MODULE 2

GENERAL DOMAINS OF TEACHING COMPETENCIES

Objectives:

By the end of the lesson, the students are expected to:

1. Identify domains where teachers should be competent in doing their job.

2. Analyze various activities performed by teachers in school.
3. Reflect on the importance of developing teachers’ competence in different domains.

DOMAINS OF TEACHING COMPETENCIES

Educational Learning Diversity of Curriculum &

Foundations Environment Learners Instruction

Community Assessment School Professional

Linkages and Evaluation Leadership Growth

Classroom Management

INTRODUCTION

The teaching profession is a dynamic field that requires teachers to excel in different
domains.

First, as professionals, teachers should demonstrate competence and knowledge in the

different disciplines that influence education as a field of study, which are what we call
educational foundations.
Second, teachers need to have understanding of various learning environments that
promote academic excellence and safety.
Third, they should have a strong commitment to respect the diversity of learners whom they
teach.
Fourth, they should have knowledge and expertise in the areas of curriculum and instruction,
especially in promoting culturally relevant and responsive curriculum and pedagogy for Filipino
learners.
Fifth, as public servants, teachers need to establish good partnership with all stakeholders
and develop linkage with institutions and individuals.
Sixth, teachers are expected to design and implement assessment and evaluation tools that
measure students’ success and learning progress.
Seventh, they are also regarded as leaders in various activities, committees, and programs.
Finally, teachers should plan for their professional growth and development.
A. Educational Foundations

Teachers should have solid understanding of educational foundations – subjects and

disciplines. These subjects and disciplines are as follows: History of education, Philosophy, Legal
Foundations of Education, Sociological and Anthropological Foundations of Education, and
Educational Psychology. The following are some standards that teachers need to know in the
area of Educational Foundations:

1. Demonstrate understanding of the historical foundations of education, especially on

Philippine education, including contributions and ideas of individuals and groups from diverse
background.
Teachers need to understand how historical events in the country and in the world helped
shape the field of education. Educational theories and systems are products of individuals and
groups dedicated in finding ways on how to change society and develop human beings through
education.
History of education tells us that the Greeks, the Romans, the Egyptians and even in the
ancient civilization and other areas of the world have contributed a lot in the development of
educational ideas. In the Philippines, the educational system during the pre-Spanish Filipinos, the
Spanish period (Roman Catholic Church), the American Commonwealth (Protestant Churches)
have contributed to the development of Philippine education. There are many events in history
that shaped our education system even to this dsay.

2. Analyze educational philosophies, theories, and researches on education.

Educational philosophies serve as guide in making any curricular and instructional
decisions. They also influence the beliefs and behaviors of teachers as well as shape their
personalities, teaching styles, and values.
Educational theories need to be understood to be applied and interpreted when teaching.
These guide teachers in engaging students in meaningful learning. Likewise, teachers should be
updated with latest researches in the field of education to help them further understand the
learning process and respond to the needs of learners.

3. Understand laws and policies related to education, especially in Philippine context.

These laws and policies provide the legal framework that will guide teachers and
administrators in making decisions about the school, policies, teachers, and students.

4. Identify social, cultural, and economic factors that affect the education of learners.
Understanding the needs and demands of society will help teachers develop curricula and
instruction that are relevant and responsive. Understanding the role of culture in education as
one of its function is to preserve the positive culture of a particular group of people or society.
For the learners, it is important for the teachers to know that the economic condition of
each learner is one of the determinants of school success or failure. Poverty remains to be one
of the reasons for students’ failure to get proper education.
In the Philippines, education is seen as an important tool for alleviating poverty and in
pushing for economic progress and human resources development.

5. Integrate ideas and theories to understand the purposes and nature of education as a
discipline.
Teachers need to develop an appreciation of the different educational ideas and theories
to have a better understanding of the field of education. Education is a dynamic field involving
the understanding of how people learn, how an individual think, and how different people
develop knowledge and skills. Hence, it is necessary for teachers to understand and continuously
build educational ideas and theories.

B. Learning Environment

Before a school year starts, teachers all want their classrooms to be attractive to learners
when they come to school, believing that the physical environment of the classroom can
influence their students to learn. While this could be true, the learning environment is more that
the physical environment that the teachers prepare for the students. It includes the intellectual
environment as well as the emotional environment that teachers and learners experience in
school. They are influential in creating a positive atmosphere of learning and school culture.

Standards that teachers need to know and practice to provide a positive learning
environment for students at any level:

1. Understand types of learning environments that accommodate the learners’ various needs
and promote the development of different types of learners.
This educational environment refers to the physical and psychological environments
provided by the school. For the physical environment, students need to learn in a safe
environment with conducive classrooms equipped with IM’s needed for each subject. For
psychological environment, the school should promote a climate of high expectations,
appreciation of diversity, and respect for learner’s dignity. A learning environment that values
individual ideas, develop individual talents, and provide a venue for intellectual discussions and
activities.

