‘Achieving World-Class Targets with the
CVIF Dynamic Learning Program’
Summary and Opinion
By Adoracion C. Cunanan
The new millennium was ushered in by a dramatic technological revolution. We
now live in an increasingly diverse, globalized, and complex, media-saturated society.
According to Dr. Douglas Kellner (2011) this technological revolution will have a greater
impact on society than the transition from an oral to a print culture.
To meet the demand of this new age of learning and teaching processes, several
studies were made, lot of experimentation is introduced and adopted worldwide.
In the study of the Central Visayan Institute Foundation (CVIF) in 2002, the lack
of qualified teachers, textbooks, and lab equipment are not the principal problems in
education, it is the method of delivery of learning. Hence, the present curriculum is not
collaborative and promotes passive learning.
To address this issue,
CVIF implemented a program
Dynamic
Learning
Program (DLP) in 2002. The program is designed in such way that it can bypass the
lack of qualified teachers and the lack of equipment. Unlike a typical class, only 30%
or about 15 minutes of the class is spent for an expert teacher’s lecture. 70% of the
time is devoted to student-driven activities that seek to achieve clear learning targets.
This method is carried out following a scheme called "parallel learning classes" in which
the expert teacher, with the help of co-facilitators, simultaneously holds three classes. It
is learning by doing, discover approach on their own. Moreover, during their 4 years at
CVIF, home assignments are not given to the students so that they can rest and relax
with their families. The DLP does not only tackle science and mathematics. It also
covers other areas such as music, the arts, and physical education. It is a synthesis of
different pedagogical theories. They got the best features of these different theories
with the main purpose of having a program effective for Filipino students in Filipino
classrooms with Filipino teachers in the Filipino situation.
On its first year of implementation, four (4) seniors of CVIF were able to pass the
UP college admission test.
This number continued to rise until its 6th year of
implementation where 10% of CVIF is graduating students were UPCAT passers. Up
until the present, CVIF maintains its track record of an average of 10% of its graduating
students passing the UP entrance exams. Furthermore, from having only one (1)
student entering the 90 percentile and above in the DepED nationwide exam before the
implementation of DLP in 2001, the number of CVIF students increased to 12.3% in
2007 and continued to increase consistently in the succeeding years. In 2010, 51% of
CVIF students were in the 90 percentile and above.
It is worthy to note that although CVIF is a private school, 90% of its incoming
freshmen come from public elementary schools around town and only around 42% of
the parents/guardians entered college, which shows a marked lack of home educational
support.
CVIF-DLP is not a curriculum or a module but a teaching method that is geared
towards developing each child to his or her fullest potential. Using the same DepED
curriculum, it is designed to improve basic education given the country’s multiple
socioeconomic and cultural constraints.
It is very impressive to note that CVIF-DLP is a teaching method that is geared
towards developing each child to his or her fullest potential, an innovative teaching
method that would give Philippine education a boost and help make Filipino students
more globally competitive.
In my own opinion, student population is one of the many factors to consider in
adopting this teaching method. CVIF has very small population as compared to other
public schools in Metro Manila. I just cannot imagine what would happen if this method
is applied to a populated public schools in Metro Manila. Would it produce the same
positive result as that of CVIF?
Support coming from private organizations is also another factor to consider,
CVIF took a lot of support from different organizations such as the Smart
Communications, Inc. (Smart) and PLDT-Smart Foundation (PSF), the leading wireless
services provider which provide internet service in CVIF campus and most of all, the
biggest factor that made CVIF-DLP a success is for having
administrators who
students.
a committed school
are not after the school’s income but for the welfare of their