The Pedagogy of the New Normal

An On-going Conversation on

The Pedagogy of the New Normal

Jonevee Amparo, Early Sol Gadong, Jessie Labiste Jr., Donne Jone Sodusta

Div. of Professional Education - UPHSI, College of Arts and Sciences

UP Visayas

The Germ of an Idea

Many, if not all, of us were caught by surprise when the enhanced community lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic was put in place in March 2020 --- first in the nation’s capital, and then the whole of Luzon. Iloilo City and the Province of Iloilo, where two of the three campuses of UP Visayas are located, soon followed. 

A lot of questions have been raised since, particularly those in the context of our role as an academic institution.

Our team has decided to initiate this conversation to help us move forward and fulfill the Prof. Ed.’s mission to set the pace and standards for teacher education in the region.

Through a series of interactive webinars, these conversations aim to create a framework for the Pedagogy of the New Normal by exploring current or emerging educational and pedagogical assumptions, approaches, and assessment schemes. 

Using a bottom-up approach, we expect the framework to be inclusive and evolving by integrating the experiences of different stakeholders from different contexts.

What Do We Talk About?

Participants in the webinar are engaged to:

Ø reflect on the educational and pedagogical assumptions, approaches, and assessment schemes before the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ);

Ø explore the current or emerging educational and pedagogical assumptions, approaches, and assessment schemes during and after the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ); and

Ø articulate personal or professional thoughts and practices that one thinks need to stop, start, continue, or tweak given our recent collective experience.

After a brief talk on the proposed analytical framework, participants are then asked to fill up a template that aims to generate ideas in further developing the tentative framework.

Assumptions		Remarks
The Old Normal (Before April 2020)	The New Normal (April 2020 and beyond)	Reasons/ Observations/ Sources of Your Opinion
The purpose of education and pedagogy was…	The purpose of education and pedagogy will now be…
The teacher’s role was…	The teacher’s role will now be…
The learners were viewed was…	The learners were viewed will be…
The values that education and pedagogy will were focused on before were…	The values that education and pedagogy will be focused on now will be…

Approaches		Remarks
The Old Normal (Before April 2020)	The New Normal (April 2020 and beyond)	Reasons/ Observations/ Sources of Your Opinion
Teaching happened when…	Teaching now happens when…
Learning happened when…	Learning could now happen when…
The place where teaching and learning happens was…	The place where teaching and learning now happens is…
The most useful tools and resources for teaching were…	The most useful tools and resources for teaching now are…

Assessment		Remarks
The Old Normal (Before April 2020)	The New Normal (April 2020 and beyond)	Reasons/ Observations/ Sources of Your Opinion
Learning was assessed by…	Learning is now assessed by…
The means of learning assessment that teachers used were…	The means of learning assessment that teachers will now use are…
The most important consideration or aspect that teachers need to consider when conducting assessment were…	The most important consideration or aspect that teachers need to consider when conducting assessment are now…
What assessment valued were…	What assessment now values are…

The Conversation, So Far

Two initial runs of the webinar have been conducted in the past week.

The first one was held with a number of teachers from the UP High School in Iloilo (20 April 2020). Interestingly, the open forum and workshop part of the webinar became a venue for faculty members to express their difficulties during this crisis, and their willingness to be involved also in addressing educational issues.

The second run of the webinar was participated in by mid-level faculty administrators from UPV (24 April 2020).

Participants’ concerns included the following:

l feasible grading requirements and assessment methods;

l additional requirements to be complied with during the ECQ; and

l safety and mental health.  

Both sessions revealed an inconvenient truth: many of us are still trying to manage current problems using the mindset from the Old Normal, and are therefore mentally and psychologically unprepared to handle the situations that we are faced with in the New Normal.

The Conversation Continues

Research show that the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic manifest in many aspects of our lives. Yet there is a nagging feeling that learning institutions expect us to come back and resume regular learning experiences as if nothing overwhelming has happened and continue happening to us.

Many eyes are on the University of the Philippines as state universities and colleges, as well as other higher education institutions, await the adjustments nad policies that we will be setting in response to what is happening.

In particular, UP Visayas should be taking the lead in shaping the state of education in Western Visayas and beyond.

As such, future conversations aim to answer the following questions, and more:

Are schools now ready to think and plan for the New Normal? What aspects of the Old Normal would be difficult for us to let go as an academic community? Should we insist on reaching the remaining goals imposed by the Old Normal today, despite our current conditions? If so, how?