The adoption of the Understanding by Design (UbD) framework along with the recent rollout of the Enhanced K+12 Basic Education Program for Philippine schools aims to augment the quality of education in the country. Both highlight the use of multiple forms of media for learning and assessment. Print is no longer the primary vehicle of learning: coverage-focused instruction, where teachers try to cover all topics specified in a textbook, is to be replaced by activity-focused teaching. The use of various instructional media that facilitate interactive learning has been proven to enhance student engagement and performance.
Though aware of the changes in education the new millennium has ushered in, I must admit that I still adhere to a paradigm of education that is rigidly 19th century. Call it antediluvian learning or 'old literacy', but I still prefer books over any kind of media. Only the written word can capture and hold my attention, and it’s through reading and taking down notes that I gain understanding of something.
Last year, in preparation for our trip to South America, I repeatedly listened to several podcasts that offer Spanish language lessons. I thought I would learn how to speak Spanish by just hearing common words and phrases used in conversation, but I did not. After several months of listening-and-repeating-after, I still could not make sense of the language. I was lost. During our entire stay in Peru, incapable of constructing a single intelligible sentence in Spanish, I subsisted with the basic Hola, Hasta luego, Buenos dias, ¿Cuanto cuesta? and ¿Donde esta…?
Yet determined to learn the language, I got hold of a Spanish language textbook (with audio guide) and started poring over it a couple of weeks ago. It clarified many things that I was very confused about before. It provided the explanation my mind was looking for but did not find while I was merely listening to the podcast episodes. “Le hablo a el todos los dias” with “Because le and les can have several meanings, they are usually clarified by using a and the prepositional object pronoun” makes so much sense to me. Reading about grammar and usage fascinates me so, and I fall more in love with words and how they are put together. And it helps, too, that I have a partner with whom I can practice my Spanish.
People truly have different learning styles. What’s yours?
