IP students to benefit from localized learning content
Imagine being a child from an indigenous tribe going to school for the first time, and finding out that the lessons are taught in languages and stories that are foreign to you.
It is a challenge faced by many students who are indigenous people (IP), given the lack of teachers who hail from their own tribes or are knowledgeable of their language and culture.
To help address this, specifically for the benefit of young learners from the Blaan tribe in Sarangani, PLDT wireless unit Smart Communications organized workshops for creating traditional and digital learning materials in the local language and incorporating local culture.
One of the workshops, conducted in partnership with the PLDT-Smart Foundation, also introduced a learning method that would help IP educators effectively handle multiple grade levels at the same time.
There are 125 IP schools in Sarangani alone, catering mostly to Blaan students, according to the Department of Education.
“It’s better to have stories about the children’s own community so they can relate to these. If you use stories like Rapunzel, they will not understand that. If you use local stories, it would be easier for them to learn,” IP teacher Edna Alicaba said.
“It is so easy to impart knowledge if you use their language. You can’t keep speaking in English if your audience is composed of IP pupils,” she added.
For five days in January, a team of teachers and illustrators learned scriptwriting and storyboarding so that they could produce animated versions of Blaan stories and make lessons more fun and interactive.
Smart will help put all the content in a mobile app especially made for Blaan learners. The plan is to include sections on Blaan prayers, songs and greetings, on top of lessons on numbers and letters.
Smart is spearheading the development of learning apps in different languages because studies show that proper management of digital tools can boost the literacy of young students and heighten their interest in learning. It is for the same reason that the company has donated mobile devices packed with learning content to underserved public schools.
“Nowadays, most of our learners are visual. When they see something, when the process of learning is interactive, it becomes easier for them to learn,” teacher illustrator Reynald Dapar said.
A separate team of IP teachers was introduced to the dynamic learning program (DLP) created by Ramon Magsaysay awardees Dr. Christopher Bernido and Dr. Ma. Victoria Carpio-Bernido. Under the DLP method, students learn independently in classrooms 80 percent of the time by working on activity sheets. The remaining 20 percent is when the teacher checks on their progress and helps them process what they have already learned on their own.
Schools implementing the DLP have reported better retention and mastery of concepts among their students.