LESSON 1

Learning Plans in the Context of the 21st Century

The K to 12 Curriculum Framework

The basic education curriculum of the country was enhanced with the implementation of the K to
12 Curriculum. The K to 12 Program covers Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education (six
years of elementary education, four years of Junior High School, and two years of Senior High
School [SHS]) to provide sufficient time for mastery of concepts and skills, develop lifelong
learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skills development,
employment, and entrepreneurship. The implementation of the K to 12 Curriculum is expected to
contribute to the country's development in various forms. It is believed to be necessary to
improve the quality of our education, which is critical to our progress as a nation.

One of the features of the K to 12 curriculum is the requirement to equip every graduate with the
following skills:
• Information, media, and technology skills;
• Learning and innovation skills;
• Effective communication skills; and
• Life and career skills.

The development of these skills can be done with the aid of technologies for teaching and
learning, which is the focus of this course. This course aims to present activities that will prepare
pre-service teachers to integrate ICTs in the teaching-learning processes in the various fields of
specialization. It aims to help pre-service and in-service teachers to expand the boundaries of
their creativity and that of their students beyond the four walls of the classrooms. It aims to
enable teachers to discover the power of computer technologies as teaching tools for greater
learning.

The K to 12 Curriculum Framework

The implementation of the K to 12 Curriculum of the Department of Education paved the way
for the enhancement of the Teacher Education Curriculum of the Commission on Higher
Education (CHED). The salient features of the K to 12 Curriculum have been thoroughly
considered to ensure that all the courses in the teacher education program will meet the demands
of the 21st-century classrooms. One of the considerations is the need to implement the following
salient features of the curriculum through integrating technologies for teaching and learning. The
use of technologies is done in the different levels of learning and in teaching the various fields of
specialization.

1. Strengthening Early Childhood Education (Universal Kindergarten)

With the Universal Kindergarten program of the Department, every Filipino child is
expected to have access to early childhood education. This access can be facilitated using
technological tools that are readily available to the school for teachers' use. The use of
technology in Kindergarten by various schools is very evident in teaching the
 kindergarten pupils the alphabet, numbers, shapes, and colors through games, songs, and
dances in their Mother Tongue.
2. Making the Curriculum Relevant to Learners (Contextualization and
Enhancement)
Research shows that learners will value a curriculum that is relevant to their lives.
Students are often heard saying, "Do I need to know these to live a meaningful life?"
"How will I use this lesson in the actual workplace?" "What is the relevance of this to
me?" and so on. The answer to the question of relevance is vital to help the teachers think
of some ways by which they will be able to let their students realize that their daily
lessons are of good use to their personal well-being and to their professional preparation.

Sara Bernard (2010) stressed that students need to have a personal connection to a lesson
material that can be done through engaging them emotionally or through connecting the
information with that which they already know. This she calls "Give It Context, and Make it
Count."

Briggs (2014) shared a few tips for making learning engaging and personally relevant as cited by
Willis, Faeth, and Immordino-Yang:
• Use suspense and keep it fresh - Drop hints about a new learning unit before you reveal what it
might be, leaving gaping pauses in your speech, changing seating arrangements, and putting up
new and relevant posters or displays. All these can activate emotional signals and keep student
interest piqued.
• Make it student-directed - Give students a choice of assignments on a particular topic or ask
them to design one of their own. "When students are involved in designing the lesson, they better
understand the goal of the lesson and become more emotionally invested in and attached to the
learning outcomes."
• Connect it to their lives and to what they already know - Taking the time to brainstorm about
what students already know and would like to learn about a topic helps them to create goals. This
also helps teachers see the best points of departure for new ideas. Making cross-curricular
connections also helps solidify those neural loops.
• Provide utility value - Utility value provides relevance first by piquing students' interest and by
telling them the content is important to their future goals. It then continues by showing or
explaining how the content fits into their plans for the future. This helps students realize the
content is not just interesting but also worth knowing.
• Build relatedness - Relatedness answers the question, "What have these to do with me?" It is an
inherent need for students to feel close to the significant people in their lives, including teachers.
Relatedness is seen by many as having non-academic and academic sides.

