ABSTRACT
This phenomenological study determined the experiences of learners, teachers, and parents on the use of blended learning. The learners experienced enjoyment, felt benefited, and built self-confidence. Teachers experienced the use of social media, being innovative, empathy, and difficulty, while parents experienced difficulty and need to provide children’s needs. The learners identified poor internet connection, poor quality of modules, and lack of teacher’s physical presence. The teachers experienced hardship in teaching, poor internet connection, and busy schedule, while parents mentioned the absence of gadgets, time constraints, issue on modules, poor internet connection, and absence of substantial interaction. The learners were provided with learning materials, extended support, and self-learning. There were smooth and clear communication, parents’ support, rapport, clear and simple instructions, learners’ involvement, and administrative support. The parents found ease in overseeing children’s activity, open communication, and availability of materials.
Keywords: Learners, Teachers, Parents, Experiences, Blended Learning, UCSP, Enrichment Program, Remediation Program
INTRODUCTION
Learning experience refers to any interaction, course, program, or other experience in which learning takes place, whether it occurs in traditional academic settings or nontraditional settings, or whether it includes traditional education.
Blended Learning is an instructional approach that uses digital strategies in tandem with best practice in the classroom. Blended Learning, also known as hybrid learning, is an approach to education that combines online educational materials and opportunities for interaction online with traditional place-based classroom methods. Blended Learning is also used to describe other blends, such as combining different instructional methods, pedagogical approaches, and technologies.
The course Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics (UCSP) uses insights from anthropology, political science, and sociology to develop learners’ awareness of cultural, social, and political dynamics, and sensitivity to cultural diversity; provide them with an understanding of how culture, human agency, society, and politics work; and engage them in the examination of the country’s current human development goals. Learners are expected to acquire ideas about human cultures, human agency, society, and politics; recognize cultural relativism and social inclusiveness to overcome prejudices; and develop social and cultural competence to guide their interactions with groups, communities, networks, and institutions.
It is of paramount importance to value learners’, teachers’, and parents’ experiences while implementing blended instruction in learning the Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELC) in Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics as a core subject taught in Senior High School.
The MELCs were provided by the DepEd as the primary reference for all schools, Schools Division Offices (SD0s) and Regional Offices (R0s) in determining and implementing learning delivery approaches that are suited to the local context and diversity of learners, while adapting to the challenges posed by COVID-19; as such, teaching Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics (UCSP) in a blended instruction modes needs to undergo analysis of its importance and the effectiveness/efficiency of the teachers teaching it.
Parental role in education cannot be underestimated; although most structured learning takes place in the confines of the school, that does not mean that parents cannot have an active role in their children’s education. On the contrary, parents can encourage, motivate, and even influence their children to do well in school.
Parents can take active participation in their children's schooling. They are aware of how their children are progressing in school. The incursion of blended learning modality has opened a new way of educating a child. Online grading portals, report cards, and school progress reports provide parents a pretty good picture of the learners’ performance, grades, attendance, behavior, and evaluation of the teacher.
Nonetheless, it is the teacher who is the best person to talk to on how well a child is doing in school. Often, the teacher will be able to give feedback not just on the academic aspect, but also on the emotional, and social aspects. Parents are made aware if there are problems that may be hindering learning and student achievement.
The researcher, as a Senior High School teacher, wishes to underscore the learners’, teachers’, and parents’ experiences using blended learning as it was implemented specifically during the Covid-19 pandemic schoolyear and maybe beyond. Whatever findings/results/conclusions there may be, sets of enrichment and remediation would be recommended. Thus, the study was pursued.
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