Contextualizing Laudato Si’ through People’s Organization Engagement: A Kalawakan Experience

Abstract Barangay[1] Kalawakan[2] is one of the eight barangays of Doña Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan[3] situated at the Sierra Madre Mountain Range[4] of Luzon. Likewise, the place is considered as Bulacan’s last frontier because of its tropical rainforest flora and fauna, preserved biodiversity and balanced ecosystem. However, this barangay has also attracted several large-scale mining companies to extract metals and minerals either from or below the earth. As a defense mechanism of the locals, they initiated to form a people’s organization (PO) known as Samahang Makakalikasan ng Barangay Kalawakan[5] composed of the Tagalogs (lowlanders) and indigenous people locally known as Dumagats through the help of some academic institutions. This organization which aims to promote justice, peace and integrity of creation, has complied with the requirements mandated by the Security and Exchange Commission of the Republic of the Philippines. On this note, the proponent described how the members have protected and preserved their natural environment, resources and wildlife habitat. He also explained how the group opposed and exerted efforts to foreclose the two influential large-scale mining companies through series of protests, public consultations, court hearings, conferences, fora, exhibits, fieldtrips and symposia in collaboration with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources[6], the Provincial Government of Bulacan and several educational institutions. Part of this research article also explains how the members have sustained their integral ecology through livelihood, environmental and health programs in partnership with the Kamanlalakbay Program of the University of Santo Tomas-Office for Community Development[7] as indicators of contextualization of Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’. The proponent utilized participatory action research as a tailor-made method. He also utilized an overarching framework known as reflection/action/realization process which emerged from his experiences as a community organizer. This model has 5 stages: first is experience, where one reviews the concrete situation including his/her experiences of the lived reality; second is brief social analysis where one understands the deeper systemic and structural of a particular social injustice; third is theological reflection wherein one is given the opportunity to examine the issue through the perspective of faith; fourth is action, where one decides what he/she can do and should be done to address the root causes of the problem; and fifth is realization, wherein one has to learn from his/her discernment. The aforementioned paradigm should be consistently followed when reducing social theories into practice. [1]It pertains to the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward. [2]Literally, it refers to universe or outer space. It can also be defined as a territory with huge land area. Hereafter, Barangay Kalawakan will be referred to as Kalawakan. [3]Doña Remedios Trinidad is the largest municipality in Bulacan, occupying almost 1/3 of the total land area of the province. Hereafter, this town will be referred to as DRT. [4]Sierra Madre is a long mountain range that encompasses Northern, Central and Southern Luzon. [5]Hereafter, this group will be referred to as SAMAMAKA. [6]Hereafter, this government agency will be referred to as DENR. [7]Hereafter, this institution will be referred to as UST-OCD

Contextualizing instruction: Leveraging students' prior knowledge and experiences to foster understanding of middle school science

Contextualizing science instruction involves utilizing students' prior knowledge and everyday experiences as a catalyst for understanding challenging science concepts. This study of two middle school science classrooms examined how students utilized the contextualizing aspects of project-based instruction and its relationship to their science learning. Observations of focus students' participation during instruction were described in terms of a contextualizing score for their use of the project features to support their learning. Pre/posttests were administered and students' final artifacts were collected and evaluated. The results of these assessments were compared with students' contextualizing scores, demonstrating a strong positive correlation between them. These findings provide evidence to support claims of contextualizing instruction as a means to facilitate student learning, and point toward future consideration of this instructional method in broader research studies and the design of science learning environments. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 79–100, 2008Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/57510/1/20203_ftp.pd

Issues in Reusing Online Resources: Chapter 1

This is an era marked by rapid developments in three different educational arenas -- access, lifelong learning and e-learning. In both developed and developing countries there is a growing demand for access to education... Alongside this growing demand for access, increased numbers of adults are returning to colleges and universities for additional education and training (CIHE, 2002). Lifelong learning has come of age, brought about by changes in attitudes to learning and in employment patterns, where jobs and careers are recast many times during a lifespan. Permeating and supporting these first two developments, in access and lifelong learning, are developments in information and communication technologies (ICT). New technologies are beginning to transform how higher education is organized and delivered both on campus and at a distance. E-learning affords new opportunities to increase flexibility in time and location of study, in forms of communication (for example, asynchronous discussions) and types of interaction... Although e-learning has the potential to provide the kinds of flexibility required by wider access and lifelong learning there are some major obstacles. On the one hand, wider access and lifelong learning require vast increases in specially designed course materials to satisfy the greater range of demands for learning. On the other hand, creating the digital resources necessary for online course delivery requires considerable investment, a factor that makes resource development only viable for courses with large student numbers or sizeable budgets. In order to address this difficulty, numerous national and international initiatives have been funded to investigate ways in which digital learning resources might be developed, shared and reused by teachers and learners around the world (so as to benefit from economies of scale). Behind these initiatives lies a vision of a future in which reusable resources (or 'learning objects' as they are called) could comprise a new currency of exchange within a learning economy. Learning objects, produced by publishers, teachers, support staff and students themselves, would be stored in digital repositories, where they could be easily accessed, recombined and reused within online courses. However, despite this vision, the idea of reusing electronic resources is more complex than the object economy scenario, outlined above, may suggest. The next section identifies seven issues associated with the reuse and sharing of resources. These sections focus on educational design, the need for standards, and on the culture and organization that would be necessary in institutions (and across institutions) if reuse were to become a reality

