A blog that tackles issues on basic education (in the Philippines and the United States) including early childhood education, the teaching profession, math and science education, medium of instruction, poverty, and the role of research and higher education.
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Choice Comes with Responsibility
Almost half of the children in Fairfax county chose 2 days per week of face-to-face classes. With this choice, schools then have the responsibility to keep everyone (students, teachers and staff) safe while on campus. Although this translates only to about 25 percent occupancy, the risks are thought to be unacceptable. Now that the choice of going one hundred percent virtual has been made, this decision also comes with responsibility. That responsibility, of course, is primarily the education of our children in a virtual environment. And this is challenging. As research has shown, distance learning is a lot more inefficient than face-to-face learning. In a study involving an introductory physiology class, students perform poorly in exams that require comprehension when the content is delivered online. The scores are markedly lower for students in distance learning.
In the above, two types of exams are used. MQ corresponds to questions that only require memory while CQ requires comprehension of the material. LL are for students who have received face-to-face instruction while PRL+ are for students who received distance instruction. The study ensures technological access is available, but even with ample resources, the instruction still fails in the distance mode. These are college students which we can assume are far more responsible than elementary school children and yet, distance learning still takes a huge toll on their learning.
The choice made by Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) comes with challenges and its educators need to work harder to ensure that this coming school year will not be a disaster. It is truly unfortunate that we are facing circumstances that make learning a lot more difficult but we must make ourselves aware of these additional challenges. We do not want to take any risks with regard to health, but we now must acknowledge that we have taken risks on other things. And it is not just the fact that distance learning is less effective. There are other risks that we now have taken as suggested by a post from a supervisor in Fairfax county.
MGA TANONG AT SAGOT HINGGIL SA Kto12 PROGRAM NG GOBYERNO NG PILIPINAS Posted on May 28, 2012 by David Michael San Juan MGA TANONG AT SAGOT HINGGIL SA Kto12 PROGRAM NG GOBYERNO NG PILIPINAS (Paunawa: Simpleng lenggwahe ang ginamit sa artikulong ito upang madaling maintindihan ng mayorya.) For the full English version please visit http://www.scribd.com/david_juan_1/d/70033985-San-Juan-David-Michael-Full-Paper-Kto12 TANONG: ANO ANG KTO12 PROGRAM? SAGOT: Ang Kto12 Program ng gobyerno ng Pilipinas ay tumutukoy sa pagkakaroon ng mandatory o required na kindergarten at karagdagang 2 taon sa dating 10-year Basic Education Cycle. Kung noon, pagkatapos ng anim na taon sa elementarya at apat na taon sa hayskul (kabuuang 10 taon) ay maaari nang makapagkolehiyo ang mga estudyante. Sa ilalim ng Kto12, bago makapagkolehiyo, kailangan pa nilang dumaan sa karagdagang 2 taon pagkatapos ng apat na taong hayskul. Sa bagong sistema, tinatawag na senior high school o junior
There is information to be gained from data. Tests in schools can be informative. Scores of students provide a quick glimpse of the current state of education. Thus, it is useful to have these numbers. These numbers may not tell everything in detail with high accuracy. Nevertheless, test results allow for a useful perspective. The National Achievement Test administered by the Department of Education (DepEd) in the Philippines, a set of standardized tests addressing the major subjects taught in school, is an example. These tests are given to Grade 3 where students are assessed in both English and Filipino (These two subjects comprise two thirds of the exam) and Math and Science (These two account for the remaining one third). A different set of tests is given to Grade 6 pupils where each of the following 5 subjects is assigned 40 items: (Science, Math, English, Filipino and Social Studies). Another set is administered to fourth year high school students (This is currently the last year
This blog now averages about 1500 views per day. It has more than 600 posts and the number of visits from the Philippines has now reached a total of 300,000. It has been more than a year and while trying to condense this entire blog into its most salient points, I came across Diane Ravitch's new book " Reign of Error ". (Ravitch, Diane (2013-09-17). Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools (Kindle Locations 6029-6030). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.) The book is notably and strongly supported by data and research.