ABSTRACT
This qualitative-phenomenological study was conducted to determine the teachers’ instructional strategies in teaching 21st-Century Literature at John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University (JBLFMU) for Schoolyear 2023-2024 as inputs for an enhanced university-based curriculum guide. Thematic analysis was used to analyze and interpret the responses of the participants. Results revealed that the instructional strategies used by 21st-century literature teachers in their classes were: Multimedia Integration, Vocabulary Building Activities, The Art of Questioning/Inquiry Approach, and Creating Opportunities for Learning. They utilized these instructional strategies for the following reasons: blending modern and classical media for integration, engaging learners in deeper analysis and critical thinking, improving learners’ vocabulary and comprehension, creating avenue for interactive discussion, and developing creativity and higher-order thinking skills. An enhanced university-based curriculum guide was designed as a result of the study.
Keywords: Instructional Strategies, Utilization, Curriculum Guide, 21st-Century Literature, Enhanced
INTRODUCTION
Teaching literature has been a challenging job in this modern time, since everyone finds it as a boring subject. English teachers would often find it difficult to engage students in their class discussion since literature is a subject that is less appealing and interesting. As such, teaching 21st-century literature requires a rethinking of the traditional approaches and using digital resources, multimedia, and collaborative learning.
Teaching in the 21st century demands fresh approaches tailored to address the needs of digitally-native students who have grown up with personal technology and are preparing for an evolving workforce. Educators must employ a range of effective methods to engage modern students, encourage critical thinking, navigate digital and social media responsibly, and foster collaboration and communication skills essential for academic success. Nowadays, learners in secondary schools have lost a startling amount of interest in studying literature. Several factors have been linked to this. Besides the evident lack of motivation from both students and teachers, there is a noticeable trend moving away from recreational reading towards engaging in electronic conversations in general (Ikonne, 2016).
In a study conducted by Ugwu (2022), teachers encounter numerous obstacles that hinder their ability to provide high-quality instruction. These factors comprise a deficient learning atmosphere, a severe shortage in available textbooks, limited language proficiency, confusion on the importance of literature, overwhelming workloads, and lack of parental support.
Teachers are required to clearly communicate their educational objectives and make them available for evaluation by themselves, their students, and their immediate heads. Schools embrace the aspiration to define the designated "learning objectives," which serve as the foundation for assessments (Lindell, 2020).
21st-Century Literature from the Philippines and the World is among the courses provided in the 2nd Semester of Grade 11 learners at John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University, (Arevalo), Inc. Since JBLFMU is a maritime school, English teachers would always take it as a challenge to teach literature in a male-dominated set-up, wherein majority of the students’ population are mostly male. This research aimed at ascertaining the various instructional strategies used by literature teachers to involve students in their class interaction. The result of these would then be inputs for an enhanced university-based curriculum guide.
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