2. Understand the role of various agencies, families, and communities in supporting the
development of learners.
Teachers should work closely with different stakeholders. Develop good relationships
and partnerships with parents, community leaders, and public and private institutions
surrounding their school. Develop programs and projects that promote quality education and
positive development of learners where they can work with individuals and institutions.

3. Design learning opportunities that nurture learners’ talents, critical thinking and creativity.
This means providing effective and efficient student support and instructional support
programs that nurture the potential of students to learn. It is important for teachers to engage
their students in meaningful learning and provide opportunities for them to share ideas and
develop new forms of knowledge.

4. Create a safe learning environment for all learners.

Create a safe physical and psychological; learning environment for their learners. Brain-
based principles tell us that students learn best when they feel safe and secured.

5. Create learning environments that promote intercultural exchange among learners.

Teachers should teach their students to value individual differences and cultural
diversity. It is important for students to develop a high level of cultural literacy. The thrust of the
pre-service teacher education curriculum should focus on the development of teachers who
could serve as facilitators for understanding various cultures and ideas among different
countries.
6. Commit to nurturing a learning environment that promotes respect, equity, and a climate of
high expectations.
Ensure that their classes, activities, programs, and rules promote respect, equity, and a
climate of high expectation. Students should be taught to respect the rights of other people .
They should learn how to value the dignity of every human being, and commit themselves to the
pursuit of academic excellence. Teachers should avoid culturally biased statements and practices
that may lead to the negative experience of schooling for young children; instead, each child
should be treated equally with respect.

C. Diversity of Learners

Teachers need to integrate various educational ideas, perspectives, and theories in

planning instruction for all types of students. There is a need to prepare teachers who possess
high level of knowledge and skills that include a high level of cultural literacy, allowing them to
understand the nature and needs of every learner. Teachers, therefore, significant role in heling
the students become members of a global society. The quality of information teachers get about
learners is helpful in planning an effective instruction and in implementing learning activities.

Things that all teachers need to know and practice to understand students in any level:

1. Cognitive, affective, and psychomotor development of learners.

Psychology provides us with studies. Theories, and principles about the development and
nature of every learner. The teacher should kn ow these development tasks and characteristics
to understand each individual learner’s needs, motivation, and interest. This task is also helpful
for teachers in handling students’ behaviors and managing classroom tasks.

2. Influence of diversity factors on education.

Schools are responding to culturally diverse individuals. Students are becoming diverse
in terms of language, culture, socio-economic conditions, learning styles, talent, family
background, religion and abilities and have different interest and issues. Teachers, therefore,
need to understand all these factors that contribute to diversity so they could teach the students
effectively.

3. Learning styles and thinking preferences of learners.

Multiple intelligences remains to be one of the most influential theories that discusses
the idea of every learner having different learning styles and thinking preferences. Each individual
possesses one or more intelligence: verbal-linguistic intelligence, musical intelligence, bodily
kinesthetic intelligence, visual and spatial intelligence, and many others. Understanding different
learning styles and thinking preferences is essential in designing appropriate learning
experiences, selecting learner-centered strategies, designing effective assessment tools, and in
responding to individual learner’s learning needs.

D. Curriculum and Instruction

Curriculum is defined as the contents, standards, competencies, and topics that students
learn. It includes the school’s philosophy, mission and vision, goals, subjects and learning
experiences, and assessment and evaluation tools. Instruction, on the other hand, is defined as
the means for implementing the curriculum. It includes instructional approaches, methods,
strategies, and techniques.
Teachers are considered curriculum leaders who are engaged in the planning, designing,
developing, implementing, and evaluating of curriculum. There role is so vital that the success of
any curriculum or effectiveness of any instruction can be attributed to the quality of teachers
who will implement it.

Standards that teachers should know and do to fulfill their roles as curriculum and
instructional leaders in their school:

1. Knowledge of various curriculum models and programs that are developmentally

appropriate for learners.
Teachers need to know how to plan and implement these curriculum models and
programs and adapt them to their school context. It is important for teachers to understand the
design of the K-12 Curriculum so it could be implemented effectively. They must know how to
plan and implement all the curricular innovations that are part of the K-12 program, such as the
senior high school curriculum tracts, the MTB-MLE, the new kindergarten curriculum and other
forms of innovations. Some of these are standard-based and learner-centered curriculum
framework, spiral curriculum design, curriculum integration, and multicultural curriculum.

