Module 2

MOST ESSENTIAL
LEARNING
COMPETENCIES (MELCs)
September 17, 2020
Thursday

LOLITA A. DIZON
Facilitator
MODULE OBJECTIVES
By the end of this Module, you will be able to:
1. Explain the background and development of
the MELCs
2. Unpack the MELCs
3. Combine related competencies into learning
objectives
MODULE CONTENT

Lesson 1. Background, Rationale, and

Development of MELCs
Lesson 2. Unpacking and Combining MELCs
into Learning Objectives
LESSON 1: BACKGROUND, RATIONALE,
AND DEVELOPMENT OF MELCS

By the end of this lesson, you should be able

to familiarize yourself with the background,
rationale, and development of MELCs. In this
session, you will be able to:
1. identify the background and basic process
of the identification and development of the
MELCs
2. make sense of the function of MELCs
as an educational response to a global
health crisis
3. appreciate the MELCs as support for
teachers during this time
Key Topics/Concepts
curriculum standards; essential learning
competencies; desirable learning
competencies; enduring knowledge
Resources Required
 Development and Design of MELCs
 Your learning area’s original K-12 Curriculum
Guide and corresponding list of MELCs
 Study Notebook
DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN OF THE MOST
ESSENTIAL LEARNING COMPETENCIES (MELCs)
Rationale
 The education sector is not spared from the COVID-19
pandemic which continues to gravely affect various
governments and economies around the world. The current
global health crisis poses a profound impact on the basic
education system, as approximately 87% of the world’s
student population, or 1.5 billion learners, have been
affected by school closures (UNESCO, 2020). While interim
distance and remote learning programs are being put in
place in many locations, the most marginalized, poverty
stricken and vulnerable children are also the most
disadvantaged.
 In the Philippines, ensuring the welfare of more
than 27 million learners in basic education alone
requires indomitable commitment especially
amidst this crisis. However, UNESCO reiterates its
stand in spite of the circumstances: “Education
cannot wait. If learning stops, we will lose human
capital.” Meeting the needs of the most vulnerable
populations during these times is essential to
achieving SDG4 (UNESCO, 2017).
 The Department echoes UNESCO’s belief that educational
quality, access, and system strengthening cannot be
compromised in times of crisis (UNESCO, 2017) and that
doing the opposite will negatively affect human capital.
Thus, the Department of Education affirms its commitment
to sustaining the delivery of quality, accessible, relevant,
and liberating Philippine basic education services anchored
on the Sulong Edukalidad framework. It will continue to
strive to produce holistic Filipino learners with 21st
century skills. Consequently, the Bureau of Curriculum
Development ensures that learning standards are relevant
and flexible to address the complex, disruptive, volatile,
and ambiguous impact of COVID-19 in the Philippines
particularly in the basic education sector.
 Working on the said premise, the Department came
up with the Most Essential Learning Competencies
(MELCs) to be used nationwide by field
implementers for SY 2020-2021. The release of the
MELCs is not just a response to addressing the
challenges of the current pandemic but is also part
of the Department’s long-term response to the call
of SDG4 to develop resilient education systems,
most especially during emergencies.
 The MELCs can be used under similar circumstances
as a mechanism to ensure education continuity
(curriculum dimension). However, releasing the
MELCs does not downplay the standards set by the K
to 12 curriculum guides. Rather, they serve as one of
the guides for teachers as they address the
instructional needs of learners while ensuring that
curriculum standards are maintained and achieved.
Furthermore, the MELCs intend to assist schools in
navigating the limited number of school days as they
employ multiple delivery schemes by providing them
ample instructional space.
 The content and performance standards can be
found in Annex C. Guidelines on the Use of Most
Essential Learning Competencies (MELCs) of DepEd
Order No. 12, s. 2020 for field implementers to
recognize that the MELCs are anchored on the
prescribed standards.
Background on the Identification of the
MELCs
 The Department, through the Bureau of Curriculum
Development–Curriculum Standards Development
Division, in collaboration with the Assessment
Curriculum and Technology Research Centre (ACTRC),
started working on the identification of essential
learning competencies in the middle of 2019 as part of
its review of the intended curriculum. Bureau
specialists, academic experts, and field implementers
worked together to reach a consensus regarding the
criteria to be used and mechanisms to adopt in
determining these competencies.
 Initiated by Secretary Leonor Magtolis-Briones, the K
to 12 curriculum review is not just meant to fulfill
one of the provisions of Republic Act 105333 to
review the curriculum, but is also part of her
continuing commitment to ensure quality, relevant,
and liberating education. After the four phases of
curriculum review are completed, the Secretary will
convene the Curriculum Consultative Committee to
present the findings as provided for in Section 6 of
the same Republic Act.
 The review focused on articulation within and across
learning areas and grade levels, which led to the
identification of gaps, issues, and concerns.
Moreover, areas for improvement that would
enhance the learning engagement, experience, and
outcomes were identified and consequent solutions
were recommended
 Results of the review from the workshop series
provided an overview of the articulation of learning
competencies in each learning area. Specifically,
the review covered the following:
● Mapping of the essential and desirable learning
competencies within the curriculum;
● Identification of prerequisite knowledge and skills
needed to prepare students for essential learning
competencies; and
● Analysis of the interconnectedness of prerequisite
knowledge and skills among the learning
competencies for each subject area.
 Essential learning competencies were defined as what the
students need, considered indispensable, in the teaching-
learning process to build skills to equip learners for
subsequent grade levels and consequently, for lifelong
learning. On the other hand, desirable learning
competencies were defined as what may enhance
education but may not be necessary in building
foundational skills.

