Features/ discussions on the principles of the MATATAG
CURRICULUM
- as what we retrieve not only on the documents or studies have shown to us
about teacher efficacy, collective teacher efficacy, but also what is happening
on the ground, what we retrieve on our field work across 35 schools in the
seven regions who piloted the implementation of the Matatag curriculum.
Part of the results and the understanding of the Research Institute for
Teacher Quality as our way of supporting the pilot implementation of the
supported the Matatag Curriculum.
- The RITQ endeavor of DEP -Ed in implementing Matatag Curriculum through
the development of learning resources, which are a form of extended lesson
components developed through the learning camps that was established by
the Department of Education, what are the ideas of the Office of the
Undersecretary for Curriculum and Teaching, at the same time what have
been results of the RITQ's fieldwork activities. So this is a way for us to
integrate the principles of science of learning into the different lesson
components of the resource materials that are being used right now by our
different schools in the Department of Education. And at the same time, this
is our good way of seeing the alignment of what are the expected items given
to us or expected competencies needed by our teachers to demonstrate in
teaching and what should be the translation of this learning into the actual
learning progress of our students.
- The second layer of the support of RITQ to the Matatag Curriculum
implementation is the conduct of the formative evaluation
process. Particularly, this item gives us the impression on how the teachers
are using the developed learning resource package and how they are
conducting their collaborative expertise sessions so that we can provide them
some forms of recommendations and improvements on how we can really
maximize the use of collaborative expertise sessions. And we also look into
different instructional practices and instructional leadership demonstrated by
our MataTAG pilot school, teachers and school heads.
An overview of the Matatag Curriculum as our first part of this session,
back in 2012 when the Philippines had a nationwide implementation of the
K-12 Basic Education Program. And we highlighted six major features of
the K -12 And part of it is the Basic Education Program implementation
also of grade 12.
- The K-12 program, initially introduced in grades 1 and 7, was gradually
implemented in senior high school from 2012-2013, with the Senior High
School program starting in progress from 2016 to 2017.
- The K-12 program aims to strengthen Filipino values, develop nationalism,
and promote productivity while educating students on environmental
sustainability and global partnerships, while also equipping them with 21st-
century skills.
- The Philippines needs an additional two-year basic education program to
ensure equal leverage to international standards and fully accept students for
postgraduate programs, ensuring basic skills and competence are anchored
in 21st-century skills.
- The K-12 students in the Philippines face challenges in academic performance, with no
improvement in national and international standardized assessments, despite
understanding teaching and learning methods.
- The Department of Education is facing challenges in teaching and student learning due to
the pandemic, with alarming academic performance issues among Filipino learners,
highlighting the need for shifts in teaching methods.
- The Department of Education introduced the Matatag Agenda, focusing on making the
curriculum relevant for job readiness and accelerating basic education delivery to
produce competent, responsible citizens. To improve education, we must accelerate
delivery of basic facilities, prioritize learners' well-being, integrate inclusive education
principles, and enhance positive learning environments. Supporting teachers is crucial for
their effectiveness and growth.
More notes
The workforce requires strong information literacy skills, updating digital skills to
address issues and balance digital engagement with other life aspects. Industries
should emphasize cultural awareness and global citizenship, as technology has made
us interconnected. DepEd pushed for the Matatag Curriculum to address these needs.
Student learning assessment data is crucial for curriculum review and recalibration,
ensuring quality instruction and promoting global citizenship.
The ELNA examinations reveal numerous issues in English, Filipino, mother tongue,
and math. The national achievement test results indicate low proficiency in 21st-
century skills, particularly information literary and critical thinking. The PISA also
shows poor performance in the 2019 teams and the 2019 CPLM, which is aimed at
contextualizing competencies for Southeast Asian learners. A collective effort is
needed to address these systemic issues.
The study suggests that Filipino learners need to double-time their learning to align
with the curriculum development cycle. The curriculum review is part of Ed's
commitment to target objectives, promote learning, and provide quality education.
Factors influencing students' learning are also discussed. The review of tested
curriculum, particularly in grades 3, 6, 10, and senior high school, explores learners'
achievement through national achievement tests.
Ed conducted review processes and underwent curriculum recalibration to address
significant issues. The Matatag curriculum identifies learning standards into content
standards and performance standards. Content standards identify essential knowledge,
while performance standards focus on abilities and skills needed for knowledge
transfer.
The Matatag curriculum focuses on congested curriculum, foundational skills, 21st-
century skills, values education, peace education, literacy and numeracy, national
reading and mathematics programs, and redefining language interplay. It emphasizes
emerging concepts in MAPE, tech vogue, livelihood specialization, and redesigning
the Aralimpanipunan curriculum. The curriculum is set to be implemented in the
2024-2025 school year.
The Ed's Matatag curriculum includes a collaborative expertise session where
teachers address instructional challenges and share best practices. This supports each
other in implementing the new curriculum. Teachers adapt and contextualize lesson
exemplars based on their learners' readiness for complex concepts, ensuring they are
well-prepared for the new curriculum.
Different principles and key aspects
- Students are encouraged to provide creative ways of learning and provide criticisms.
They are also encouraged to integrate previous learning elements into different areas,
such as English, Filipino, social science, and values education. Teachers from pilot
schools communicate their concerns with other areas to create unified learning activities.
Students are encouraged to think outside the box and be innovative, allowing them to
explore creative ways of learning and designing.
- The instructional design framework emphasizes context, connection, collaboration, and
creativity in teaching. It considers learners' background knowledge and experiences,
leveraging them for new learning experiences. Connections between simple and difficult
activities are emphasized, and previous knowledge is essential for today's lesson.
Collaboration is emphasized, and creativity is encouraged, allowing students to use
imagination and critical thinking for meaningful learning experiences.
More…
The Matatag curriculum features a reduction in competencies, introduction of new
subject matter, and new sequencing in content ordering. To make sense of these
features, teachers must identify prior conceptual understandings and prerequisite
skills. For example, focusing on projectile motion in the K-12 science curriculum
requires understanding the content standards and performance standards. This helps
teachers make sense of the curriculum and its implications for teaching. The
instructional model is based on five E's and aims for incremental and developmental
learning. It links content and skill complexity to time, providing more time for
students to understand concepts and understand target competencies. The Matatag
curriculum aims to broaden and deepen concepts, incorporating a 21st-century
approach in a practical manner. To facilitate deep understanding, strategies should be
integrated into teaching.
The MetaTag curriculum emphasizes the importance of critical thinking, problem-
solving, and explicit reflection on learning and practice. To deepen understanding, the
principles of science of learning are integrated into lesson design. These principles
focus on building prior knowledge, preparing learners for new content, developing
understanding through work examples and practice, making learners' metacognition
visible, assessing acquired knowledge and skills formatively, and empowering
teachers through reflection on and for practice. This approach is already part of some
teachers' practices.