2. Knowledge of the different learning areas and subjects.

Teachers need to develop a high level of content knowledge of the subjects and learning
areas that they are assigned to teach. They need to demonstrate mastery of the subjects’
contents and commit themselves to continuous professional development. For a science teacher
to be effective, he/she should know the content and processes of the science subject. For
kindergarten, teachers should understand the content of each learning area prescribed in the
official curriculum.

3. Pedagogical knowledge.
Pedagogy is defined as the science and art of teaching young learners. It includes a large
repertoire of teaching methods, instructional strategies, teaching approaches, and teaching
techniques.
As instructional leaders and implementers of the curriculum, it is therefore important
that they know hos to teach different subjects. Teachers should know different instructional
planning models that consider the unique characteristics and needs of young children from
various cultures and socio-economic backgrounds. It is important for them to select teaching
methods, learning activities, and instructional materials appropriate to ;earners and aligned to
the objectives of the lesson.

4. Utilization of technology for teaching and learning.

In the field of education, technology is making all information accessible for teachers and
learners, and is a valuable tool for teaching and learning. It is therefore important that teachers
should be technologically literate and can integrate technology in their teaching and learning.
Instructional materials are important tools to help in the teaching and learning process.
In private schools, IM’s are provided. In the public schools, DepEd provides the necessary IM’s
for every subject. However, not all IM’s needed by teachers are available in the classroom. For
teachers in local communities, they should be creative and problem solvers. They should know
how to improvise or develop local materials for instruction as many schools do not have enough
facilities and IM’s.
6. Effective classroom management.
Teachers should know how to manage their classrooms. They should be able to
understand learners’ behaviors and how to manage them. Classroom rules should be established
and a system for rewarding positive behavior should be developed and implemented. Teachers
are not supposed to use corporal punishment in disciplining learners but to develop a caring and
positive attitude in dealing with all types of learners. Teachers do not just teach content; they
help young children develop positive self-esteem and self-concept.

E. Planning, Assessing and Reporting Learners’ Progress.

Measurement is concerned with the statement of performance usually represented in

quantitative terms, but it also includes descriptive data obtained on students’ performances
Assessment involves the interpretation and representation of measurement data. It assigns
quantitative and qualitative marks to the collected measurement information. Evaluation is the
process of making value judgments based on the assessment interpretation of collected data. It
is the systematic process of collecting and analyzing data to make decision.
The results of these processes are used to improve instruction and to effectively ensure
that the students learn from all the subjects in the curriculum.

Standards that teachers should know and do to measure, assess, and evaluate the
learners’ progress in school.

1. Develop and use different assessment tools that are appropriate to measure learners’
progress.
Appropriate assessment tools can be designed based on the prescribed curriculum
standards and competencies. Example of these assessment tools are traditional assessment,
authentic assessment, or a form of interdisciplinary assessment. Teachers should be good in
constructing good test items. For authentic assessment, teachers should know how to develop
rubrics that will truly measure students’ outputs.

2. Use evaluation results to provide feedback on learners’ progress.

Reporting learners’ progress through individual progress report cards or through
developmental checklists in the case of kindergarten learners is an essential duty of the teachers.
Teachers should refrain from any biases or unfair grading practices. Grades serve as basis for
selecting honor students and to identify those to be promoted to the next grade level. For gifted
students, grades will serve as basis for acceleration and developing individual programs for them.

3. Use alternative forms of assessment

Alternative assessment are examples of learner’s individual output that could be graded
using rubrics because not all learning can be measured through quizzes and test. Some
competencies and standards are best measured by looking at the individual outputs and actual
performance of the students. These learners’ output are compiled in individual learner’s
portfolios that are collected at the end of each grading period.

4. Exercise fairness and professionalism in reporting learners’ progress.

Teachers should show professionalism in reporting learners’ progress to their parents.
They should always show their concern for the development of the learners. They should include
positive comments about each learner and identify areas for improvement. Be very careful in
responding to parents’ questions when they are not satisfied with the grades of their child.
In the case of national examinations, they should avoid giving leakages about the test
questions or asking slow learners to be absent during the examination day.

F. Establishing Community Linkages

In the book It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us by Hillary Clinton, the
role of the community and different social agencies are recognized as important in educating an
individual. For Clinton, educating a person is collaborative endeavor between schools and
community. Teachers serve as bridges between schools and the wider community. They are
ambassadors of goodwill that represent their students and the schools to any individual or
institution.
Teachers need to work with government and non-government organizations to encourage
public support to quality education and protect the welfare of students. They can donate
equipment and other instructional materials needed by the school or give finance ial support for
scholarship programs for underprivilege but deserving students.

Standards that teachers need to know and do to establish community linkages:

1. Culturally responsive behaviors that promote effective communication and collaboration

with individuals, families, social agencies, and other members of the community.
Teachers establish learning environments that respond to the aspirations of the
community. They respond to the needs and concern of individuals and families with
professionalism and dignity.