 A list of the characteristics of essential learning

competencies was provided to help participants decide
which among the learning competencies are deemed most
important.
 Characteristics of an Essential
Learning Competency
Learning competency is 1. it is aligned with national, state, and/or
local standards/ frameworks (e.g.,
ESSENTIAL if… scientifically-literate Filipinos)
2. it connects the content to higher
concepts across content areas
3. it is applicable to real-life situations
4. it would be important for students to
acquire the competency after s/he left
that particular grade level
5. it would not be expected that most
students would learn this through their
parents/communities if not taught at
school
 Thesecharacteristics are based on a US-
developed competency validation rubric, which is
intended to assure that learning competencies
can reach the highest level of quality and
comparability across schools (New Hampshire
Department of Education, 2012); adaptations
were made for relevance in the Philippine
context.
From ELCs to MELCs
 Asthe Department anticipates the challenges in
employing various schemes in the delivery of the
learning standards due to COVID-19, the number
of the identified essential learning competencies
per quarter were further reduced, thus the term
“most essential learning competencies.”
 In determining the criteria for the selection of the
MELCs, the Department collaborated with stakeholders
from ACTRC, during which the descriptor – ENDURANCE
– was considered the primary determining factor. A
learning competency is considered enduring if it
remains with learners long after a test or unit of study
is completed or if it is useful beyond a single test or
unit of study. Examples of such learning competencies
include research skills, reading comprehension, writing,
map reading, and hypothesis testing, which are
essential in many professions and in everyday life
(Reeves, 2002; Many & Horrell, 2014). The Department
then identified the MELCs across all learning areas
through the application of these understandings.
 Necessary in this process is the decision whether a learning
competency is to be retained, merged, dropped, or rephrased. As a
general rule, a learning competency is retained if it satisfies the
endurance criterion which greatly contributes to life-long learning
and is a prerequisite skill to the next grade level. Two or more
learning competencies are merged or clustered if they have the same
objective or learning intention and can therefore be combined into
one comprehensive learning competency. However, learning
competencies are removed/dropped due to the following reasons:
● They are too specific (and the articulation is similar to that of a
learning objective).
● They are deemed appropriate to be introduced in an earlier quarter
or grade level or moved to a later quarter or grade level.
● They are recurring.
● They are subsumed in another learning competency.
Finally, a learning competency is rephrased to be more concise.
Examine the examples that follow:
 The content and performance standards are directly
lifted from the curriculum guides. Its inclusion is to
emphasize that the identification of MELCs is
anchored on the prescribed standards and not a
departure from the standards-based basic education
curriculum. Thus, teachers are encouraged to refer to
the 2016 Curriculum Guides in unpacking the MELCs.
 Field implementers and private schools are encouraged to
contextualize the most essential learning competencies in
order to accommodate the varying contexts of learners,
teachers, learning environment and support structures
considering both the content and performance standards.
It is advantageous for students to learn the concepts and
skills in the MELCs through meaningful activities and
scenarios relatable to them and within the context of the
students’ own environment. The MELCs are
implementable as long as the designed activities also
teach the procedures and processes on how and when to
apply those knowledge and skills in a given context. With
these, Filipino learners are guaranteed relevant and
quality basic education despite the current health crisis.
LESSON 2: UNPACKING AND COMBINING
MELCS INTO LEARNING OBJECTIVES
In this session, you will familiarize yourself with
unpacking and combining MELCs into Learning
Objectives. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
1. understand the vital considerations in unpacking and
combining MELCs
2. unpack and combine sample MELCs
3. affirm that unpacking and combining MELCs provide
curricular flexibilities to field implementers
Key Topics/Concepts
unpack; curriculum standards; essential learning
competencies; content standards; performance
standards

