For six years now Quality Education for Sarangani Today (QUEST), an education development program under the office of the governor, has been initiating a summer reading camp for non-readers and frustration readers. Dubbed as Sarangani Big Brother (SBB)—after the TV show that was popular when the project was conceptualized—the project engages youth volunteers who serve as big brothers and sisters to the participants.

Improved Strategies in Teaching Reading

QUEST Program Manager Annalie Edday said that SBB was born out of the realization that dropout rates for grades two and three were very high. It was then learned that the high dropout rates are in part due to the low reading level of pupils based on the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI).

Myra Maulana, Volunteer Teacher at Ireneo Lopez Elementary School in the municipality of Maasim, knows the real situation in the classroom.

“I handle incoming grade two pupils and some of them have a difficulty recognizing letters and their sounds. If they can’t even read words, how can they comprehend?” she said.

“Reading comprehension makes the difference between a passing and a failing grade in school. It is one of the most crucial skills for children to master,” Edday said.

The volunteer teachers went through a series of trainings on conducting an SBB session, utilizing the module provided by QUEST.

To help the volunteer teachers in helping the pupils learn how to read, Edday said, “We distributed Fuller charts in addition to the modules and other reading materials.”

Marilyn Falsario, principal of Oliverio Elementary School in Malungon, who monitors the conduct of SBB in her school, noted that the teachers employ other strategies to engage the learners.

“They facilitate fun outdoor activities with the help of the volunteers to keep the learners’ interest, while, in the process, they learn reading and appreciate its importance,” she said.

Based on the comparison between the pretest and the posttest results, SBB Season 6 has eliminated non-readers among its participants. At the start of the program, 15% of the pupils were non-readers. After the program, their reading level has improved. The number of frustration readers was also reduced from 15% to 5%. There were also significant increase in good readers and very good readers.

Volunteerism is Alive in Sarangani

What makes SBB unique is its being able to harness the vitality of the youth volunteers in carrying out the project.

In Dalangdang Elementary School in the town of Malungon, this writer chanced upon the SK Federation Chairman Isaganie Tuanzon facilitating a spelling contest among the kids.

“My role as the SK Chairman,” Tuanzon said “is to look for funds for the pupils’ snacks and to encourage my fellow youth to serve as big sisters and brothers to kids.”

In the morning, he visits schools and checks out the volunteers and attends his summer classes as a college student in General Santos City in the afternoon.

“I really try to find time for this because I believe that it is important for the kids to learn how to read so they can learn better when school opens in June,” he added.

In barangay Lumasal, in the town of Maasim, Garry Gaditano has been a symbol of dedication among his fellow youth. Since the first season he has always been a constant figure of SBB in his barangay.

“At first, I just wanted to know how it feels to become a volunteer. After that, I have always looked forward to each summer because, I know, SBB is approaching,” he said.

“I enjoy assisting the teachers in helping the pupils to read and in facilitating games with the children,” he added.

He also said that he is happy to have encouraged his peers to join him in the volunteer work.

In his crutches, Irel Soriano, gathered the kids at Lamcanal Elementary School for a storytelling session.

With his limitations notwithstanding, Soriano has been an SBB volunteer for five years. He travels from another barangay to Lamcanal to help the kids.

“I don’t see my condition as a hindrance. I just think of how I can help others,” he said.

Furthermore, he advises his fellow youth to, “take life a little more seriously and with the talents that we have, let’s help those people who need us.”

Community Spirit

Alma Peñol was all agog when the monitoring team arrived at Consolacion Integrated School. She was very eager to tell the team that, as PTA President, she organized the parents to take turns in preparing the snacks for the pupils.

Asked about where the funds for the snacks come from, she said, “Some were from our own pockets, others were solicited from the barangay council, SK, business sector, and others.”

Community spirit can also be seen at Happy Valley Elementary School in Maasim. School Head Ruvelyn Homecillo appreciates the help of the SK, the local council, and the parents in the implementation of SBB. She said that the school need have to worry about funding and human resource because of the synergy of the different sectors.

In Oliverio Elementary School, the barangay council sponsored the lunch of the pupils since day one. Barangay Captain Henry dela Cruz said that it is crucial to make sure that the kids complete the eight-hour daily session.

“The pupils come from distant sitios and when they go home at noon, there might be a possibility that they will not come back for the afternoon session,” he said.

All the efforts done by the different schools and barangays all reflect the concern the community has for the success of the program.

A Celebration of Success

SBB Season 6 ended with a culmination program held at Maitum Gymnasium on May 9, which was participated in by volunteers from all over Sarangani.

