Learning instructions are the complement of curriculum, just as teaching methods are the complement of content. In this time of global pandemic and continuing changes in society brought by technology, the curriculum implements systematically planned changes and innovation to confront society's issues. Teachers and educational leaders must maintain and regularly evaluate the curriculum to determine its effectiveness and if it has achieved its goals.
Since the start of the Covid 19 pandemic and total lockdowns, education is among the institutions severely disrupted. Public schools, colleges, and universities have been ordered by the national governments to close down. Nevertheless, educational leaders, administrators, experts in the field are determined to continue education online to ensure learning continues amidst Covid 19. Today, blended learning has been incorporated and has never been more important and widely used. It became a response to the educational disruption and an alternative method for teachers. Though it allows learners to continue education, the swift transition from face-to-face to blended learning had created an enormous hysteria in learner's social life, learning, and achievements. Teaching is moving online on an untested and unprecedented scale. All of the student's activities and assessments are moving online, with a lot of trial and error and uncertainty for everyone.
Blended learning instruction is a fusion of learning methods that incorporate multiple teaching modals that heavily relied on the delivery of learning through digital resources, frequently with part of the instruction taking place online and part in the classroom via a more traditional approach. It mainly developed through the advancement of modern technology and the growing accessibility of eLearning, online resources, and the continued need for a human component in the learning experience. Blended learning has been long included in schools and universities in the Philippines, including Philippine Normal University. In fact, many professors in the previously stated school adopt flexible learning. By utilizing LMS applications such as Edmodo and Moodle, students can access videos of lectures, track assignments and progress, interact with professors and peers, and review other supporting materials aside from learning in the actual classroom. Basically, blended learning is a mix of old and new as it is a mix of physical and digital learning. However, since the pandemic, instructions are now delivered online or with a module, with teachers providing as-needed support in small-group settings.
On the other hand, face-to-face learning instruction is a method where the teacher offers primarily face-to-face instruction. The course content and learning materials are taught in-person inside or outside a regular classroom and often supplemented with learning materials such as electronic devices or computer lab, which allows for live interaction between a learner and instructor.
In the context of Philippine education and implementing changes in the previous curriculum to respond to the global health crisis, there are found to be advantages and disadvantages in blended learning compared to face-to-face instruction that I will discuss in the following paragraphs.
Generally, the regular face-to-face instructions allow having a smooth delivery of lessons as learners and teachers are both physically present, without worrying about internet connections and clearing misconstrues. Complex subjects can be represented, and the teachers can ensure that students unquestionably understand the lesson. At most times, complications of topics, instructions, and lessons can be directly cleared as student's questions can be answered in real-time, as opposed to the online class since there is a live interaction between a learner and instructor. Here, students and teachers do not worry about language and communication barriers, and teachers can switch languages to deliver lessons to maximize student's learning. Learners also benefit from a greater level of interaction with their peers, improving their social skills and awareness. However, this instruction method could not cater to learners' learning styles, and learners are easily distracted when digital resources are not incorporated in the discussion.
Compared to face-to-face learning, the new online setting and blended instruction deviate from the traditional teacher-centered approach, help cater to the learner's individual needs, allow individuals to learn at their own pace, and drive their individual learning experience. Most students have unique learning styles, and a blended approach is more likely to cater to those needs than a traditional classroom teaching experience. Also, learners are more engaged. Multimedia's development allowed teachers to integrate elements such as images, videos, audio, and graphics to engage students in their classes. Considering the surface of covid 19 and schools are closed, most universities opted to use this method.
Even though the new online/modular setting has continued education, it is not proven effective, especially for grade-level learners. Teachers' role is passed to parents, and because not all learners have literate parents, and not all can afford to have home tutors, this results in students having lower learning gains. Although it cannot be argued that parents are central to a child's education and are widely agreed to provide significant inputs into students learning, but parents' role in a child's education is only to supplement a child's learning by practicing and highlighting simple concepts. These efforts are only a complement to the input from the school, from face-to-face classes. Moreover, much news has surfaced on social media platforms showing parents answering their children's assessments instead of helping their child. Also, in observation, pupils only copy the answer keys from their module and repeating the actions until they finished. This shows that learning quality to all education levels, especially for the primary students, is lessened. Learners today, more than ever, require actual guidance and solid support from real teachers and experts in the fields of teaching.
Moreover, given that the Philippines is one of the top countries with the slowest internet connections, online classes can create major constraints in delivering learning. Students' academic growth has been affected by a lack of access to technology and broadband internet at home. In the blended instructions, the interaction between students and teachers is limited, and as most of the time, both parties have difficulties with their internet connection. Also, many students are born from families who have little to no money to buy for a load to have them attend online classes regularly. This blended learning further widens the gap between rich and poor. It provides unequal access to learning as not all learners are privileged to have access to gadgets, and everyone cannot possibly afford to pay for an internet connection or even have the gadget to attend online learning, not even to mention that not everyone has a conducive learning environment. Clearly, without resource materials and tools, online delivery of instruction hinders student's opportunity to learn and keep up with other privileged students.
Blended learning is one instructional method that mainly lies in students' flexibility and independence. It is an effective tool in addressing the diverse and changing needs of learners and changes in society's social and technological aspects, but considering the conditions and means of support of Filipino students, the use of the blended instructional method, especially online classes, may not cater to everyone and will only worsen inequality, hindering every learners' opportunity for greater achievement and success.
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