DepEd NLC - Grade 8

National Learning Camp Overview

Overview

The National Learning Camp (NLC) aims to enhance student and teacher learning through interactive

lessons based on prior educational content. The program focuses on consolidating student knowledge,

updating and expanding teacher expertise, and applying research-based strategies to improve learning

teaching outcomes.

The NLC offers grade-level review lessons that are directed by the teacher and designed to be highly

interactive among:

(i) students with their teacher; and

(ii) students with their peers.

The Camp lessons are grounded in the ‘Science of Learning’ framework, focusing on cognitive research and

practical applications to enhance learning outcomes. Lessons are structured to reinforce foundational

knowledge and skills, involve real-world problem-solving activities, and encourage higher-order thinking.

The Camps also offer teachers opportunities for reflection and professional growth, encouraging the

adoption of new teaching approaches and the extension of student learning through systematic review

and application of knowledge.

Design Basis

A strength of the design is the focus on both student and teacher learning. The intentions and expectations

of the NLC are for:

students to consolidate and enhance their thinking in topics already covered;

teachers to update, strengthen and expand their subject knowledge in ways that encourage

students to be involved in learning activities at different levels including those considered as higher

order; and

teachers to enhance their pedagogical practices by focusing on selected skills, which include 21st

century skills.

Under the framework of ‘Science of Learning’, research-evidence is used to ground teaching and learning

decisions around cognition research and features of a learning brain such as working memory demands,

cognitive load, valuing errors, and domain specific skills. This framework highlights a learning-focused

approach where teachers go beyond what might be considered current practice in the Philippines and

incorporate brain-based ideas and approaches, including 21st Century skills, to make teaching more

effective in enhancing learning for all.

To further support this direction, teachers are provided with resources, time, and the opportunity to

further extend their skills, knowledge, and understandings of teaching and how students learn. The review

lessons are designed to apply subject content already encountered by students. Because of this, lessons do

not contain repetitive, routine questions of a particular subject aspect.

Review lessons

The review lessons are based on content already encountered by students in their current grade. All

lessons involve an exploration of ideas, concepts, and content. The purpose of the review lessons is twofold:

(i) to establish in students a stronger basis for future learning development (prior to enrolling in a

new Grade after the summer break); and

(ii) to enable teachers to strengthen and enrich their teaching practice in a research-based,

learning-focused professional program (prior to a new academic year).

The primary focus of the review lessons concerns revising, clarifying, and then applying previously taught

subject content with real-world problem-solving and/or comprehension activities. Each lesson begins by a

focused content review and clarification of material needed in the lesson to come. For students, this initial

review enables them to practice retrieving and practicing important basics relevant to the lesson to come.

For Teachers this information is designed to help determine learners’ subject background knowledge and

skills relevant to the lesson as well as help teachers identify where to build on previous learning. This

approach is different to ‘teaching’ students anew as if they have not been taught previously.

Lesson Overview

All lessons in each of the three subjects, English, Mathematics and Science, contain five components. These

are 1. Short Review, 2. Purpose/Intention, 3 Language Practice, 4 Activity and 5 Conclusion.

Timing

Approximate component timings are indicated as advice to guide the teacher in pacing the lessons. Time

management involves:

moving through components at a pace that is appropriate for learners;

ensuring that all components are completed in a timely, efficient, and constructive manner.

Research on student-learning quality and ‘time’ are related through student ‘time-on-task’. Time-on-task

refers to when students are actively involved (engaged) in some aspect of the learning process. The

suggested times for each component are intended to maximize the time available for student involvement.

This will encourage the student and teacher to work efficiently, timewise, through the lesson without

jeopardizing the importance of student activities such as to:

answer routine and non-routine questions,

respond to verbal questions and explanations,

interpret and use appropriate terminology,

discuss aspects with their peers,

explain or justify his/her approaches and thinking,

work productively on their own, and

listen carefully to the teacher or peers.

Establishing what is on-task time is more problematic when the teacher talks and students passively listen,

such as in didactic teaching. With such an approach it is difficult to determine whether students are

listening or even paying attention. Often in lessons identifying time-on task can also be problematic in case

of problem-solving or intense reading and comprehension. Here, student activity is often more subtle and

cerebral as students need to think quietly by themselves.

Ultimately, however, the time allocated to components will be determined by learners’ needs and

strengths, but not completely. There needs to be practical limits on the duration of the components to

prevent major disruption to lessons which can have a detrimental impact on student learning. Often,

teacher should not expect too much learning to occur on an initial meeting of unfamiliar content. It is

repeated exposure associated with elaboration, addressing errors, and deliberately practicing key aspects

where most learning occurs.

When times are allocated appropriately, and students become familiar with the approach and teacher

expectations, concept development and student skill levels are improved as well as student engagement.

