Practices and Tools for Meeting Needs of Todays Learners: A Review The journal article Practices and Tools

for Meeting Needs of Todays Learners is one of the articles in the compilation Journal of Curriculum and Instruction (JoCI). This contains several aspects of the challenges facing educators. The results and information of this journal included articles on practices and tools for todays learners are collaboration, planning, use of multi-media technologies and engagement of highquality professional. Todays education faces a lot of challenges. The changes and developments in teaching and learning all seem promising but still are somewhat vague. The use of new teaching approaches is at least one unavoidable reality. The paper presented by Mainzer and Mainzer (2008) stated findings and suggestions on how to cope up with the new practices and tools in meeting todays diverse learners. The articles written by Mainzer and Mainzer (2008) revolved on the practices and tools in meeting todays learners. Todays learners were primarily the 21st century learners or what we call digital learners. They included those handicapped, mentally challenged and the culturally diverse students. Friend (2011) on her studies on No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) stated her findings that collaboration and co-teaching are more applicable as a service delivery option for supporting access of students with disabilities to the same curriculum as their peers without disabilities in general education settings. Moreover, she also stressed out that co-teaching as a form of collaboration will help teachers in recognizing ones strengths and weaknesses while providing opportunity to reflect on it and be improved. I believed that collaboration could be clearly seen between special and general educators. Special educators focus on the process of learning with attention to individual needs of students, mastery learning and paper requirements. General educators focussed on deep knowledge of content and pedagogy, learning and behavioural processes of students and pacing of curriculum and instruction. This partnership would result in improved academic success for students with disabilities.

Aside from collaboration, planning tools are also given emphasize to educate todays diverse learners. Mainzer and Mainzer (2008) come up with the Unit Organizer Routine, a planning tool to address delivery instruction to academically diverse classes. Students could use this tool as a study guide helping them understand the curriculum. In a study, teachers found out that the tool was helpful-particularly in teacher-student relation. It was also reported that students who were low achieving experienced great success in schooling. O Brien and Dieker in the work of Mainzer and Mainzer (2008) stressed on the importance of technology and media. In their study, students with learning disabilities and their peers tend to learn more on video models as they demonstrate knowledge, roles, cooperation, and outcomes compared to those non-media learners. O Brien and Dieker further suggested that video-supported instruction can benefit teachers as they learn to implement those practices. Another educational trend presented by Mainzer and Mainzer (2008) was the concept of Individualization. This trend will most likely to continue to expand as educators seek strategies that personalize and expand their ideas on students needs and interest. Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) model is one of the promising approaches in the concept of Individualization. This includes criteria related to selfpacing, mastery-based learning, teacher as motivator and written responses. This helps students to be independent learners who could manage their learning by setting their goals at a specified timeframe as they monitor themselves. It is really important to integrate effective practices such as collaboration and coteaching, cooperative learning, multimedia and personalized instruction to every teaching-learning process. These tools and practices would never be that successful without teachers high professional development. Laster in Mainze and Mainze (2008) stressed that teachers should be sufficiently skilled to ensure high quality implementation on teaching within the classroom. The importance of effective professional development is heightened even further when teachers attempt to implement effective practices in demanding setting.

The challenges of the 21st century classroom in the Philippines and in other countries involved demographic diversity, constant change, information explosion, and integration of innovative, emerging technologies in teaching-learning. Integrating technology in Philippine education has taken a lot of turns. Use of technology played a vital part on the educational system. Technology was devised for efficient delivery of services like enrolment, grading, accounting, communication, planning, etc. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been part of our educational curriculum and instruction. I agree with the findings of Mainzer and Mainzer (2008) regarding the importance of technology on education. This is supported by the findings of Gravoso and Pasa (2008) when they stated that the use of media and technology facilitate studentcentered learning. These types of learning technologies shift students role from being conveyors of information to individuals engage in thinking. When it comes to collaborative approach of teaching and learning, DepEd has its Basic Education Curriculum (BEC) which gave emphasis on producing more functionally literate students and more ideal teachers that will help each other in transcending knowledge in a democratic way of interaction. Collaboration has help educators especially those novice teachers. They are guided by a more experience teacher in the various aspects of planning, implementing and decision making. I really learned a lot in reading this article from the Journal of Curriculum and Instruction (JoCI). Mainze and Mainzes findings on the tools and practices of meeting needs of todays learners. I learned that collaboration could be in the form of coteaching. It happens when educators, which are generalist and specialist, cooperate with each other to attain a common goal and that is to teach diverse types of learners. I also learned another teaching approach individualization. This involved teachers and students self-monitoring of their goals, task and progress and helping oneself to be independent. I also found out that media and technology is one of the best ways on how to teach mentally challenge and physically handicapped students. New technological programs and devices help students cope up and mingle with normal students in one classroom setting.

In relation to the above mentioned citations, studies and readings, I came to realized that learning and teaching has gone so far from the previous traditional approaches such as cognitive, behavioural, motivational, discovery, constructivism, etc. to the modern day spiral, whole-brain approach, bilingual, multicultural education etc. Education system has evolved from specific to general and simple to complex. New practices and tools in meeting the needs of todays learners might not suit to all types of learners but I think that in some way or another, it could help aid the present education system. School administrators, teachers, parents and students need to get their act together in order to build a learning society that collaborates with each other given the available but limited resources. Lets just keep our fingers cross that in the near future, education is achieved by all.

REFERENCES
Mainzer, Lynne Harper and Mainzer, Richard W. (2008, July). Practices and Tools for Meeting Needs of Todays Learner. Journal of Curriculum and Instruction (JoCI). Vol. 2, No. 2. Retrieved August 8, 2012: http://www.joci.ecu.edu doi:10.3776/joci.2011.v5n2p1-4 Gravoso, RS. and Pasa, AE. Design and Use of Instructional Materials. The AsiaPacific Education Reseracher. Vol.17.no.1. Retrieved August 16, 2012: http://www.dlsu.edu.ph/research/journals/taper/pdf/200808/8gravoso.pdf Llagas, Avelina-Teston.Module 1: Educational Laws and Surveys, Programs and

Projects of the Department of Education. Teacher Induction Program.

EDAM 514- Curriculum Development

JOURNAL REVIEW 2: Practices and Tools for Meeting Needs of Todays Learners

Ms. JENNIFER L. MAGBOO MA- Educational Management

TERESITA V. DELA CRUZ Associate Professor III