Assessment and learning outcomes: the evaluation of deep learning in an on-line course

Using an online learning environment, students from European countries collaborated and communicated to carry out problem based learning in occupational therapy. The effectiveness of this approach was evaluated by means of the final assessments and published learning outcomes. In particular, transcripts from peer-to-peer sessions of synchronous communication were analysed. The SOLO taxonomy was used and the development of deep learning was studied week by week. This allowed the quality of the course to be appraised and showed, to a certain extent, the impact of this online international course on the learning strategies of the students. Results indicate that deep learning can be supported by synchronous communication and online meetings between course participants.</p

The evolving landscape of learning technology

This paper provides an overview of the current and emerging issues in learning technology research, concentrating on structural issues such as infrastructure, policy and organizational context. It updates the vision of technology outlined by Squires’ (1999) concept of peripatetic electronic teachers (PETs) where Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) provide an enabling medium to allow teachers to act as freelance agents in a virtual world and reflects to what extent this vision has been realized The paper begins with a survey of some of the key areas of ICT development and provides a contextualizing framework for the area in terms of external agendas and policy drivers. It then focuses upon learning technology developments which have occurred in the last five years in the UK and offers a number of alternative taxonomies to describe this. The paper concludes with a discussion of the issues which arise from this work

A Qualitative Exploration of the MATATAG Curriculum's Perceived Impact on History and Geography Education in the School Year 2024-2025

This study presents a qualitative examination of the influence of the MATATAG curriculum on history and geography education for the academic year 2024-2025. Through the utilization of Focused Group Discussions (FGD) and interviews involving stakeholders in social studies education, a systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of participant responses were conducted. FGD outcomes uncovered diverse themes regarding the perceived impact of the MATATAG curriculum on the teaching of history and geography. These themes encompass heightened awareness of contemporary and critical issues, deepened understanding with expanded perspectives, varied outcomes based on implementation, early exposure to history and geography, addressing knowledge gaps and fostering patriotism, impact on discipline and awareness, intensified focus on geography and history, and the teacher's perspective and meaningful learning. The results highlight substantial positive changes attributed to the MATATAG curriculum compared to its predecessor, as outlined in the curriculum guides issued by the Department of Education. Noteworthy is the curriculum's provision of opportunities for the localization and contextualization of history and geography lessons. This paper contributes novel insights into the perceptions of diverse stakeholders regarding the imminent implementation of the MATATAG curriculum in the upcoming school year.&nbsp

Socio-economic and scientific challenges of a qualitative design of distance learning: contextualization and interculturation

International audiencePromoted in Europe by the Bologna Process, distance education has increased in recent years. This boom began a major transformation of universities characterized, among others, by a multiplication of exchanges between individuals from different personal, educational and professional backgrounds. However, in this new teaching context, international students and teachers are sometimes destabilized: students in the face of new methods of university work and program content, teachers because they are confronted with diverse student profiles, expectations and needs. The questions raised by the relationship between distance learning and /learners in a FLE/S (French as a Foreign/Second language) perspective are numerous. In the context of this article, we will first consider ODL (Open and Distance Learning) "contextualization"2, which will be discussed in connection with the problems a misguided sense of interculturality in the field of ODL poses. Finally, we will identify what we believe to be fundamentally at the root of these problems: an epistemological continuity in research, which is based on the paradigm of "trace", which can only lead to an essentialized congealing of meaning ... or a solid/culturalist approach of the intercultural (Dervin, 2009a)

Moving outside the box: Researching e-learning in disruptive times

Indexación: Scopus.The rise of technology’s influence in a cross-section of fields within formal education, not to mention in the broader social world, has given rise to new forms in the way we view learning, i.e. what constitutes valid knowledge and how we arrive at that knowledge. Some scholars have claimed that technology is but a tool to support the meaning-making that lies at the root of knowledge production while others argue that technology is increasingly and inextricably intertwined not just with knowledge construction but with changes to knowledge makers themselves. Regardless which side one stands in this growing debate, it is difficult to deny that the processes we use to research learning supported by technology in order to understand these growing intricacies, have profound implications. In this paper, my aim is to argue and defend a call in the research on ICT for a critical reflective approach to researching technology use. Using examples from qualitative research in e-learning I have conducted on three continents over 15 years, and in diverse educational contexts, I seek to unravel the means and justification for research approaches that can lead to closing the gap between research and practice. These studies combined with those from a cross-disciplinary array of fields support the promotion of a research paradigm that examines the socio-cultural contexts of learning with ICT, at a time that coincides with technology becoming a social networking facilitator. Beyond the examples and justification of the merits and power of qualitative research to uncover the stories that matter in these socially embodied e-learning contexts, I discuss the methodologically and ethically charged decisions using emerging affordances of technology for analyzing and representing results, including visual ethnography. The implications both for the consumers and producers of research of moving outside the box of established research practices are yet unfathomable but excitinghttp://www.ejel.org/volume15/issue1/p5