Schools and educators are now looking to new strategies to deliver quality education to students outside the classroom, especially to those in far-flung areas with even more challenging circumstances.

It is in this context that the CVIF-Dynamic Learning Program (DLP), a disaster-resilient, innovative, and low-budget teaching strategy, proves to be very useful. The brainchild of Filipino Theoretical Physicists and Ramon Magsaysay laureates Dr. Christopher Bernido and Dr. Ma. Victoria Carpio-Bernido, the program is designed to train students to learn independently, effectively, and responsibly, even with minimal supervision from both teachers and parents.

It focuses on student activity and aims to produce students whose competence in the Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology (STEM) disciplines are comparable to global standards.

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First implemented in 2002 in the Central Visayan Institute Foundation (CVIF), the Bernidos’ secondary school in Jagna, Bohol, DLP immediately yielded positive results. Students showed improved academic performance in class and on national scholastic aptitude tests and higher success rates in entrance exams in premier universities in the country and abroad. This, with zero homework and face-to-face interaction with a teacher for an equivalent of only 20% of school time.

Webinar

On June 17-19, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., private and public schools and even those in ALS that have adopted DLP will share best practices in a web forum titled “No Learner Left Behind: Education for All in the New Normal.” Parents and teachers, especially those in the public schools, are invited to join the DLP web forum which will be streamed live via the Dynamic Learning Program Facebook page.

The program has since been rolled out in public and private schools all over the country.

DLP has been successfully implemented in the Alternative Learning System (ALS), the flagship program of the Department of Education (DepEd) that offers second-chance education to youth and adults who failed to complete basic education.

The typical situation In ALS mirrors the challenges now faced by formal education: there are no classrooms and workbooks, teachers to cater to learners at different levels all at the same time. Face-to-face classes are held only once a week, and because of the learners’ financial circumstances, printed rather than online modules are used, and learners have to accomplish assignments on their own. With DLP, ALS teachers have been able to bypass these challenges.

Learning activity sheets

In DLP, pre-developed Learning Activity Sheets are a key component. Indicated on a single page are the Activity Title, the Learning Target, and a short Concept Note similar to a digest of the topic to be learned, and several Exercises. The difference from a teacher’s lesson plan is that the activity sheet is designed to be copied, read, understood, and answered by the students independently, without a prior lecture.

By focusing more on student activity rather than a traditional lecture, DLP has proven to be effective in addressing the challenges teachers and learners face in difficult situations, such as sudden interruption of classes and restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 health crisis.

The immense challenges currently faced by the education sector necessitates looking into various methodologies to bring education to learners in a variety of contexts. For PLDT and its subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc. and the PLDT-Smart Foundation, this means providing flexible learning options from online to on-air to offline through the Dynamic Learning Program, which the companies have been supporting since 2010.