Note: Care needs to be exercised in determining what engagement means. Engagement is clearer when

students are doing the learning through answering questions, writing, discussing, and reading.

Key Ideas and Questioning

Critical aspects of the NLC for the teacher include questions related to learning areas, based around a key

idea. The questions are offered at different levels of difficulty involving lower- to higher-order thinking,

starting with questions of modest complexity up to those that require more developed reasoning.

In the lessons, students are provided with opportunities to practice solving non-routine questions to help

improve their conceptual understanding by applying known content to subject-related problems.

Teacher Reflection

Teacher reflection on the lessons offer important insights to stimulate teachers and their peers to enhance

their own practice and the learning of their students. This includes:

new teaching approaches encouraged by lesson components that can contribute in different ways

to student learning and lesson success;

the use of review lessons that help review learnt material and extend student abilities in problem

solving by utilizing known information; and

a focus on student concept and skill acquisition, pedagogical approaches, student errors, time-ontask,

deliberate practice and working memory demands.

Enhancement and Consolidation Camps

The Enhancement Camp and the Consolidation Camp offer students the chance to review their subject

background knowledge by consolidating previously taught material. The intention is:

for students to have opportunities to review past work and to practice applying this knowledge of

concepts and ideas through grade-related sets of questions of developing difficulty; and

for teachers to follow the given format of components with some flexibility to adjust parts of a

lesson to meet the learning needs of students in their class, particularly, if students are having

difficulties.

Camp Differences

In the case of lessons for students in either the Enhancement Camp or Consolidation Camp, the materials,

including the lesson plans and the sets of questions, are, on the surface, the same. These questions range

from those of modest difficulty to those which require more insight and more knowledge and

understanding.

There are important reasons for both Camps sharing the same content. Exploring and answering these

question sets has value to students from both Camps, albeit in different ways. It enables students to work

through a range of ideas on their own before hearing from their peers and teacher concerning the same

questions – a very rich learning environment. Also, similar questions mean that expectations for students

in both Camps is not limited and students have the same potential for growth.

The difference between Camps concerns the teaching focus, which is related to the breadth and depth of

conceptual knowledge of students. It is anticipated that based on student performance within a lesson, the

teacher will decide whether the class needs more practice and discussion of straightforward questions or

whether extension material is more appropriate for the class.

Questions marked as Optional (typically high-order questions) are more likely to be addressed in the

Enhancement Camp than the Consolidation Camp, but not exclusively. It is the teacher who decides

whether to include ‘optional’ questions and this will depend on student-learning success and

understanding at that time.

If Optional questions are not used, teachers would spend that time productively. This includes reinforcing

the concepts by increasing the focus on student errors and/or increasing student-student, and studentclass

directed conversations.

Lower- and Higher-order Skill and Knowledge Development

In all learning, lower-order thinking is a pre-requisite for higher-order skills and knowledge development.

Many students are disadvantaged in their attempts to move forward in their learning through a lack of

practice and conceptual development of needed lower-order skills, knowledge, and understandings.

Hence, all students benefit from a stock-take on relevant lower-order skills from previously addressed

content. This helps establish a basis upon which student learning should build.

In both the Enhancement and Consolidation Camps important lower-order content skills, knowledge and

understandings are re-visited at the beginning of each lesson. This helps ensure that potential learning

obstacles are made visible to the student and the teacher. It also means that some errors in understanding

or misconceptions are identified. This information is important to teachers in helping all students move

forward regardless of their achievement levels.

As many questions posed are about applying content already encountered to a new problem, students can

use their current knowledge, skill and understanding in a practical way at their level, further developing

their conceptualization and understanding of the subject matter.

Both Camps offer students the opportunity to improve their learning and conceptual development by a

stepped approach that involves:

(i) reminding students of relevant lower-order skills through practice,

(ii) having students use and discuss their knowledge in sets of graded questions with an emphasis

on straightforward questions,

(iii) expecting students to apply their knowledge leading to more breadth in learning,

(iv) beginning an initial focused practice on higher-order skill development.

The approach advocated to solve problems or comprehend passages extends student learning beyond

simple repetitive exercises sets. For these students the teaching part of the lesson requires teachers

reviewing closely student solution attempts through student explanation, discussion and questioning of

fundamental aspects of topics that are typically found in the earlier questions. Teachers should be sensitive

to students’ self-perceptions here as they may meet the ideas, presented in the lessons, maybe after many

failures with these concepts in the past.

Nevertheless, these students should become aware of the more difficult questions as teachers allow them

to consider links or connections between concepts previously taught. There is great value in problem

solving for students to have time to read the problem and then be able to indicate in their own words,

what the problem is about.

