BEAM Newsletter

ARMM Beginning Reading Program Pilot

“Strong literacy skills are the foundation of the pathway to success that allows children to participate fully in all spheres of life”

 (“Successful Interventions: Literacy Research Project Middle Years 5-9” Victorian Education Department, Australia, January 2001).

Basic to any child’s education is the ability to read, write, speak and listen – to communicate effectively, collectively what we call literacy. Children cannot function in their daily lives if they are not literate. Reading is the foundation of all further learning. If our children cannot read, they are on the road to academic failure. Teaching children to read must be our highest priority.

DepEd has a commitment to improving students’ literacy levels through their ability to read. The national program, Every Child a Reader Program (ECARP) (DepEd Order No 45, 2002) has as its goal to make every child will be a reader by the time they finish Grade III. This program supports the Philippine government to meet its ‘Education for All” goals.

The ARMM Beginning Reading Program Pilot for Grade I and II teachers, a joint venture of Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao (BEAM) and Education Quality and Access for Learning and Livelihood Skills 2 (EQuALLS) to support ECARP.  Data from the teacher in-service needs analysis and from the BEAM ARMM Leaders’ Action Plan 2 “Beginning Reading Program”, identified training for teachers on beginning reading strategies as a high area of need. Teachers do make a difference – the quality of teaching has a huge impact on whether a child learns to read. Teachers must have a PASSION for reading and KNOW and be able to TEACH strategies on how to read and assess their students.

Both BEAM and EQuALLS2 were working in schools in the ARMM and the decision was made to collaborate on this pilot to maximize the resources and support for ARMM. The decision was made to pilot the program, evaluate its implementation and revise it and then make it available for a wider roll out.

The pilot began in January 2007 with commitment given by the Secretary of Education, DepEd-ARMM Udtog Kawit. An ARMM coordinator was appointed and a Technical Working Group (TWG), composed of Education Supervisors from the island divisions, BEAM and EQuALLS2 officers, was established to oversee the development, implementation and evaluation ARMM Beginning Reading Program pilot.

The program promotes “Learning to Read: Reading to Learn”. The key points in the program are:

- an understanding that learning to read also involves writing, speaking and listening skills

- assessment of the students’ reading skills as an ongoing activity

-  monitoring of the program to support the implementation

- the principles of teaching and learning for early childhood

- the use of literature as well as phonics

- encouraging a whole-school approach to supporting the development of reading

strong support from the school community, district and division

Two pilot elementary schools in each division were selected for inclusion in the pilot, based on the following criteria:

-  reading was on their school improvement plan (SIP)

-  there was strong support from the school head

-  there was a supportive local community

-  they were in an EQaLLS2 barangay

-  they may have electricity

Phase 1 of the pilot was conducted in 2007 and all Grade I teachers from  the 18 pilot schools, their school heads, the district supervisors and the division education supervisor I (English) were included in the training to ensure knowledge and support for the teachers and the program. A total of 4,893 Grade I students were involved in the first phase of the ARMM Beginning Reading Pilot.

Phase I of the pilot consisted of two cycles of training with implementation of the strategies and monitoring between cycles. A third cycle was the review and evaluation day.

In phase II beginning 2008 the program will be extended to the Grade II teachers in the pilot schools. From the monitoring and evaluation data, the TWG has recommended to include the 2007 Grade I teachers in the training. The materials from phase 1 have been revised in the light of the evaluation and the 2008 program will commence with the Training of the Trainers in April followed by a 5-day training of teachers in May, during the summer vacation..

A group of trainers, identified from among the division National English Proficiency Program (NEPP) trained mentors, will be trained to conduct the program. This further strengthens DepEd’s resources in supporting beginning reading and is a strategy to support the teachers’ implementation. They will be trained to deliver the two cycles of training and then support the teachers in their implementation through mentoring and school visits in their division, while the district and division Education Supervisors will monitor the program.

During the recent Cycle 3 Review and Evaluation Meetings, the following key findings from Phase 1 were identified:

In the School Readiness Assessment (SRA), the factors that contributed to a student’s readiness for school were: 

Parents

• supportive
• literate
• financially able to send their students to pre-school

Attendance at pre-school

• This data supports DepEd’s recent decision to extend the 8-week Curriculum and Student Readiness work into pre-schools and day care centers.

Teachers

All the pilot school personnel were highly positive of the Pilot. They indicated that:

• The content of the training for teachers, school heads and supervisors enhanced their knowledge and skills in beginning reading in terms of the content and their teaching strategies.
• The methodology used in the training sessions engaged the participants, it was simple and easy to follow and applicable in their classrooms.
• The structure and organization of the training design (two cycles with implementation and monitoring in between by school heads, supervisors, BEAM and EQuALLS2 team members) lead to teachers, school heads and supervisors enhancing their knowledge and skills in beginning reading teaching, lead to camaraderie amongst all the groups, clarified and provided further direction when needed. This in turn resulted in better learning amongst the students with evidence of many students reading.

Manual and Training Materials

• Teachers greatly appreciated the provision of the teacher and student resource materials and handbooks
• They were seen as systematic and the content relevant and assisted teachers in planning their lessons.
• Some simplification was needed for the both the teachers and students in some of the modules and monitoring sheets.
• Make the instructional aids more durable.
• The teachers identified which strategies they found most useful and suitable for their students.

Grade II Teachers Needs Identified 
The group overwhelmingly supported:

• The inclusion of the Grade II teachers in the pilot
• The use of the same training structure and design and monitoring
• The same monitoring structures with the school head, supervisors ( both Division English and District), BEAM and EQUaLLS2

A focus on phonemic awareness, phonics, word recognition/ vocabulary development, fluency and comprehension.
 
The energy and commitment of the school heads, their teachers and their district and divisional supervisors supporting them displayed through Phase I of the ARMM Beginning Reading Program Pilot, will flow into Phase II as we extend this important pilot in 2008.