LEEP-PFA Trains in Region VII’s Bantayan Islands, Cebu and Bohol

102 teachers and principals were participants in last month’s (March) Learning Effectively through Enhanced and Evidence-based Pedagogies with Psychological First Aid (LEEP-PFA). The first batch was attended by 51 participants from 17 public schools in Bantayan Island, Cebu, while the other 51 were from another 17 schools in Bohol.

In Bantayan Island, the four-day program involved aside from workshops on effective and evidenced-based teaching approaches and conducting PFA to students, past attendees to a previous LEEP rollout who shared their experiences and how can LEEP impact be maximized.  “With the LEEP training, we really had that cooperative learning towards our students. Natuto po silang gumawa (at matuto) ng sarili nila. They discovered answers among themselves,” said Elisa Matulac, teacher in Sulangan Integrated School in Cebu. Forty four (44) teachers and principals from the Department of Education (DepEd) – Region VII were trained on LEEP in November 2016 while their schools were each provided with the Knowledge Channel Portable Media Library, a hard drive installed with more than 1000 curriculum-based videos, educational games, session guides and other learning resources.

LOOK: Teachers actively participate in various LEEP-PFA activities done in Cebu and Bohol.

In Bohol, KCFI President and Executive Director Rina Lopez Bautista graced the training and even ran a session on Growth Mindset. She emphasized, “it is important for the teachers to continuously encourage and support their students so they may not only themselves discover and create meanings, but also create new knowledge.”

LEEP is a training program designed by KCFI for elementary and secondary school teachers, principals and even education supervisors to promote active participation, collaboration, critical thinking and other learner-centered strategies in the classroom. With LEEP, each participant-school receives a Knowledge Channel Portable Media Library.

In partnership with ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation’s (ALKFI) Operation Sagip, PFA was integrated into LEEP wherein participants are oriented on how to respond immediately, appropriately and effectively to the psychosocial needs of learners after natural or man-made disasters. A four-part video series called Psychological First Aid hosted by Atom Araullo supplements the training where concepts, scenarios and procedures are explained.

This PFA component in LEEP-PFA was co-developed by KCFI with the Fr. Bulatao Center and the Department of Psychology of the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), and the Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP). LEEP-PFA is one of the grand winners in the 2016 Lopez Achievement Awards (LAA).