U.S. Embassy, DepEd launch third webinar series project

The U.S. Embassy in the Philippines and the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) launched Monday a new six-week virtual webinar training series on “Integrated Language Learning in Early Childhood: Focus on Literacy and Numeracy” to further support DepEd teachers and school heads amid the pandemic.

Approximately 3,000 DepEd teachers and supervisors from Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao are expected to participate in the series, which will run through the week of April 25.

The U.S. Embassy, U.S. Department of State’s Office of English Language Programs, DepEd’s Teaching and Learning Division, and Bureau of Learning Delivery co-developed the course curriculum to meet the specific needs of K-3 teachers and learners in the Philippines during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The course will provide guidance, methodology, and instructional materials and resources to English teachers via a team of three American English language specialists, who will lead the virtual sessions.

“This morning, we are launching an important project, the third webinar series collaboration between the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines and the DepEd since the pandemic. I would like to extend my gratitude for this partnership to our program partners from DepEd, led by Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction Diosdado San Antonio,” said Public Affairs Counselor John Groch.

DepEd Undersecretary San Antonio lauded the webinar series for its role in preparing Philippine educators for the future.

“We are glad to collaborate with the English Language Office of the U.S. Embassy in undertaking a very significant and noble initiative relative to our efforts in creating 21st-century learners who possess 21st-century skills,” he said.

Once the course is completed, teachers and school heads will share what they learned with other teachers in their local areas for implementation with K-3 learners.

As part of this webinar series, educators will have access to an on-demand resource library that includes a viewing guide, activities, and discussion questions for local learning communities.

The first six-week webinar series for DepEd teachers and administrators, “Bridging the Distance Together,” took place from September 14 to October 21, 2020 and provided training on flexible learning to more than 1,600 teachers and reached 3.7 million viewers on Facebook.

Approximately 3,000 teachers and supervisors attended the second six-week series on “Teaching Grammar Communicatively in the Philippines” from March 22 to May 6, 2021 that had a Facebook reach of over 1.5 million.