Finally, it is important that students in the Enhancement and Consolidation Camps become aware of what

their students know, where it is progressing and how to build on student skills and knowledge. Teachers

need to be nurturing and supportive of this development and continually look for evidence of success and

growth. Teachers also need to encourage students to persist, continue to practice individual aspects, and

use any mistakes/errors they make as an opportunity to learn more. These are important features of a

successful learning journey.

Lesson Components: Short Overview

Lesson Component 1 (Lesson Short Review)

Component 1 offers teachers the chance to:

settle the class quickly;

review previously encountered information;

address previous content in the form of a few targeted questions that are relevant to the current

lesson;

note what students already know;

elicit answers from the class to reinforce the important content needed for the lesson; and

address briefly issues that may arise.

The questions set for the Short Review section of a lesson are designed to remind students of knowledge

and skills developed when first studying the topic area, which are relevant to the lesson.

Lesson Component 2 (Lesson Purpose/Intention)

This component offers teachers a chance to acquaint students with the purpose/intention of the lesson. It

is valuable if students see a link here with their prior knowledge or experience, especially if the teacher can

connect it to the responses and levels of student understanding evident in Component 1.

In addition, this component is an appropriate time to address what students might expect/aim to achieve,

i.e., their lesson goal(s). Teachers should clarify, in clear language, the learning intention for the students

as well as what success will look like. (Note: The degree of success or partial success of student learning in

the lesson should occur as part of Component 5.)

Lesson Component 3 (Lesson Language Practice)

Component 3 concerns language use – speaking, hearing, listening, and comprehending. The focus is on

words or phrases that are to be used in the lesson.

The language practice suggested has been identified by considering the whole lesson and identifying those

words/phrases that have the potential to cause difficulties for students through speech, or listening, or

understanding. Typically, the language identified is restricted to less than 6 words/phrases so that there is

enough time to use a variety of approaches of practice within the time available.

Lesson Component 4 (Lesson Activity)

Component 4 has three aspects, 4A, 4B, and 4C.

In the case of the Learning Camp activity, Component 4 addresses the key idea for the lesson. It is about

students applying known content to solve real-world problems. This requires students to

interpret/understand the correct meaning of the ‘stem’, a stimulus, (such as a passage/text or diagram or

the first part of the problem or story) before answering questions of differing degrees of complexity

related to the stem.

Students are first presented with the stem in 4A and are given the time/chance to interpret its meaning.

Then in 4B and 4C, two separate sets of questions related to the same stem are asked.

4A Reading and Understanding the Stem

4A involves understanding the language of the stem. The purposes here are for the teacher:

to model fluent reading of the stem (first)

to identify any unfamiliar language for the student (possibly addressed in Component 3)

to read the passage or describe the figure, etc.

to hear and experience fluency in reading the stem.

4B Solving the First Set of Questions

4B involves a set of questions associated with the stem. Students will need to refer to the stem as they

prepare to answer the set of questions. Students write down responses or attempts at each question. It is

important that every student in the class is expected to have a response for each question. It is expected

and acceptable that students would make errors, which provide teachers with important information

concerning students’ learning needs. A critical procedural action here for teachers is the importance of all

students starting on the same set of questions, at the same time.

When the students are finished, or sufficient time has been allocated, the teacher marks the questions.

This can be achieved by student answers or approaches to the questions and by explaining or justifying

their reasons. Time should be allocated to student discussion, explanation, and reasoning about answers.

4C Solving the Second Set of Questions

4C offers a new start for students regardless of how they performed in Component 4B. The structure is

very similar to Component 4B, i.e., undertaking a new set of questions related to the same stem. In

addition, the lesson structure allows a refresh as 4C presents a new starting point for the student. This

structure also allows all students in the class to start a new activity at the same time.

This approach serves two purposes for teachers. First, it enables teachers to bring all students back

together to proceed as a group with issues able to be directed to and considered by every student at the

same time. Second, it offers teachers a way to extend their students problem solving practice where a

different set of questions can be used with a single Stem. This is an efficient way to incorporate more

problem-solving or comprehension practice on specific content into a lesson.

Lesson Component 5 Lesson Conclusion

Component 5 has a high metacognitive aspect for students – students thinking about their own thinking –

which can be further enhanced by teacher modelling. Component 5 is designed to offer a student-focused

overview to the main intentions of the lesson. In particular, the focus is about helping students reflect on

their progress and achievement (or partial achievements) of the lesson intention as well as their

understanding development during the lesson.

It builds on comments from Component 2 about teacher expectations. There is the chance here to confirm

student progress during the lesson. A teacher may use a diagram, picture, or some aspect of the lesson as

a catalyst to stimulate student discussion and reflection.

NOTE: A fuller description of the Components and features of the lessons is provided in the Learning Camp

– Notes to Teachers Booklet. It is recommended that these notes are read and discussed by teachers as

they provide a further basis to understanding the structure of lessons and the pedagogy.

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