Enhancing Classroom Excellence – MMP Partners’ Practical Training

On July 11-12, 2024, a practical training session was held at Roots and Wings Learning Center in Marikina City, bringing together 38 teachers from various partner schools. This training aimed to enhance the skills and competencies of educators in alignment with this year’s theme, “Gurong Handa, Masayang Bata”; The theme underscores the significance of teacher readiness in fostering a joyful and effective learning environment for young students. The participating teachers engaged in a series of workshops and activities designed to equip them with practical teaching strategies and innovative educational tools, ensuring they are well-prepared to create a positive impact in their classrooms. The training also fosters relationships among the participants and the facilitators.

The training session was spearheaded by Dr. Chonabelle M. Domingo, whose unwavering passion for delivering quality education to underprivileged communities shone through in her lecture. Her enthusiasm and dedication were evident, and her presence greatly enhanced the confidence and knowledge of all attendees.

Dr. Domingo’s insights were both inspiring and enlightening, providing a solid foundation for the training. Her commitment to educational equity resonated deeply with everyone present, setting the tone for a meaningful and impactful event.

Supporting Dr. Domingo were the supervisors of MMP: Teacher Jezzelyn Amido, Maricel Minion, and Claire Santillan. These practicing teachers, who embody the philosophy of Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP), shared their rich experiences and practical methods with the participants. Their firsthand accounts and effective teaching strategies provided valuable, real-world insights that participants could readily apply in their own educational contexts.

Additionally, Teacher Erlyn B. Isidro played as an overall coordinator of the event. The cooperation of everyone involved were instrumental in creating an environment where learning and collaboration could thrive.

Together, this team of dedicated educators created a dynamic and enriching training experience that left a lasting impact on all who attended. The combined expertise and passion of Dr. Domingo, Teacher Jezzelyn Amido, Maricel Minion, Claire Santillan, and Teacher Erlyn B. Isidro made the event a resounding success, furthering the goal of providing quality education to those who need it most.

First Refresher Course: Raising The Child’s Higher Order Thinking Skills

Learning is more than answering yes or no, memorization or reciting list of facts. It is in making sense of the information by analyzing and comparing or in short adapting a higher thinking skill. Learning to think critically is a life skill. This is the objective of the recent seminar conducted by Mission Ministries Philippines last October 28, 2023 at Proclaim His Name Christian Fellowship Church in Quezon City. It was the first face-to-face seminar after the pandemic.

The seminar was facilitated by Prof. Lynne Grace Hernandez, administrator and teacher of her own school, SEED. She has a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at the University of the Philippines (Cum Laude) She finished her Master of Arts in Family Life and Child Development in U.P., Diliman and she is finishing her Doctorate in Holistic Child Development at Asia Graduates School of Theology.
The seminar aims to empower educators with innovative tools that will foster higher-order thinking skill among their students. It also helps the educators to go beyond what they usually do for their students but also for them to aim higher in teaching.

One of the highlights of the event was the hands-on workshops where participants actively engaged in practical exercises designed to implement high-order thinking strategies in real-world classroom scenarios. These sessions fostered a sense of empowerment among educators, equipping them with tangible tools to inspire intellectual curiosity and analytical thinking in their students.

Reading to Learn

Mary Mcleod Bethune once remarked, “The whole world opened to me when I learned to read,” And it is indeed true. Reading is an effective way to discover what the world has to offer. With this in mind, Mission Ministries Philippines (MMP) and Action for the Care & Development of the Poor in the Philippines, Inc. (ACAP) joined forces again in training their childcare volunteers to teach how to read.

The seminar was held last March 30, 2023, at the ACAP office in Paranaque. It was attended by 30 of its volunteers.

The speakers, Dr. Chonabelle Domingo, President and CEO of MMP, and Ms. Erlyn B. Isidro, facilitated this whole-day event.

Apart from the importance of reading, the process of reading, stages of writing, and lesson planning, the speakers also tackled the Marungko approach, a technology MMP has adopted to teach children how to read in Filipino. Based on MMP’s experience, children can read in just one month by using this approach through its book BIP BIP or Bilis sa Pagbasa ng Batang Isip-Pinoy.

A workshop was also done for the application of what they learned. The volunteers were able to develop stories and activities that they could use.