Research Abstract
Amidst the pandemic, the education process continues until today where different countries worldwide sought various responses like the introduction of distance learning. Distance learning is one of the modalities that was adopted by Department of Education in response to the situation. A qualitative study was conducted and aimed to assess the readiness of teachers in adapting distance learning, to know the challenges encountered by them, and to identify the coping mechanisms of teachers in the new normal. The area of this study covered the schools of District V-B in San Carlos City Division with public Junior High School (JHS) teachers as the subjects. The study was guided by qualitative-phenomenological research design. A semi-structured interview guide was used as a main tool to gather relevant data for the study.
This study found out that the Junior High School teachers are ready in adapting the Modular Distance Learning (MDL) modality and are being adaptive, resourceful, and flexible. The teachers are partially ready to adapt the Online Distance Learning Modality (ODL) modality because they cannot be ready if the learners are not ready for it. The teachers are also partially ready to adapt the TV/Radio-Based Instruction modality because of unpreparedness and unavailability of instructions to facilitate this kind of modality. Generally, the teachers are partially ready to adapt the distance learning of the Department of Education. Moreover, results from the final themes showed that old teachers can be as ready and adaptive as young teachers are in adapting distance learning in the new normal.
Keywords: distance learning, Modular Distance Learning (MDL), Online Distance Learning Modality (ODL) modality, readiness of teachers, TV/Radio-Based Instruction modality
Introduction
The education sector is highly affected by the COVID19 pandemic. There are many challenges that arose from it. One of the challenges put upon teachers is on how to provide and deliver quality education amidst pandemic. Another thing to consider is the extent of our preparedness in the future crisis like what we experience at present times.
In most countries, there was a temporary closure of educational institutions to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and reduce infections. Due to closure, there were about 1.2 billion learners worldwide and more than 28 million learners in the Philippines were affected up to this time (UNESCO, 2020). Students and teachers ought to study and work from home using different learning platforms due to community lockdown and community quarantine in several countries (Crawford et al., 2020). Amidst the pandemic, the education process continues until today where different countries worldwide sought various responses like the introduction of distance learning. Distance learning is one of the modalities that was adopted by Department of Education in response to the situation.
Traditionally, distance learning was made to direct attention to the students outside the school system, such as full-time workers, military personnel, and non-residents or individuals in remote regions who are unable to attend classroom lectures. However, distance learning has become established and became part of the educational world, with trends, growth, and development. Higher education in U.S., university students are more than 5.6 million and were enrolled in at least one online course from 1.6 million in 2002 to the autumn of 2009 (Simonson, 2020).
As early as May 2020, the Philippines, together with Southeast Asian neighbors specifically Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, have initiated some form of distance learning to creatively respond to the common challenges the countries encountered and started a new era of education in the new normal.
In the Philippines, the educational leaders decided to adopt the new normal in education, the Learning Continuity Plan. It is the DepEd’s major response for education to continue amidst the crisis to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of the learners and teachers. One of the four learning delivery modalities in the new normal under the LCP is the distance learning. It refers to a learning delivery modality where during instruction, learning takes place between the teacher and the learners who are geographically remote from each other. This modality has three types: MDL which stands for Modular Distance Learning, ODL which stands for Online Distance Learning, and television (TV)/Radio-Based Instruction.
Distance learning requires teachers to have a completely different approach than the usual face-to-face teaching. In our division, San Carlos City, there are many fundamental issues and concerns and areas of difficulties associated with distance learning despite of the fact that DepEd already emphasized that online learning is just one mode of distance learning. Since this is a new modality for this School Year, there is a complex and demanding preparation of teaching and study materials, Self-Learning Modules specifically. Weeks before the original date of the school opening, some teachers didn’t have copies of the modules. While online learning and TV and radio broadcasts are other two options for distance learning, access to technology and internet remains a problem in most schools of San Carlos City Division. Some teachers, or if not, most teachers have little experience with the present distance learning modality set by the department. Therefore, the researcher believed that there is a need to assess the readiness of teachers on the DepEd’s distance learning, know the challenges encountered by them, and identify their coping mechanisms in the new normal.
From this, the question on the readiness of teachers to implement the DepEd’s distance learning was addressed. A qualitative study was conducted and aimed to assess the readiness of teachers in distance learning, to know the challenges encountered by them, and lastly, to identify their coping mechanisms in the new normal.
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