Outstanding SK Chairman Florence Paul Salarda of Alabel receives a award from Alcantara Foundation Executive Officer Lyndon Magtulis. Also in photo are (L-R)Elvie Grace Ganchero of SMI, SDS Isagani dela Cruz, Gov. Miguel Rene Dominguez, and Mayor Elsie Perrett of Maitum.

Outstanding volunteer teachers, SK chairmen, barangay councils, municipality, and youth volunteers were given recognition.

Schools that were judged as best implementers of SBB were given cash prizes: Php 20,000.00 for the first prize, which was won by Datu Wali Integrated School; Php 15,000.00 for second prize, given to Kipalkuda Elementary School; and Php 10,000.00 for the 3^rd prize, which Sison Elementary School garnered.  Seven other schools were given Php 7,000.00 each.

The volunteers also prepared a surprise in gratitude for the support that Gov. Miguel Rene A. Dominguez has given for the improvement of education in the province of Sarangani.

Long time partners of QUEST in its education development projects were also given recognition during the program.

The celebration was capped by a concert led RockEd Philippines, whose executive director, Gang Badoy-Capati, inspired the youth volunteers to consider themselves as nation builders.

“Know what you’re good at and use it for the good of your community. That is nation building,” she said.

To be be able to guide my students through this project, I asked them to submit a plan, which includes a detailed sketch, measurements and proportions, and a discussion of the mechanical advantage and practical applications. The challenge was to build their prototypes using scrap.

Prior to actual project construction, I discussed with my students how they plan to construct their project and I asked them questions that will help them improve their ideas. After their plans have been approved, they started building their prototypes.

I also scheduled a presentation of their project, where they showcased to the class the product of their intellect and labor.

Students get the feel of a being an engineer

They visualize how their projects will work

The students attempt to address common real-life problems with their machines

The students’ ability to communicate their ideas is also developed

You can see how proud they are of their output

Through projects like this, I allow my students to take their learning to another level by thinking of ways by which their knowledge can be used to address real-life problems.

The students’ performance was assessed using a set of rubrics that involves how their projects reflect their knowledge of physics concepts they learned, how they are able to express their thoughts and ides during the presentation, how they are able to work with other members of their groups, and their promptness in meeting the deadlines.

These projects only require their knowledge in basic mechanics, but what they learn from activities like this can still be applicable if they wish to go into product design and engineering, and even robotics.

QUALIFIERS FROM SCHOOLS WITHIN SARANGANI

OUTSIDE SARANGANI

For more information, please call (083) 508-2228 and look for Ma’am Rendon or visit our school beside the Provincial Capitol Complex, Alabel, Sarangani Province.

With this project, I aim to integrate ICT in learning physics. Students can practice what they have learned in their ICT classes to produce the infographic. This will also allow the students to develop their artistic skills, their skills in organizing data and information, as well as their understanding of the physics concepts we have discussed in the classroom.

This project is also designed to deepen their appreciation of the application of physics in real life.

Electricity is one interesting topic in Physics because it is a phenomenon that students encounter everyday but they don’t fully understand yet. A lot of them even has fears about dealing with electrical equipment.

In this activity, students will build basic circuits in their computers. They will be able to observe Ohm’s Law, Kirchhoff’s Rules for current and voltage. They will also see the effect of the magnitudes of current and voltage on the intensity of light emitted by the light bulbs.

Here is a screenshot of the simulation:

This simulation can also be accessed online via this link: PhET online circuit laboratory simulation

I prepared a worksheet to guide students through the activity. You may also download and modify it for your physics classes:

I hope this activity will make learning physics fun.

1. Observe how varying initial conditions affect a projectile path(various objects, angles, initial speed, mass, diameter, initial height, with and without air resistance).
2. Use reasoning to explain the observations.
3. Explain common projectile motion terms in their own words. (launch angle, initial speed, maximum height, range, final height, time).

Use this form below, which you shall download and fill-out.

Projectile Motion Activity

After accomplishing this document. Upload it to our e-Group. Enjoy learning!

The efforts are usually focused on typhoons and flashfloods. Earthquakes, too, are a potential hazard to our locality, what with the Philippines being in the ring of fire. So, I thought of an activity that will raise consciousness among the students about how their learnings in physics can be used to understand the effects of earthquakes and eventually, to help lessen the risks brought about by such diasaters.

In my lesson on properties of waves, I asked my students to construct a device out of construction paper and cardboard, where they explored resonance. The construction activity was based on the Unit Resource Book on Waves, Sound, and Light by McDougal Litell Science. Through the activity, the students will understand the concept of natural frequency and resonance.

After making observations on how the paper rings respond to shaking, they were made to analyze the effects of the qualities of each paper ring on how the rings vibrate.

