Marietta D. Biliran, PhD
Sr. Managing Consultant
SOARZM International Development Company
Project Incubator, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Regeneration of the 3-day Seminar - Workshop: The Tipping Point, On Reverse? Living Out Learning Plans Within and Beyond Pre K-12 Classrooms in Asia
THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Watch Full Video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14h_LqNxkyQ
The Signs of the Times
The multi-sectoral call for the integration of climate change awareness and mitigation in the basic education curriculum has gained momentum as families in rural and urban communities become victims of the devastating impact of nature’s lash on their lives. Hurricanes, heavy rainfall, flood, landslides, drought, heat waves appear to be the new normal rhythm of nature in the 21st Century.
This is not a good picture of a good life that God meant us to enjoy. Changing this can be a hard task to accomplish, but definitely attainable if the process is collaborative, scientifically informed, and continuing.
The RCAMES Cluster 8 Experience
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila Educational System (RCAMES) Cluster 8 led by the Director Fr. Elpidio D. Biliran Jr. and the Assistant Director Fr. Solomon Jardinero in late 2018 gathered the prime movers of the Cluster’s Professional Learning Community, to develop a Values-centered Curriculum Map that integrates Climate Change Awareness and Laudato Si Principles, vertically articulated in all subjects of the Pre K – 12 levels, conscious of the mission of forming the child of God.
The undertaking, though challenging, turned out to be a lively discourse on how to make sense of the array of core values espoused by the DepEd, NCEA- PCSS, CEAP JEEPGY, MaPSA, and the RCAMES in the context of climate change mitigation and Pope Francis’ call to all of humanity to take care of our common home, his Laudato Si encyclical.
The core values – attributes of a child of God re-articulation conversations were characterized by deep reflection and insight – making among the members of the RCAMES Cluster 8 Academic Team. It was a process grounded on the philosophical – legal - and theoretical perspectives of the basic education curriculum.
The DepEd core values of MakaTao, MakaBayan, MakaKalikasan and MakaDiyos were aligned with that of MaPSA ‘s Integral Formation, Alliance, Leadership, and Service; and with that of the RCAMES Schools’ Excellence in Service, Solidarity, and Love for the Poor; which at the level of Cluster 8 were re-articulated as Faith, Excellence, Wisdom, Character, Integrity, Competence, Service, and Compassion.
The output of the re-articulation and realignment collaborative process was a visual of the Cluster 8 climate change curriculum integration map with the mandala of core values and attributes of the child of God.
As shown in this visual, the integration process (which goes from left to right) starts with the vertical articulation of lessons on climate change awareness and the principles of Laudato Si, consciously considering religion as the core of the curriculum (embodied in the core values –attributes mandala) without being negligent of enabling students to understand and appreciate the theoretical learning requirements of a subject and age appropriate teaching-learning approaches.
Intended Learning Outcomes are pre-defined criterion-based effective learning transformations expected of students as they go through the values-directed experiences of catholic education.
The extreme right end of the curriculum map / Stage 5 of the curriculum integration process shows how the quality of learning and the depth of personal meaning that students give their transformational experiences are assessed. At this stage, the quality of students’ learning are measured against their choices and implementation of age-appropriate advocacy projects that promote Justice, Ecological Integrity, Engaged Citizenship, Poverty Alleviation, Gender Sensitivity, and Youth Empowerment (JEEPGY).
Begin with the end in mind: The Attributes of the Child of God
The methodological 5-staged curriculum integration process requires an introductory activity, a group reflection-discourse on the attributes of the child of God that every catholic student is expected to have, as drawn from the core values of catholic schools. The output of this particular activity will serve as a reference for Stage 4 of the 5-staged process as follows:
The RCAMES Cluster 8 leadership, in seeing how the curriculum integration process worked well with the teachers and administrators of Malate Catholic School, Sta Clara Parish School, and Ermita Catholic School, put to task, the regeneration of the curriculum integration technology experiences among teachers and administrators of MaPSA-member schools.
The Curriculum Integration Mandate
In a Memo dated February 28, 2019 signed by Rev. Fr. Dr. Nolan Que, PhD, the Chair of the MaPSA Commission for Curriculum and Instruction, duly endorsed by the then MaPSA President, His Eminence Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle DD, the MaPSA- as well as CEAP- member schools were encouraged to send delegates to the Climate Change Curriculum Integration Seminar Workshop conducted on April 24-26, 2019, entitled: “The Tipping Point, on Reverse? Living Out Learning Plans Within and Beyond Pre-K – 12 Classrooms in Asia”.
The climate change and Laudato Si curriculum integration map framework as tested by the teachers and administrators of RCAMES Cluster 8 was adopted as the methodological framework of the Tipping Point, On Reverse? seminar-workshop.
The 3-day curriculum integration seminar workshop was of 3 parts:
Part 1. The Theme: The Call and Response for Ecological Conversion
Sessions Topics of Part I were:
- Philippine Education in Context: Asia and the World
- Laudato Si and Religion as the Core of the Curriculum, the philosophical perspectives of Climate Change Mitigation
- The legal foundations of Climate Change Curriculum Integration
- A Showcase of A National Policy: 4-Pillars of Gross National Happiness of the Democratic Government of Bhutan
- A Showcase of the Philippine College of Physicians Advocacies on Environmental Protection as Key to Responding to Peoples’ Right to Health
- The Impact of Transactional vs. Transformational Managers of Climate Change Mitigation on Families and Communities
- Culture Mapping As A Way of Protecting and Preserving Natural and Cultural Assets
- Music and Basic Education Learning
- Social Capital as a Resource Investment in Caring for Our Common Home
- Profiling of Stewards of Creation among the Participants
Part 2. The Climate Change and Laudato Si Curriculum Integration Process: A Hands-on Experience. Workshop groups were formed based on Subject Area interests of participants. The workshops were facilitated by seasoned basic education learning managers and practitioners
Part 3. Sharing of insights and commitments. Commissioning: The Formation of A Mission-Driven Critical Mass of Stewards of God’s Creation and send-off of workshop participants to regenerate their learning experience in their classrooms and beyond.
The 7-Year Laudato Si Global Multidisciplinary Roll-out Plan: 2020-2027
We continue to pray that the 100 CEAP-MaPSA participants who completed the seminar-workshop in 2019 will replicate the 3-day-experience in their respective schools so that in terms of quality and number we can form a mission-driven transformational critical mass of Stewards of God’s Creation. May they commit to restore within their respective spheres of influence, the natural ecology and human relationships as intended in God’s perfect form by Year 2027. This is envisioned in the 7-year Global Multidisciplinary Laudato Si Roll-out Plan of Pope Francis.