Shifting to New Normal

Amy J. Canda

Schooling is never be the same again with this COVID 19 pandemic!

It is a really a challenge on the part of the teachers. Educators are being driven to change their perspectives and practices on the why, who, what and how of education in the new normal. The new normal for education requires us to unlearn what we have always known: rows of chairs, heavy bags, mass lectures, public exams, and (broken) parent-teacher communication. Forget all these, and we can establish the new normal of education.

The immense shift in education is beset with so many challenges wherein the Department of Education (DepEd) has already instigated online learning resources such as the DepEd Commons website, which already has 8 million users and the Learning Resources Management and Development System (LRMDS) Portals.

Continuous Learning is essential but there are more aspects to pay attention in defining the new normal. There are three facets of shifting to take into considerations.

1) From school to homeschooling

What this means is instead of going to school premises to learn, learning now happens at home within our personal spaces. Modular and blended learnings can now be done through our personal devices and at home without having to go somewhere physically. Along with that arises a change in our social interactions, from physical to virtual. We still interact and exchange conversations with classmates and teachers. We are not cut off from the learning community but we have merely shifted our communication channels.

2) New learning delivery modes – Modular Learning and TV Based Instruction Modalities

The academic goals persist but individual students can progress through the curriculum at different speeds and use different resources based on their own particular learning needs. Some students might learn better through watching videos while some need to read a learning module. Each student is unique in his or her way of learning, especially now when learning takes place in personal spaces. Accessibility varies from household to household, and distributing learning resources can be challenging for educators. Therefore, educators design lessons according to the individual needs of students and give them the flexibility to master the materials accordingly.

3) Active involvement of household members

Now that learning takes place in personal spaces, household members need to play a role and act as learning facilitators, providing guidance and assistance to make the learning process pleasant for learners. Support from household members springs students’ principle that learning is essential to one’s life.

This pandemic makes us realize that education can be accomplish at home. As a result, shifting to new normal is made possible!

--oOo-

The author is SST at San Juan Mexico High School.