One of the components of school climate that build a good place of educational setting is the teaching and learning. Educators aim to provide quality educations to learners by using different teaching strategies. Stella (2011) as cited in Pabilario (2018), says that teachers need to be creative and resourceful in delivering the lessons in the subject by using a variety of teaching strategies and techniques to catch the learners’ attention. On the other hand, Galan (2016) elaborate that teachers and school administrators now a day should adapt new techniques, strategies, and methodologies in teaching-learning process for their own and student’s improvement and adjust to the new setting of 21st century teaching-learning.
Now that we are in a new normal of educational setting amid COVID-19 pandemic, technologies have a big role that contribute to our current situation for teaching and learning. Mobile devices and different wireless communication can enhance students’ learning (Hwang et al., 2020). That is why teachers now a days should enhance their skills when it comes to using different gadgets and online applications that will cater the needs of the students on distance learning approach. Online teaching will be one of the main modalities aside on modular approach in teaching amid pandemics. Teaching through online approach would be a big challenge for teachers and students because of limited real connection with one another unlike when you are in actual classroom situation. But having harmonious passion in online teaching has predictably consistent positive emotions within teachers’ teaching activities and positive interpersonal interactions (Greenberger, 2016).
The Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) were doing their best on how to adapt on this current situation which led them to conduct surveys that will gather enough data to know the condition of the students and ask their prepared modality of learning. Teachers need to be well equipped by attending trainings and webinars conducted to their school. Every public school were also required to create Learning Continuity Plan (LCP) to ensure that they have specific plan on how to sustain the effectiveness in providing quality education to the learners as well as maintain health protocols.
Meanwhile, teachers with different innovative teaching strategies may not consider effective if they are not a reflective teacher. According to Schulman (1990) as cited in (Luna, 2016), reflective teacher, is the one who “reviews, reconstructs, re-enacts, and critically analyzes his own and his students’ performances.” Effective teachers should fit his style of teaching to the students’ style of learning and think of the best way to arouse their interest and motivate to participate in the learning process (Singson, 2012) as cited in (Tahadlangit, 2019).
Indeed, teachers also need the support from school administrators in providing effective teaching and learning process. The whole school organization should work as one to have a supportive school condition because a non-supportive school conditions can lower the student’s motivation to learn and reduce disengagement from school, increase school failure resulting to more dropout rates, especially those students who experience discrimination like the color of their skin, who has lower rate of graduates compared with their white peers (Darling et al., 2018).
Students’ engagement in learning process is very essential in attaining effective teaching-learning process. The ability and pedagogical approach used by excellent teachers will no longer be effective without students’ engagement that shows effective learning really occurs. UNICEF (2000) as cited in Zantua (2017), study showed in Defining Quality in Education, learning happens when there is the teacher who engage students in the activities.
Nevertheless, active engagement can be provoked easily through students’ interest like the concept suggested by the study of Zantua (2017), the use of gamification to catch the interest and engaged the engineering students in problem-solving exercises. The study revealed that using gamified approach, students performed well in seatwork, assignments, board work compared to traditional problem-solving approach. Gamification is a teaching strategy where in the teacher provide a game mechanism and students compete for points, levels, and badges as rewards. Students find enjoyment on difficult subject in engineering course like problem-solving and at the same time their active participation shows their engagement and increase active learning process.
That is why, teachers now a days need to be updated on what are the recent hobbies and interest of learners in our new generation and use it as a driving force to catch their interest and engage on effective teaching and learning process.
ETUCE 2008 in European Council (2009) as cited in Pre (2018) included the life-long professional development as one of the qualities of modern profession throughout their careers. It becomes essential for career-long professional specially for teachers focuses on new forms of relationships and collaboration with colleagues, students, and parents. Teachers are expected to undergo different webinars and trainings for them to improve not only on their teaching pedagogical approaches but also as an individual who has an obligation to provide quality education and become a role model to their students and to the community.
In achieving effective teaching and learning, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) enacted Resolution No. 2016-990 series of 2016 requiring every teacher to earn specific number of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) units every three years for the renewal of their license (PRC BOARD, 2017). Furthermore, the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) issued DepEd Order 35, series 2016 or The Learning Action Cell (LAC) as a K to 12 Basic Education Program School-based Continuing Professional Development Strategy for the Improvement of Teaching and Learning in line with Republic Act No. 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013.
Thereafter, teachers under the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) are expected to grow and develop professionally. The life-long learning was strengthened to cope up in a fast-changing world and continue providing quality education to the students. Tahadlangit (2019) says that committee teachers are devoted to gain more learning by continuing education. These are the teachers who are willing to attend different trainings and seminars, read educational articles, being updated with the latest educational innovations and teaching strategies. They accept challenging opportunities to continue learning and aim for the success of their students.