DepEd allows schools to choose learning delivery methods
The Department of Education (DepEd) will allow schools and community learning centers (CLCs) to choose “relevant and appropriate” alternative learning delivery methods which will best fit the context or health situation in their community when schools reopen this August.
Under the guidance of their respective Regional and Division offices, DepEd said that school and CLCs will be allowed to choose the “best and most appropriate” methods to deliver education to the learners under their care when the classes for School Year (SY) 20202021 start in August.
To guide the schools when classes formally start on August 24, DepEd has crafted a Learning Continuity Plan (LCP). “The LCP is our major response and our commitment in ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of our learners, teachers, and personnel in the time of COVID-19 while finding ways for education to continue amidst the crisis for the upcoming school year,” DepEd said.
DepEd noted that in the LCP, the “choice and contextualization of the learning delivery modality of schools will depend on the local COVID-19 situation as well as access to certain learning platforms.”
Even as policies are set in the central office, DepEd assured that it will primarily consider local public health conditions in adjusting LCP thus, preventive measures will be put in place to “secure the health and well-being of our personnel and our learners under this new normal.”
Under the LCP, DepEd offers various learning modalities, among them Blended Learning, Distance Learning, Homeschooling, Apprenticeship, and Face-to-Face Learning subject to approval of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).
Blended Learning, as explained by DepEd, “allows for a combination of face-to-face, online, and modular learning delivery.” Among its features is that it limits faceto-face learning delivery, it affords social distancing and it decreases the volume of people outside the home at any given time.
Distance learning, on the other hand, is delivered through online platforms, educational programs through television and radio, and printed modules.
Homeschooling “provides learners with equal access to quality basic education at home to be facilitated by qualified parents, guardians, or tutors who have undergone relevant training.”
Another option is the Apprenticeship ideal for Senior High School (SHS) learners. Here, Grades 11 and 12 learners are provided with “opportunities for actual immersion in workplace situations under the supervision of a certified practitioner.”
DepEd also noted that schools may choose face-to-face learning only if applicable. This modality refers to the “traditional learning environment where the students and the teachers are both physically present in the classroom.”