2010 SEC adapting UbD: A new hope
Curriculum is a written guide with sets of standards of knowledge, skills, habits, and attitudes for what students should learn. It is a guide for the teachers to know where to take their students in their study. It is made up of objectives (cognitive, affective, and psychomotor) or competencies that should be developed among the students under the guidance of the teacher. (Saylor, Alexander and Lewis, 1981 pp 4-7 )
It contains different elements like scope and sequence that tell teachers when to teach a particular competency or content.
Secondary Education Curriculum adapts Understanding by Design (UbD ) is enhanced to attain mastery of the subject area in secondary education. It is ready for roll-out this SY 2010-2011 for first year level and shall be progressively mainstreamed following this schedule: SY 2011-2012-Second Year Level; SY 2012-2013 – Third Year Level; SY 2013-2014- Fourth Year Level. Its framework covers three Stages: Stage 1: Identify Desired Results; Stage 2: Determine Acceptable Evidence/Assessment; Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction. The first two stages are defined in the curriculum guide (CG), and the last stage is covered in the teaching guide (TG). The main tenet of the curriculum is understanding versus facts, in which students must understand not just to memorize facts.
It is considered a new hope for our educational system with its backward design model. It starts with Stage 1: Desired Results, it is the identification of achievable goals for students. As Dr. Erlinda G. Gencaya, Schools Division Superintendent, stressed out the principle of UbD during the plenary session of a four-day seminar for first year teachers of the division of Iloilo City last June 9-12, 2010 at the Social Hall, “To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now so that the steps you take are always in the right direction (Covey, 1994)”.
Stage 2: Assessment. Authentic assessment by the teachers is needed. Students must be carefully evaluated to determine their appropriate level of understanding. It provides a personalized approach to develop diverse learners to its maximum. It recognizes and nurture all varied human intelligences (eight multiple intelligences — linguistic, logical, musical, spatial, bodily, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist intelligence.), that students could make sense on any subject area.
Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction. In this stage, teachers are required to provide meaningful learning experiences based on the level of understanding of students and to determine whether the goals/desired results have been achieved by following this sequence: EXPLORE-FIRM-UP-DEEPEN-TRANSFER.
A DepEd Order was issued to this effect, DepEd Order No. 76,s.2010, dated June 4, 2010 – POLICY GUIDELINES ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2010 SECONDARY EDUCATION CURRICULUM (SEC). It stated the implementation of the design of the 2010 Secondary Education Curriculum and the use of English as medium of instruction. The time allotment and corresponding unit credits of the subjects shall follow the existing provision of the 2002 BEC. The implementing guidelines on the performance-based grading system as defined in DepEd Order No.33, s.2004 shall continue to be enforced. The 60-30-10 test design shall continue to be adopted, 60% of the items shall be easy, although assessing critical thinking, 30% shall be average or moderately difficult, and 10% shall be difficult. Authentic assessment that considers application of learning in real-life situations shall be the basic mode of measuring learning outcomes. Alternative assessment shall be utilized whenever appropriate. The use of rubrics as scoring guides shall be continued for a more objective method of rating students. Student promotion shall be by subject and shall continue to be based on the minimum performance standard of 75%. Sixty-five percent (65%) shall remain the lowest grade that can be indicated in the student’s report card. A student shall be retained in the year level if he/she incurs failures of three units or more during the regular school year.
With all these, proper dissemination of information through DepEd Orders and several seminars held for teachers regarding UbD, we look forward for a very high positive effects to students. We congratulate education sectors for implementing Understanding by Design (UbD) in the 2010 Secondary Education Curriculum.
