EDUCATION Secretary Sonny Angara yesterday said the department has started the core subject training for teachers to further improve the learning outcomes in basic education in the country.
Angara said training sessions for English, Science and Mathematics teachers are being done in partnership with the Khan Academy and Frontlearners to enable teachers to conduct learning sessions better.
Angara said this would lead to improved academic performance aligned with international standards.
“We are equipping our teachers with cutting-edge tools and strategies to provide world-class instructions in Science, English and Math. By empowering our educators, we are not only enhancing classroom learning but also preparing our learners to excel academically and meet the challenges of an ever-evolving world,” Angara said in yesterday’s brief ceremony at the DepEd main office in Pasig City commencing the training program.
The program starts with the preparation of regional education coordinators in English, Science and Mathematics to create their classes on the Khan Academy platform, where teachers of the said core subjects are tasked to create their respective accounts to join the session.
It will be followed by an exam on the platform for all teachers in the said subjects in each of the country’s 18 regions.
Angara said after the training and examinations of teachers in their respective subject areas, school division superintendents will identify teacher-trainers who will serve as facilitators for other teachers and learners in their own regions.
Starting January 10, the DepEd’s Curriculum and Teaching Strand will also circulate learning sessions and socio-economic learning guides to field officers to be used in the training of English, Science and Mathematics teacher-trainers from January 13 to 15.
“After the training of teachers-trainers, learning sessions for learners will be implemented from January 16 to March 10, 2025, or a total of eight weeks,” Angara said.
Aside from the training of teachers, Angara said learning sessions will also be conducted for learners and parents to support school activities.
Angara earlier vowed to improve the performance of learners, adding his immediate goal when he assumed the top DepEd post in July last year was to raise the country’s performance in the next Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) slated this year.
In his State of the Nation Address last year, President Marcos Jr. emphasized the need to improve the learning outcomes of Filipino students as he cited assessments that showed that more than half of learners in Grades 6, 10, and 12 have failed to reach the ideal proficiency levels and scored low in information literacy, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills.
In the 2022 PISA results, the Philippines placed, the sixth lowest among the 81 countries that participated in the study.
The results showed that Filipino students continue to lag in such areas as Science, Math and Reading.
