The Knowledge Channel Foundation Inc. (KCFI), in coordination with the Department of Education (DepEd) officially launched on April 2 the Learning Effectively through Enhanced Pedagogies (LEEP), at the Bulwagan ng Karunungan, DepEd Complex, Pasig City.
“If there are any reforms that must be done, those are the ones that happen inside the classroom. It is my hope that LEEP would help in continuing the reforms that we have started,” DepEd Secretary Br. Armin A. Luistro said, pointed out the importance of the LEEP program.
Aside from DepEd Sec Armin Luistro, present at the launch were KCFI Chairman Dr. Oscar M. Lopez, KCFI President Rina Lopez-Bautista, and Former DepEd Secretary and now Consultant for Education of KCFI Dr Fe A. Hidalgo.
Ms. Bautista recognized the roles of teachers and education leaders in creating and ensuring an enabling environment for effective learning to happen. “LEEP is developed to help the teachers in the classrooms to continuously hone their craft, improve their leadership abilities, and touch the hearts, minds, and lives of the students especially now within the context of the many changes in education.”
Dr. Hidalgo, who is the brains behind the LEEP program, for her part, explained that the three-day program for principals and teachers, is an overview of the learner-centered approaches and the enhanced pedagogies that the teachers may use to ensure effective learning. One of the pedagogies highlighted in LEEP is the use of multimedia learning resources (MMLR) in the classroom, particularly those video and e-learning modules developed by K Channel. Depending on where the teacher is in his or her learning, “LEEP can be seen as an introduction, a reorientation or re-strengthening of professional knowledge and skills in teaching,” Dr. Hidalgo said.
In his inspirational message, Dr. Lopez, also a seasoned climber, related the present status of Philippine education to the challenges he encountered when he climb mountains. “As the Chairman of Knowledge Channel Foundation and a member of the Philippine Business for Education, I am acutely aware of the problems besetting our education system. In the past four years, President Aquino and Secretary Bro. Armin have shown that they have the political will and the determination to do what is needed and start the revolution in Philippine education, despite the outcry from some sectors. It seems we truly are making headway in climbing the mountain. It will take a while to reach the summit but I know that if we plod on and persist, just as I did in climbing those mountains, we will get there,” Dr. Lopez said.
Sec Luistro further noted, “programs like LEEP complement the goals of K to 12. They help shift the perspective of our educational system from a teacher-effective system to a more learner-effective structure in our classrooms. If there are reforms that must be done, those are the ones that happen inside the classroom. It is my hope that LEEP would help in continuing the reforms that we have started.”
Denise Laurel, the star of ABS-CBN teleserye Analiza and granddaughter of former vice president Salvador Laurel, hosted the event.
K Channel has conducted LEEP for more than 600 schools around the country. To contextualize content, LEEP offers content electives depending on what is most relevant to the schools. These electives include Disaster Risk Reduction Management and Climate Change Adaptation for areas frequented by typhoons, Peace Education for conflict areas, Cultural Integration, and Teacher Imaging.