Flexible Pedagogies During the Educational Disruption in Bicol, Philippines: Developing Practice-Informed Framework

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has tremendously changed the educational landscape worldwide. Education has drastically shifted from face-to-face instructional delivery to flexible learning modalities. At the center of this shift in the modalities are the teachers. This chapter analyzed the teachers’ experiences in implementing flexible pedagogies in Bicol, Philippines, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 using the SWOT analysis design, and they proposed a framework that explains the implementation of flexible pedagogies in a disruptive situation. Teachers’ experiences reveal flexible schedules and availability of different platforms as among the strengths, and poor internet and lack of teacher support as weaknesses. Learning new technologies for pedagogical purposes and participating in community of practice for sharing resources are noted as opportunities. Leakage of tests and unavailability of experts to critique and validate lessons and materials before actual use, are among the threats. The proposed practice-informed framework for flexible pedagogies covers six factors that are character, context, content, condition, competence, and collaboration. All these factors relate closely to the use of innovative technologies to continue the delivery of learning amidst educational disruption. This proposed framework can serve as a guide in improving the implementation of flexible pedagogies.