Daloy ng Karunungan: A workshop for facilitators of indigenous learning
Remaining strongly committed to the indigenous learners they serve, 15 community facilitators and volunteer teachers made time to grow in skill and knowledge in preparation for the coming school year.
On April 23-25, 2019, a capacity building initiative entitled “Daloy ng Karunungan“—A Learning Facilitation Workshop” was held at the Social Welfare and Development Center for Asia and the Pacific (SWADCAP) in Taguig. Organized by Cartwheel Foundation, in collaboration with its development partners Consuelo Zobel Alger Foundation, Department of Social Welfare and Development – National Capital Region (DSWD-NCR) and the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) of Parañaque City, the training is among the initiatives under the joint program, Culture-based Education for Sama-Bajau Children.
The aim of the workshop was to harness competencies of those working with the Sama-Bajau children in delivering rights-based, culturally-relevant, resilience-focused education and related services to indigenous learners.
The training participants included Sama-Bajau family representatives, community facilitators and volunteer teachers from Metro Manila, Supervised Neighborhood Play (SNP) teachers, Cartwheel teachers from Palawan and Zamboanga, and staff from DSWD-NCR and CSWDO-Parañaque. While they come from diverse backgrounds, they share one thing in common—the desire to become better learning facilitators and duty bearers to indigenous children and communities.
Shown here are the workshop participants with their session facilitators. The participants came together to learn more about becoming better learning facilitators and duty bearers to indigenous children.
Learning about Perspectives
To help contextualize the learning facilitators’ work, a participatory National Situationer session was conducted by Ms. Clarence Salvador, helping them understand the current realities in the country, drawing from their own day-to-day issues and challenges in their respective communities.
In view of the overall program’s rights-based and child-centered approach, Ms. Carla Micaela “Mica” S. Honasan, Program Officer at Consuelo Zobela Alger Foundation provided an overview on the fundamental rights of a child, highlighting the importance of education in child development. A deepening of the discussion on child protection thereafter ensued, through an engaging game led by Aysha Barahim of DSWD-NCR.
Ms. Mica Honasan (standing) of Consuelo Zobel Alger Foundation opens the discussion on the rights of a child.
To open the workshop proper on learning facilitation, the participants shared about their own insights about the qualities of an ideal teacher, in a session on the The Philosophy of Teaching, facilitated by Ms. Maria Johanna Pia G. Ortiz-Luis, Executive Director of Cartwheel Foundation. Through the session, they recognized the important role of a teacher or learning facilitator in the holistic development of learners.
Participants share their thoughts about the qualities of an ideal teacher in a session facilitated by Ms. Pia Ortiz-Luis (standing) of Cartwheel Foundation.
Learning about Creative Approaches
In highlighting the different faces of education, Ms. Isobel Ranulfa “Rainey” S. Dolatre, Communications and Advocacy Officer of Cartwheel Foundation, expounded on the key principles of Non-Formal Education. The session helped participants appreciate content-based instruction and learner-centric approaches, through a combination of interactive discussion and activities.
An activity involving movement and imitation was part of the session on Non-Formal Education, facilitated by Ms. Rainey Dolatre (right, in blue) of Cartwheel Foundation.
To further enrich the participants’ understanding of context-based learning, Ms. Gerlita Sianda led the participants in a colorful arts-based activity that delved into the characteristics of indigenous children, as part of her session on Teaching and Learning Facilitation Strategies.
Ms. Gerlita Sianda of Ateneo de Manila University synthesizes input from the participants while leading the session on Teaching and Learning Facilitation Strategies.
Building on creative strategies shared by previous resource persons, back-to-back sessions on Creative Thinking, Creation of Indigenous Instructional Materials, and Lesson Planning were shared by Talaandig licensed teacher Bricks Sintaon. Through expressive arts-based activities, the sessions encouraged cultural relevance, innovation and ingenuity among the participants in their practice of teaching and facilitation.
Various instructional materials and visual aids were crafted by the participants using simple resources often readily available from around their areas
Rich indigenous culture came alive as each of the tribes represented shared their music and dance during their Cultural Night, culminating with a community dance everyone enjoyed!
Learning by Doing
The last day of the workshop was dedicated to ensuring that the participants will be able to creatively apply their learnings in a real-life setting.
In particular, the participants had an engaging learning exchange on what they would do when faced with challenging classroom situations, through the facilitation of Ms. Al-Fatima Ahiyal of Ateneo de Zamboanga University’s Center for Community Extension Services.
Ms. Al-Fatima Ahiyal (standing, in black) of Ateneo de Zamboanga University’s Center for Community Extension Services led the group in a session on classroom management.
The session on Classroom Management was followed by a lively teaching and facilitation demonstration among the participants, who prepared and delivered actual lessons designed for indigenous learners in a community-based setting, as simulated by their co-participants.
Mr. Jomar Buldani, a Sama-Bajau volunteer teacher, delivers his lesson using indigenized instructional materials
Finally, at the end of the three-day training, the participants—now a community of practice—gathered together to express their learnings from the workshop and their commitment toward the education and well-being of the indigenous learners they serve.
The participants gather around their safe space symbol in a closing ritual at the end of three-day workshop.
The participants’ safe space symbol consists of paper boats—a reminder of the strength they find each other in their shared journeys
Together, they created a symbol of a safe holding space as an encouraging reminder of their fellow companions from whom they can learn, gain support, and find strength to continue with their shared journeys. In solidarity, they encouraged each other with these parting words: “Ag beyah beyah kitem kahemon!”* “Let’s continue journeying together!”
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*a phrase that pertains to “shared journeys” in the Sinama language