The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) recently conducted its second Seminar-Workshop on Academic Practice (SWAP) on 3 August 2023 at the UPOU CCDL Auditorium and via Zoom. This whole-day hybrid event is a collaborative effort between the Quality Assurance Office (QAO), the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA) Center for Open and Digital Teaching and Learning (CODTL), and the Transformative Academic Practice for Higher Education in the Philippines (TAPHEP) Team which centered on equipping UPOU faculty members—regular faculty, affiliate faculty, and lecturers—with insights and strategies to improve the quality of teaching and instruction in UPOU.
The seminar-workshop comprised three modules that aim to: [1] provide context on the purpose of a university in relation to relevant frameworks for effective teaching and learning in higher education (HE); [2] expound on learning theories and constructive alignment in teaching to encourage reflective teaching using Brookefield’s four lenses; [3] give recommendations to improve academic practice through engaging in continuing professional development (CPD) and communities of practice (COP); and [4] discuss ways to develop academic practices in open and distance eLearning (ODeL).
Dr. Tonette Laude, a faculty member and the head of the Crop Breeding and Genetic Resources Division of the Institute of Crop Science under the College of Agriculture and Food Science, UP Los Baños, discussed the first module—Context—which focused on the purpose of a university, relevant frameworks for effective teaching and learning in HE, and global context/landscape of HE, especially focusing on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI).
Dr. Elmar Villota, a faculty member and the head of the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department at Central Luzon State University, served as the resource person for the second module—Concept—which highlighted the theories of learning, constructive alignment, and philosophy of teaching and reflective teaching.
Dr. Neil Jerome Egarguin, a faculty member of the UP Los Baños Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Physics and an affiliate faculty member of the UPOU Faculty of Education, led the third module—Practice—discussing the inclusive learning environments (ILEs), continuing professional development (CPD), and communities of practice (COP).
A total of 56 participants (14 onsite and 42 online) from the three faculties of study—Faculty of Education (FEd), Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS), and Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS)—were able to share their insights and teaching practices with their colleagues through the workshop and group-sharing sessions of each module facilitated by the resource persons and the TAPHEP Project Management Team
The worksheets that the participants accomplished were gathered at the end of the seminar-workshop. These inputs will be considered not only in developing the UPOU Quality Assurance Framework but also in establishing a community of academic practice among Philippine HEIs.
Written by Maelyn Piseuña ♦ Edited by Mari Anjeli Crisanto ♦ Contributed by the Quality Assurance Office