November 5, 2021 – The Department of Education (DepEd), through the Teacher Education Council Secretariat (TECS), and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), reinforced the field study and teaching internships of pre-service teachers for enhanced experiential, developmental, and competency-aligned learning in a joint policy.

“We must not only ensure and maintain the efficiency and effectiveness of the teachers but also prepare a new breed of teachers to teach in the post-COVID-19 learning environment,” Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones shared.

CHED Commissioner Aldrin A. Darilag highlighted that the joint policy aims to ensure that field study and teaching internships are experiential by using various new normal learning modalities, developmental through coaching and mentoring, and aligned with the learning continuity plan and the Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELCs).

In the opening statement, TECS Executive Director Runvi V. Manguerra and a member of CHED Technical Panel for Teacher Education (TPTE) emphasized that “We must continuously provide relevant and responsive Pre-service Teacher Education to prepare the next batch of quality Filipino teachers .”

During the orientation, Ateneo Center for Educational Development Director and another member of CHED TPTE Dr. Carmela Oracion discussed the joint memorandum’s context and rationale, and acronyms and key terminologies, as well as the provisions of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the cooperating schools or DepEd offices, and Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs).

“We would like to emphasize that although the endeavor and the relationship between CHED and DepEd are governed by the Memorandum of Agreement, the most crucial factor in preparing would-be teachers to teach at the frontlines is collaborative work,” Dr. Oracion said.

In addition, Dr. Marie Therese Angeline Bustos, Director of the Assessment Curriculum and Technology Research Center Philippines and another member of the CHED TPTE, shared the expected teaching-learning activities in the field study courses and teaching internship, which follow the new Philippine Professional Standard for Teachers (PPST).

Region IV-A OIC-Assistant Regional Director and Rizal Schools Division Superintendent Cherrylou Repia also stressed the significance of pre-service education and the teaching practice in the context of the restrictions posed by the pandemic.

A practical manual was introduced, covering the guidelines and tools that can be used by TEI supervisors, teachers, parents, and cooperating teachers, particularly in the global health situation.

END