Teaching Science in the “New Normal”
Sharon G. Pamintuan
For many, Science is tough, laborious, a quite complicated subject. For me, Science is passionately interesting and exciting! Really enlightening, edifying, incredibly relatable to various aspects and facets of life and living. That’s exactly how I want my students to likewise think and feel about Science.
Yes, I am a Science teacher and I’ve been teaching the subject for more than two decades now. Before Covid-19 arrived on the scene, teaching Science was already a formidable challenge to most of us, Science teachers. Even more so this time of pandemic, when classes are held distantly, either thru online or modular distance learning modalities. Science experiments and activities are mostly unimaginable to perform at home without the guidance and assistance of the more experienced Science teachers, where precautionary measures and procedures are thoroughly explained and demo-teachings are performed before the actual execution of the students themselves. There are Science notions that need in-depth, detailed clarifications mainly to some students having a hard time apprehending their lessons.
At any rate, we, as educators, must be relentless and resilient enough to be able to conform and practice the most relevant and suitable methodologies that will help our students learn Science from the comfort of their home, and hopefully love the subject even without the physical presence of the engaging and inspiring Science teacher.
Varied modes and innovative teaching approaches are adapted and practiced by the “new normal” Science educators. Lectures and discussions thru different online platforms, either synchronous or asynchronous, are of great help in reaching out to those students who find it hard to assimilate lessons and grasp Science theories rather by themselves. Simple experiments using indigenous, noncorrosive, nontoxic materials, like “kitchen experiments” where most of the materials needed for the experiment can be found in the kitchen or any part of the household is another strategy. Simplified activities which can be done at home where instructions are provided thru printed modular mode of delivery.
I believe our 21st century learners, the millennial students, are very much resourceful and creative, their imaginations are remarkably amazing! And with proper motivation both from us teachers and parents, they could still excel even in this most trying times of learning away from school due to the global pandemic that urged the Philippine educational system to come up with these “new normal” teaching-learning techniques and strategies, particularly in the delivery of Science concepts in its simplest structure yet ultimately significant and most essential learning competencies are achieved.
--oOo-The author is Teacher III at Guillermo D. Mendoza National High School