ABSTRACT
This quantitative-qualitative study was conducted to find out the English teachers’ experiences in the utilization of instructional materials as bases for an in-service training at the District of Lambunao West Cluster II for the SY 2024-2025. The results revealed that the printed instructional materials used by teachers were learning activity sheets, lesson plan, and modules while those for non-print were movies, slides, bulletin boards, and YouTube. The materials were used to enhance learners’ comprehension, suit materials to learners’ learning styles, and align with learning competencies. Their experiences included: creating engaging and effective experiences, motivating learners, and fostering effective teaching-learning process. The challenges they encountered were: learners feel disinterested, printing costs, and availability of internet connection. They managed their challenges by providing differentiated activities, limiting the number of copies, planning alternative options, providing optional activities, and seeking assistance and donations. An in-service training was proposed as a result of the study.
Keywords: Experiences, Utilization, Instructional Materials, In-service Training
INTRODUCTION
Education is the process of gaining appropriate beliefs and attitudes, as well as information and skills, by one's experiences. It is one of the necessities a person should have for it empowers oneself, strengthens communities, and drives progress in all aspects of life.
Two components make up education, according to Charles and Coombs (2010), who divided them into inputs and outputs. He claimed that inputs are made up of material and teaching resources, whereas the goals and outcomes of the educational process are known as outputs. It is necessary to examine the ways in which one element influences the other to analyze and evaluate the educational system to further improve its performance.
Teaching all subjects in the curriculum must be taught using educational resources, which are educational inputs. Instructional resources are essential to the teaching-learning process. They raise the pupils' level of remembering. Since education has expanded so much in recent years, oral instruction alone cannot be the factor to effective pedagogy; instead, the teacher must employ teaching materials to add excitement to the educational process. Learning achievement can be enhanced with the usage of instructional materials. According to Slavin (2010), a thoughtful and creative use of visual aids in the classroom can help students become more engaged by providing them with something useful to see and do while also combating indifference and making up for the lack of books. Slavin (2010) proposed a list of practical visual tools, including diagrams, maps, film strips, models, and images, that are effective for teaching English.
As an English Junior High School teacher in a public school, the researcher has also utilized various teaching resources to guide learners to achieve success in the teaching-learning process. Thus the researcher has observed that instructional materials have helped learners engage in and relate to the topics discussed. Also, they can gain a more profound comprehension of the language and can see how it is used in authentic contexts. These resources will help them bridge the gap between the classroom and the real world, hereby allowing them to build confidence in their language skills and understand the relevance of what they are learning.
see PDF attachment for more information