National Competency Based Teacher Standards (NCBTS)

The Paradigm (from Transmissional to Transactional) Shift of education in the Philippines is the transfer of teaching concepts from the Traditional “bookish and direct learning approach” Teaching into a 21st Century Teaching focused on developing the learners HOTS (higher order thinking skills).

These HOTS is the demonstration of the learners critical thinking ability, and to go beyond the four walls of the classroom by applying their learning into the 7 domains Identified by the Department of Education (DepEd).

In the traditional way of teaching, the learners are only developing the lower part of the Domain of Learning, which are identified as LOTS (lower order thinking skills). This is the memorization intensive class, where the learners are forced to memorize a long list of items, in order to be able to answer in the Objective Type quizzes and Exams.

Example: Using the LOTS, students would simply answer the question, “Who is the first astronaut?”,and then a selection of a,b,c,d from which the students will choose from. These is the Mechanical type of learning, where students would simply do the same thing (memorize) and be able to answer the same type of exam or questioning method in a heartbeat without even knowing the deeper part of it or can’t even explain the answer.

LOTS (lower order thinking skills) are:

Knowledge, Application, Comprehension

However, in the HOTS intensive teaching, the students would answer the types of questions like, “What are the contribution of the Space Program to our present generation?” or “Compare and Contrast the knowledge and understanding of humans before the space age and during the space age?”

These types of questions, enables the learners to think critically and explain his/her answer and to demonstrate actively in a manner that their understanding will show the deep knowledge they have learned in the classroom.

HOTS (higher order thinking skills) are:

Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation

With all these in mind, the Department of Education realized (at last!) that a Paradigm shift is needed in order to change the system from the traditional ways into the so called 21st century globally standard teacher.

Education experts around the country, including my Mentor and Dean of the College of Education, Dr. June P. Salana, worked tirelessly together with numerous experts nationwide in order to identify the salient points or domains needed in line with the vision of  transforming the Filipino Teacher into a globally competitive one.

Along with the Commission on Higher education (CHED), Teacher Education Institutes (TEIs), Philippine Regulatory Commission (PRC), Department of Education (DepEd) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) in partnership with the different academic institution, the National Competency-Based Teacher Standards (NCBTS) was born.

Hence, the Curriculum change is the product of many years of development, this is not the idea of the DepEd Secretary or the thousands of teachers around the country. As mentioned by Dr. Isagani Cruz in 2001, this is the People Power Model of Curricular Change, this is the result of the Social Change that happened to the country and the need for education to be the Main Effort in bringing Competitiveness and innovativeness among the people in the 21st century.

As Mentioned in the Curriculum Development book by Dr. June P. Salana and Dr. Rolando A. Bernales, the curriculum development of today has shifted from Learner-Artisan relationship into Employment-Oriented (knowledge based) Curriculum.

The latest trend is to Empower the teachers, the front-liners in education, the deliverers of knowledge,and facilitators of learning in the process of developing a curriculum, that would reflect the Competencies, teachers and students alike should possess and reflective of the Social Dimension of education. That learning should not be limited to Fraction or Poem writing but rather adopting it to the real life applications and experiences that the learner may or has experienced.

It is very important to note that this is not a Jesli Lapus, Pet project that may or may not go with him after he lives the office, but a result of the societal change, a reflection of what is happening in the society and adopting our curriculum into the 21st century globally competent education.

The NCBTS Framework is devided in 7 Domains:

1. Social Regard for Learning (SRFL)
2. Learning Environment (LE)
3. Diversity of Learners (DOL)
4. Curriculum (Curr.)
5. Planning, Assessing Reporting (PAR)
6. Community Linkages (CL)
7. Personal Growth & Professional Development (PGPD)

According to the Framework “This will allow teachers to self-assess their own performance against the Competency Standards in order to identify areas of strength as well as areas that need to be developed further in order for them to function more effectively as facilitators of learning.”

Domain 1. Social Regard for Learning (SRFL)

The SRFL domain focuses on the ideal that teachers serve as positive and powerful role models of the value in the pursuit of different efforts to learn. The teacher’s action, statements, and different types of social interactions with students exemplify this ideal.

Domain 2. Learning Environment (LE)

This domain focuses on importance of providing a social, psychological and physical environment within which all students, regardless of their individual differences in learning, can engage in the different learning activities and work towards attaining high standards of learning

Domain 3. Diversity of Learners (DOL)

The DOL domain emphasizes the ideal that teachers can facilitate the learning process even with diverse learners, by recognizing and respecting individual differences and by using knowledge about their differences to design diverse sets of learning activities to ensure that all learners can attain the desired learning goals.

Domain 4. Curriculum (Curr.)

The curriculum domain refers to all elements of the teaching-learning process that work in convergence to help students understand the curricular goals and objectives, and to attain high standards of learning defined in the curriculum. These elements include the teacher’s knowledge of subject matter and the learning process, teaching-learning approaches and activities, instructional materials and learning resources.

Domain 5. Planning, Assessing & Reporting (PAR)

This domain refers to the alignment of assessment and planning activities. In particular, the PAR focuses on the (1) use of assessment data to plan and revise teaching-learning plans;

(2) integration of assessment procedures in the plan and implementation of teaching-learning activities, and (3) reporting of the learners’ actual achievement and behavior.

Domain 6. Community Linkages (CL)

The LC domain refers to the ideal that classroom activities are meaningfully linked to the experiences and aspirations of the learners in their homes and communities. Thus, this domain focuses on teachers’ efforts directed at strengthening the links between schools and communities to help in the attainment of the curricular goals.

Domain 7. Personal Growth & Professional Development (PGPD)

The PGPD domain emphasizes the ideal that teachers value having a high personal regard for the teaching profession, concern for professional development, and continuous improvement as teachers.

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A more comprehensive explanation on the NCBTS is available here.

 

A simplified NCBTS Framework, for  easy understanding is available here.

 

To understand how to self assess (for teachers) using the NCBTS:

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