To connect what they learn from the activity to real life problems, they were made to relate it to how architects and engineers design buildings and other infrastructures like bridges to withstand earthquakes or to minimize the damage they cause.

I also looked for videos on YouTube to show how earthquake resistant buildings are designed. Here are the videos:

This one is about Japan’s Tokyo Tree, the world’s tallest tower. And yes, they say that it is earthquake-proof.

This one is about a largest quake test in the world.The test aimed to come up with better designs for homes that are resistant to damages brought about by earthquakes. Observe how the building respond to the shaking.

I continue to improve my lessons to help my students appreciate physics better and help them realize that physics is indeed everywhere and well, it’s fun to learn physics.

Let me cite what happened in my class today. While they were performing a group task, one student asked,

Student: Sir, what is the unit for Q?

Me: What does it stand for?

Student: Heat.

Me: What is heat?

Student: Energy in transit.

Me: What is the unit for energy?

Student: Yeah, I got it. Joules. Thanks.

If I provided the answer right away, the student would not have appreciated the connection between what she is learning now and her prior knowledge. Responding to her that way also sent her a signal that sometimes, she already know the answers to her questions, she just doesn’t exercise thinking about the previous concepts that she has learned and applying them to situations she is currently facing.

Another way that I could have treated her question was to guide her through the dimensional analysis, where we would look at the units of the quantities involved and process them to find out what unit they would result to.

I have made it a habit to not answer my students’ questions directly. My very reason is that I want my students to learn self-reliance. I don’t want them to always rely on their teachers, when they have access to information that they need. I guess, teaching students to be to learn independently is very apt in today’s world. They have to learn how to put their knowledge to use and how to use their experiences to learn.

I have read an article in a website and it supports my philosophy. In the article, the authors listed down the characteristics of dependent and independent learners:

I am happy to know that there are studies that agree with my teaching principles. The K-12 curriculum, I believe, is also geared towards preparing students to become self-reliant by embracing the idea of independent learning.

Personally, I make plans for myself. I used to just keep them in mind. I realized later that writing them down allows you to easily review your implementation. Someone said, “a dream becomes a goal  when you put it into writing.”

A written goal reminds you if you are straying from your target, so you could find time to refocus your attention to your plan. It also enables you to see better if your plan is working or if necessary changes have to be done.

Photo from: http://davetgc.com/Goal_Setting.html

Each year, I facilitate different activities for my students to guide them as we start the school year. On Monday, they will fill out this goal setting form below:

Definitions

For my students, we need to define the following:

• Goal – it is a target achievable within a particular period of time
• Objective – a target that is more specific than a goal; the attainment of the objective helps ensure the attainment of the goal
• Strategies – specific actions or tasks to do for the completion of the objective
• Time Frame – the students must specify when he expects to accomplish a task
• Resources Required – the students should list down the materials, money, or skills that they need in order to complete a task
• Persons Involved – the students should identify people who could help them accomplish a task
• Success Indicators -these are signs that will tell you if you have accomplished your task

The students can set several other goals aside from their academic goals. The teacher may specify whether the students shall draft short-term, medium-term, or long-term goals.

After filling out the form, the student should be able to appreciate the importance of planning. Make sure to ask them to accomplish the form in duplicate. Ask them to keep one copy and another for you. They will use theirs as their guide and you will use your copy for your quarterly evaluation. As we know, plans are good as nothing if you don’t monitor and evaluate.

Feel free to use (and modify) this form for yourself, who knows this might just be what you need to be who you want to be this year.

The 10-day intensive training aimed to increase the competence of teachers in using English and ICT for professional and technical purposes; to train teachers in employing teaching methodologies in the classroom; and to enhance the teacher’s skills in implementing relevant and interactive teacher-training activities.

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Tudlo Mindanao is an education project funded by the USAID and implemented by the  US Peace Corps.

Peace Corps volunteers acted as facilitators of the ELC together with teachers from different schools in Mindanao who were once participants of previous ELCs.

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There were sessions on Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking, Methodology, Teacher Training, and ICT.  The participants also visited sites of interest in Manila, including Rizal Park, National Museum, and Malacañan Palace Museum.

US Peace Corps Country Representative Denny Robertson congratulated the participant for completing the ELC during the closing program, May 20. Showing his interest in the country’s culture, he actively participated in the Cultural Night and even performed an OPM song.

The teacher participants are expected to carry out an echo training in their respective areas upon their return. They will also be monitored by the US Peace Corps as to how the ELC has improved their teaching competence.

And oh, I was chosen as the Most Eloquent! Thanks to our facilitators.