To be able to apply the tips recommended by various experts and to allow students to realize the
value of their curriculum, technological tools can be used. 21st-century learners are expected to
demonstrate 21st-century competencies such as collaboration, digital literacy, critical thinking,
and problem solving to thrive in this world (Rich, 2014). Contextualizing the curriculum for
meaningful learning poses challenges in enhancing teachers' pedagogical skills as well as
technological skills.
 3. Building Proficiency (Mother-Tongue-Based Multilingual Education)
To be able to promote the child's dominant language and to use it as a language of
instruction, maximum use of technological tools is highly encouraged. Currently, many
teachers and schools are developing learning materials to be able to implement the MTB-
MLE program properly, especially as there is a dearth of printed and digital materials in
the mother tongue of the students. Mother Tongue is used in instruction and learning
materials of other learning areas. The learners retain their ethnic identity, culture,
heritage, and values. Children learn better and are more active in class and learn a second
language even faster when they are first taught in a language they understand.
4. Ensuring Integrated and Seamless Learning (Spiral Progression)
Learning basic concepts that lead to a more complex and sophisticated version of the
general concepts entails TPACK: Technological knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and
content knowledge. Rediscovering concepts previously presented as students go up in
grade level will be fully supported if all the areas of specialization are aided by
technologies for teaching and learning. This will further strengthen retention and will
enhance mastery of topics and skills as they are revisited and consolidated time and
again. This also allows learners to learn topics and skills appropriate to their
developmental and cognitive abilities.
5. Gearing Up for the Future
The K to 12 Curriculum ensures college readiness by aligning the core and applied
courses to the College Readiness Standards (CRS) and the new General Education (GE)
Curriculum. Hence, the K to 12 Curriculum focuses on developing appropriate
Specialization Subjects for the Academic, Sports, Arts and Design, and Technical
Vocational Livelihood Tracks. All of these specialization subjects have to be supported
by educational technology for better learning.
6. Nurturing the Holistically Developed Filipino (College and Livelihood Readiness,
21st-Century Skills)
To nurture a holistically developed Filipino, every K to 12 graduate is expected to be
ready to pursue different paths—higher education, employment, or entrepreneurship.
Every graduate is expected to be equipped with information, media, and technology
skills, learning and innovation skills, effective communication skills, and life and career
skills. This may happen with the proper implementation of the curriculum and with
facilitation by excellent teachers. For teachers to maintain excellent performance, they
need full support, one of which is technological support.

Teachers play a very important role in the facilitation of student learning by designing,
implementing, and evaluating the curriculum. In the Philippines, teachers are expected to
actively engage themselves in curriculum design to ensure that the K to 12 Curriculum will be
best delivered to fully realize its intended learning outcomes. Teachers make decisions about
how they will implement the curriculum of their specific field of specialization. They decide on
how they must structure the activities of their lessons and manage students' responses and ideas.
Hence, the decisions of teachers are very important. They have an impact on the students'
learning. The following are points to consider in identifying and understanding teachers' roles as
curriculum designers:
• Undoubtedly, the most important person in the curriculum implementation process is the
teacher. With their knowledge, experiences, and competencies, teachers are central to any
curriculum development effort. Better teachers support better learning because they are most
knowledgeable about the practice of teaching and are responsible for introducing the curriculum
in the classroom (Alsubaie, 2016).
• Curriculum is the planned interaction of pupils with instructional content, materials, resources,
and processes for evaluating the attainment of educational objectives (Jadhav and Patankar,
2013).
• Curriculum is content, but when contextualized, it comes alive for students. The role of
teachers in the curriculum process is to help students develop an engaged relationship with the
content. Active learning increases the focus and retention of the curriculum, resulting in an
exciting learning environment. Teachers build lessons that include simulations, experiments,
case studies, and activities to deliver a curriculum. This interactive approach intertwines
curriculum and practical experiences that immerse students in learning. The curriculum process
provides an opportunity for teachers to be creative and put their unique stamp on the classroom
experience (Meier, 2018).
• Teachers, on their part, have practical knowledge based on their daily work with students. This
knowledge is useful to curriculum committees because teachers can assess whether the ideas
being developed will work in the classroom (Young, 1988).

