Elementary schoolteachers in two elementary schools in Tondo, Manila learned new techniques to improve their teaching skills during a three-day training organized by Synergeia Foundation.
More than 60 Grade 1 teachers from Almario and Vicente Lim elementary schools attended a three-day workshop organized by Synergia Foundation, in partnership with ICTSI, at the Almario Elementary School on Oct. 27 to 29.
Ateneo de Manila second grade teacher Ariette Pacle – who served as the trainer – said the teachers were very eager to become better teachers that it was a joy to be teaching the workshop. And she didn’t mind that it was her birthday during the first day of the session.
“I’m so happy to have trained this group, they were so into learning that they would work through lunch… I actually had to tell them that we need to break for lunch or I would probably have starved,” Pacle said laughing.
Among the topics covered were:
- Introduction to emerging literacy which focused on components of literacy, internal influences on language development and similarities and differences between oral and written language,
- Simple view of reading: theory of R (reading comprehension), D (decoding), C (letter comprehension),
- Metalinguistic skills: phonemic awareness, print awareness, semantic/syntactic awareness,
- Decoding/word analysis,
- Comprehension: levels of thinking; instructional framework in reading comprehension,
- General strategies used in reading instruction,
- Four-pronged approach in reading instruction (genuine love for reading; critical thinking; mastery of the structure of English language or grammar and oral language development; transfer stage), and
- Lesson plan-making and demonstrating teaching using the four pronged approach in teaching story and grammar lesson in grade 1.
During the first day of the three-day session, Pacle -- to break the ice and build rapport with the participants – discussed her own experiences as a public school student and related it to the teachers’ difficulties in equipping students with the right knowledge.
“As teachers, we are responsible for teaching ourselves so we can impart what we know to our students,” Pacle said.
Aside from technical understanding, Pacle put importance on behavioral interactions between teachers and students. She said it was important for teachers to get through to their students by avoiding pre-judged attitudes and encouraged them to “think like the age of your students.”
Pacle also reminded them of the importance of group reporting to build teamwork, especially in 50 to 60-student classes common in public elementary schools. She said groups of fours or fives ensure maximum participation for each student in the group. “Everyone should be given a role in group activities so children will learn to participate and carry their own weight in group dynamics.”
Each day, the first half of the program focused on lectures and Q&As while the second part was dedicated to hands-on activities. The program was designed to ensure that teachers understood the concepts they learned, promoted interaction among the teachers, and allowed them to practice so they know what to do when they use the activities in their own classrooms.
To add a bit of spice, Pacle held contests and gave prizes for the best presentations to promote camaraderie and creativity among the participants. Each teacher was so into making their presentations that it did not matter where they were writing or how they were presenting their work.
“This (training) is a big help to us, especially since we have new teachers… we all learned a lot… we really enjoyed the training,” said Juliet Arellano, a master teacher and one of the participants from Almario. She has been teaching for 42 years.
Teachers learned a lot in the three-day program as they exchanged information, asked questions and gave tips to fellow teachers during the training and discussion. Everyone had something to say that further deepened the understanding on what it was to be a grade school teacher and impart what they have learned to students.
“It’s important to remember that we need to make sure that children can relate to what we’re teaching – so they can appreciate it and really learn,” Pacle said.
Each teacher was grateful and thanked Pacle and the organizers for a fun and informative activity. In the end, each participant went home with knowledge that would help them understand their students better.
“As teachers, our role is to be [their] second parents,” Pacle said.