Resources Required
 Unpacking and Combining the MELCs
 Your learning area’s original K-12 Curriculum
Guide and corresponding list of MELCs
 Study Notebook
UNPACKING AND COMBINING THE MOST
ESSENTIAL LEARNING COMPETENCIES (MELCs)
 The identification of MELCs intends to provide instructional
space among field partners/implementers to deliver quality
instruction amidst the limited learning modalities and
shortening of the school year. Likewise, the release of the
MELCs does not confine teachers in navigating the
peculiarities of the learning landscapes. Just like in the pre-
COVID years, you are highly encouraged to unpack the
curriculum standards into learning objectives through the
MELCs, in order to systematize learning activities and
effectively address the varying needs of learners and the
challenges of instructional deliveries.
 In unpacking the MELCs into learning objectives, you need to consider
the following:
● Alignment on the Content and Performance Standards - The MELCs are
not a departure from the standards-based design, which is one of the
main features of the K to 12 Curriculum. In fact, there are no MELCs
without the content and performance standards.
● Prerequisite knowledge and skills - It is worth noting that the
identified MELCs cater to higher order cognitive demands. As such, lower
cognitive demand may be considered first in creating learning objectives.
This ensures that prerequisite knowledge and skills that would enable the
achievement of MELCs, and eventually the content and performance
standards, are addressed.
● Logical sequence of learning objectives - Since the intention of
unpacking the MELCs is to provide systematic learning experiences for
learners, it is incumbent that the unpacked learning objectives follow a
logical sequence.
Combining the MELCs
 The MELCs could likewise be combined to observe
efficiency in the development of learning resources,
which include but are not limited to SLMs, textbooks,
teacher’s guides, activity sheets, and television and
radio scripts.
 Since MELCs in each learning area are all interrelated
and anchored on the content and performance
standards, combining at least two MELCs will allow
teachers to effectively design instructional resources
without veering away from the standards prescribed
by the curriculum.
 In combining MELCs, field implementers should take note
of the following criteria:
● Commonality of content, topic, or theme - MELCs to be
combined should show commonality and relatedness in
content, topic, or theme. This ensures that essential
content and topic will not be watered down.
● Alignment with the Content and Performance Standards
- Just like in the unpacking of MELCs, combining two or
more should aid in the achievement of the content and
performance standards.

To reiterate, MELCs are not a departure from the

standards-based design of the curriculum.