI events that will be conducted in 28 cities all over the Philippines starting in October 2011 up to March next year. This year’s program, with the theme “Integrating UbD and DI: Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners” aims to bring the latest concept of UbD+DI to more than 10,000 educators through a day-long seminar-workshop. These sessions are designed to enrich the teachers’ knowledge on the integration of UbD+DI, and allow them to take the first steps towards its implementation in the classroom. Highly qualified UbD+DI speakers, who trained directly with ASCD faculty and UbD+DI experts Janie Ray Smith and Dr. Nanci Smith, will facilitate the Rex Roadtrip series.

Don Timothy Buhain, chief operating officer of Rex Book Store said that that he and his team “are very excited about this year’s Rex Roadtrip, because we believe UbD+DI are very powerful principles that will not only help improve the quality of student learning, but also enhance the effectiveness of instruction. We look forward to working closely with our partners, our school administrators and teachers, as we help our students learn better, and transform our teachers into the best educators they can be”. In line with their vision of helping make Philippine education competitive in the global arena, Rex remains committed to bringing relevant concepts and world-class methodologies in education to all corners of the country. “We will continue to support and assist our local educators in the best way we can. Together, we are on this journey to change lives,” Buhain added.