I am Back!
Returning to work is something I don't like. I prefer doing work from home because it is comfortable and practical from a financial perspective however I know that my work requires me to be there in the physical sense. I contemplated and accepted that I will be returning to work. I know this will be different and exciting. The set-up will be a hybrid and that is something new to me.
Hybrid as a Combination
The school where I am teaching will be doing a Hybrid modality (We call it HyFlex.) in delivering the services. The hybrid that was made is a combination of Face to Face (F2F) and Online Modalities. It is a combination. 50% of students are in school and the other 50% is the virtual classroom (Zoom, MS Teams, or GMeet) but students have a choice of not attending in the physical classroom and choosing to be in the online set-up is why there is flex in HyFlex. I am excited with this one because I am challenged yet there is the idea in my mind that, is it going to be effective? are my students going to learn? is this the optimal set-up? and many more questions. I am positive that things will be challenging at first however as the hybrid modality is going I believe that I and other educators will get the system and will make best practices.
My Delivery
I plan my lessons in a way that I will do Flipped Teaching. This teaching strategy is like you gave the learning materials before the students came in the synchronous engagement and then making collaboration. This is under the discovery approach of Bruner. In my assessment, self - paced assessment will be done. I will let them do their assessment until Saturday at 5 pm. I would like to share my plan on how will I deliver my lesson. There are 3 phases in my plan:
Phase 1: Module Delivery
This is the phase where students will do the self-study of the materials I prepared in the learning management system (LMS). This is in the form of different digital tools from slides, videos, interactives, and many more.
Phase 2: Synchronous Engagement
This is the phase where understanding checking will be done. Primarily I will assess what students understand and not in the materials given to them. The activities that will be done in this phase will be depending on the understanding made by the learners. During this time, digital tools will be used in the concept of game-based learning (like I am going to use Kahoot Courses, Quizizz Lesson, and others), collaboration in problem-solving (Google Suites, Office 365, and Canva for Education), and reflective learning.
Phase 3: Support for Enrichment and Remediation
This phase is challenging because I will prepare at least 2 sets of activities. One activity is for the enrichment and the other one is for remediation. I know it is a challenge but technology might give me a chance to do this. I believe Khan Academy, Desmos lessons, and alike can help me and the students to do this one.
View as a Teacher
This will not be easy yet it is exciting. It is a cliche yet that is true. The world is now in the concept of VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) which makes it difficult to make things move. It is an industry sense yet it is applicable in the education field. This hybrid or hyflex is the modality however the teacher's sense of delivery matters. The future is going towards digital transformation. It is not easy to teach in a way that is different from the way you learn. Adaptive learning should be the sense and core of this modality. It is not yet standard which is why teachers should make also a reflection on their teaching. I am writing this blog in the sense that I want to share what works in my class and what is not.
It is uncertain for teachers to be proactive in the hybrid or hyflex modality due to political issues like DepEd Order no. 34 s. 2022, internet connectivity and student engagement. My view with this one is to make a strong stand on what is the delivery modality for each school that can sustain the majority of the factors in the delivery. Internet connection is one of the challenges. Engagement of students is also a challenge due to multifactorial reasons like personal, readiness, comprehension, and many more.
My take on these uncertainties is to make it an opportunity to be a better educator. I know it is difficult yet solutions can be made from the grassroots level which is inside the classroom. I am making my class as organic as possible. I set my classes where I make my students respond to their learning. When I did my orientation I gave them the idea that I want them to be professional students. The counter responsibility should be given to them. I am teaching middle school (Junior High School) and it is an opportunity for me as an educator to build work - ethics for them. I want them to take their education with a sense of ownership. It is also difficult for students however I believe the teachers should make them understand that life is not easy and that finding a solution is the pinnacle of learning mathematics which is solving problems and difficulties. Enjoying the productive struggles is also in my classroom.
My Mantra
I will enjoy teaching because I see that it is an opportunity for me to grow as a person as a professional. It is not only for myself but for my students and the country. However I need a raise in my salary so I can get more coffee so I will not do what is in the picture.