2. Collaboration with individuals and groups to support educational programs jn the

community.
Teachers work with different groups And individuals to rally support on various
educational programs in different communities such as feeding programs, scholarship programs,
health and nutrition programs, literacy programs and many others.

3. Respect for the culture of the individuals and communities.

Teachers patiently work and deal with diverse people every day who belong to different
families, cultures, religious groups and socio-economic classes. This makes them advocates for
respecting cultural diversity.

4. Commitment to the educational goals of the society.

Teachers are committed to uphold and implement the educational goals of society being
leaders, implementers and advocates of educational programs.

G. School Leadership

As leaders in their schools, teach res act with strong principles, values, and philosophy to
develop the learners to be dynamic citizens, professionals, and great leaders in society. They
shape the minds and values of future generations. Teacher leadership is an important component
of students and school success.
Teacher leaders are also servant leaders. They contribute and lead in creating visions for a safe
and just society, support community programs and projects implemented by the local and
national government. They share their expertise and talents and committed to develop the skills
and talents of the students. They promote quality education, equity, and positive school reforms
that hope to transform the lives of the learners. They give their life, time, and resources for the
welfare of their students.

H. Classroom Management

One of the most difficult problems teachers experienced in their teaching is classroom
management and student discipline. A lot of seminars and trainings were given to teachers on
this issue, but still, many have anxiety about managing their classroom. Classroom management
is integrated in every day teaching and learning processes. It is also a set of rules developed for
a system of rewarding positive behavior and giving positive intervention on learners’ disruptive
behavior. To master classroom management, teachers need to know their learners and should
be well-informed in psychology to understand their development and behavior.

Standards that teachers should know and do to master classroom management.

1. Establishing clear rules and procedures.

Establish a system that will help them handle learners’ behavior and that classroom rules
and procedures are clearly established and students are well aware of these.

2. Making students responsible and accountable for their actions and behaviors.
It is important for them to realize that every action they do in the classroom affects the
whole class. And that they are responsible and accountable for their academic work and
classroom behaviors.

3. Planning lessons and learning activities effectively.

Effective teaching requires all students to be engaged in the learning process. Planning
effective instruction requires teachers to understand their learners’ behavior and interest.

4. Developing intervention skills for dealing with different classroom problems.

Develop techniques and approaches for dealing with different classroom problems. Know
how to use rewards and punishment effectively. Work with parents to understand the
environment of the students and seek help from other professionals to understand learners’
issues and problems.

I. Professional Development
This is important so that they can update themselves with different curricular and
instructional innovations. This involves attending graduate school to take advance courses and
degrees, attending conferences, and participating in seminars, workshops and trainings. This will
enable them to understand new challenges in teaching and learning processes, appreciate new
information related to the subjects they teach, learn new instructional methods and strategies,
improve their classroom management skills. These development programs are important in
molding the minds and character of teachers.
 Professional development also includes teachers’ participation and membership in
professional organizations. These local, national and international organizations provide venues
for holding academic activities and sharing common advocacies.

Standards that teachers should know and do in the area of professional development:

1. Building professional links with colleagues and other professionals.

These can be done through membership in academic societies and professional
organizations here in the Philippines or abroad. It is through these academic links that they get
to know more and share best practices in education.

2. Conduct relevant research.

Teachers need to conduct basic research or Action research to fully understand some
educational issues and problems, and test the applicability and strength of a particular curriculum
or pedagogical models in their settings. In the Philippines, most teachers do not conduct
research, if they do , it is because it is a requirement for promotion.

3. Commitment to lifelong learning.

To develop the habit or culture of lifelong learning. As fountains of knowledge, they serve
as models of knowledge seekers and producers and should never stop learning. Their position in
society requires them to be always knowledgeable in their work and in different areas.

4. Attendance in in-service programs and activities for teachers.

It is through these activities that their pedagogical skills and content knowledge are
developed and enhanced.

5. Enrolling in graduate and post graduate education courses.

Teachers should enroll in graduate and post graduate courses not for promotion
purposes but to improve their knowledge and skills. Teachers should be encourage to take
graduate courses in recognized centers of excellence. Their thesis and diplomas should
determine their expertise and specialization in their chosen fields.

Note: Topics presented are excerpts from the book “Teaching Profession- Passion and Mission”
by Greg Tabios Pawilen.
 WORKSHEET NO. 2

Reflect and write your answers to the following questions. Discuss briefly.

1. What are the characteristics of an ideal learning environment for the students?

2. What strategies and programs can you suggest for the successful implementation of the
curriculum?

3. How can teachers strengthen their linkages and partnerships with government organizations
and private institutions?

4. How can we encourage teachers to exercise leadership in their school?

5.How can we encourage teachers to take professional development seriously to improve their
knowledge and skills?