Public school teachers equipped with 21st century learning techniques

MANILA, Philippines - Leading telecommunications company Globe Telecom, in collaboration with the Coalition for Better Education and the Department of Education, kicks off the 2014 Global Filipino Teacher (GFT) Program designed to equip public school teachers with 21stcentury learning techniques in preparation for the incoming school year.

GFT is a nationwide campaign that enables teachers to effectively integrate information and communications technology (ICT) in the classroom for enhanced learning particularly among high school students.

“Globe is fully committed to its mission of helping improve the educational system in the country by harnessing its core competency to build an ICT-empowered public school system that will benefit marginalized students and teachers and give them the opportunity to expand their knowledge,” said Fernando Esguerra, Globe OIC for Corporate Social Responsibility.

For the initial activity, 35 teachers from public secondary schools in Metro Manila, Cordillera, Southern Tagalog, Bicol, and Western Visayas were selected to undergo a five-day intensive training in Cebu City.

The training covers relevant usage of ICT tools such as desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones; a clear understanding of the internet and its tools for education, as well as mastery of word processing applications for good classroom management.

It also involves problem-based learning (PBL) approaches that challenge students to learn through engagement in actual and relatable problems. It is a format that places students in the role of problem-solvers and teaches them how to be active and independent learners.

“We have been doing PBL but we didn’t know that it could be applied in other ways.  Usually, we tell the students what to do but through this process, we can just supervise the students and give them freedom to solve the problem on their own pace. This way, the students not only develop their intellectual skills but also experience less pressure. This will also help enhance their self-esteem and interpersonal skills,” said Nelia Depaynes, a Science teacher at Tublay School of Home Industries in Tublay, Benguet.

Rick Babatuan, also a Science teacher of Katipunan National High School in Carmen, Bohol said: “The training teaches us how to integrate ICT in teaching.  ICT is changing the classroom situation. Students are no longer confined within the four walls of the classroom.”

Likewise, Globe will launch a leaders’ strand next month to formally create new GFT trainers from high performing graduates who would be tasked to independently conduct GFT workshops within their respective school, division, and other scopes of influence. 

From the leaders’ strand, and along with teacher evaluations, Globe expects to produce more than 250 GFT graduates by the end of 2014 alone, on top of the 262 graduates produced during the four-year existence of the program. Globe also continuously evaluate the proficiency of graduates to maintain high standards in carrying out usage of the learning tools in public schools nationwide.

The GFT program has so far produced several outstanding graduates such as Shateen D. Seraña of Taluksangay NHS in Zamboanga who won the 2012 Innovative Teachers Leadership Award, an international award for teacher excellence given by Microsoft; and Marivi L. Castro of Gensan SPED and Galcoso Alburo of Concepcion Integrated School who were among the Metrobank Outstanding Teachers awardees.