Lesson 2: ICT-Pedagogy Integration in Language Learning Plans

In the modern classroom, integrating technology effectively into language teaching is essential
for enhancing learning outcomes and helping students develop 21st-century skills. Let's break
down the key concepts and principles presented in this lesson:

1. Integrating Technology in Instruction

The integration of technology in teaching has evolved over the years. Different educators
emphasize different aspects, but the core idea is to use technology as a tool to facilitate learning,
rather than merely as a reward or entertainment. For example:

• John Pisapia (1994) suggests that technology should be used to introduce, reinforce,
supplement, and extend learning. It should serve as an integrated part of the curriculum,
such as through computer-assisted instruction or enriching lessons with multimedia tools.
• ISTE focuses on students using technology tools to obtain, analyze, synthesize, and
present information. Technology should become as integrated into the classroom as
traditional tools like whiteboards.
• Margaret Lloyd (2005) highlights the role of ICT integration in broader curriculum
reforms, touching on the pedagogical and infrastructural changes required to support
the changing landscape of education.
• Qiyun Wang & Huay Lit Woo (2007) suggest that ICT integration can occur at three
levels: curriculum, topic, and lesson.
• Bernard Bahati (2010) stresses that ICT integration must be based on sound
pedagogical principles, ensuring that technology enhances, rather than detracts from,
teaching practices.
 • UNESCO (2005) asserts that ICT integration isn't just about mastering the technology,
but organizing learning environments where ICT becomes as natural as any other
classroom tool.

2. What is Information and Communication Technology (ICT)?

Understanding what ICT encompasses is crucial for integrating it effectively. ICT includes:

• Hardware (computers, mobile devices, projectors)

• Software (applications for word processing, presentations, and multimedia)
• Telecommunications (the internet, radio, television, mobile phones, videoconferencing)

The use of ICT should be guided by pedagogical strategies that align with learning outcomes and
help engage students in the learning process.

3. Frameworks for ICT Integration in Language Education

To ensure that technology is used effectively, various frameworks provide guidance on how to
integrate ICT into language teaching:

A. Laurillard’s Conversational Framework (2002)

Laurillard's framework offers a structured approach to teaching and learning by defining five
key events in the learning process:

• Acquisition: Learners gain new information.

• Discovery: Learners explore and make connections.
• Dialogue: Teacher and learners interact, discussing and clarifying ideas.
• Practice: Learners apply and practice what they've learned.
• Creation: Learners synthesize their knowledge to create new ideas or projects.

Each of these events can be supported by both non-computer-based and computer-based

activities, allowing for a mix of traditional and digital methods.

B. Wang’s Three Fundamental Elements of ICT Integration (2008)

Wang's framework outlines three key components for successful ICT integration:

• Pedagogy: The teaching strategies used to deliver lessons and engage students.
• Social Interaction: Collaboration and communication among students and between
students and teachers, which can be enhanced with digital tools.
• Technology: The digital tools that support various learning activities, including
computers, software, and online platforms.
In language learning, pedagogy involves selecting appropriate content and designing activities
that integrate both technology and language learning objectives. Social interaction is also key for
language acquisition, and ICT can help facilitate both individual and collaborative learning.

C. Categories for ICT in Teacher Training

Effective ICT integration requires teacher training that develops higher-order thinking skills
(HOTS) and encourages collaboration. Various frameworks suggest that teachers should be
trained in:

• Pedagogical strategies for using ICT.

• Collaborative tools and online communication.
• Critical thinking and problem-solving using ICT.

D. UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers (2018)

The UNESCO framework helps teachers develop the necessary competencies to integrate ICT
into teaching. The framework includes six key areas of work:

1. Understanding ICT in education.

2. Curriculum and assessment pedagogy.
3. Application of digital skills.
4. Organization and administration.
5. Professional learning.
6. Teaching approaches (knowledge acquisition, deepening, and creation).

This framework emphasizes the need to combine technology and pedagogy to create interactive,
socially active learning environments that foster collaboration, creativity, and cross-cultural
understanding.

Key Takeaways for Teachers in Language Education

• Technology should not be an add-on but should be integrated into the curriculum in
meaningful ways, enhancing the teaching and learning process.
• Teachers should be intentional about the pedagogical design of their lessons, ensuring
that technology is used to support the language learning goals.
• Social interaction, both in person and through digital tools, is essential for language
acquisition and should be facilitated through well-designed ICT-based activities.
• Teachers must develop their own digital competencies and continually engage with
professional learning to keep pace with new tools and technologies.

By using these frameworks and principles, teachers can create dynamic and effective learning
environments that promote language skills and 21st-century competencies.