The Volunteer Members were gathered from the Grade 11 and Grade 12 students of Philippine Science High School - Main Campus using the incentive of SCALE Credits in Service and Creativity. The application form was posted through various channels such as the Project’s social media pages, Pisay Direct, and Grade 11 SCALE Advisers. After the application deadline, the Volunteer Members were split according to their preferred subject. They took on roles such as Lecturers, Creatives, and Writers. Lecturers are the Mentors who will present the materials and explain them to the mentees, Creatives are those who will make the supplementary materials such as powerpoints, posters, videos, etc., and the Writers are those in charge of making, curating, revising, and editing the content to be placed in the modules and materials. All of the members were also Mentors and were on stand-by during the Mentoring Sessions to answer any questions the students may message to them while the Lecturer presents the materials. 

Second, the topics to be mentored were gathered from Alta Tierra’s Curriculum, DepEd’s K to 12 Curriculum, which can be found online. The topics taken were from the Grade 6, Grade 7, and Grade 8 curricula. Additionally, a survey was conducted with the Grade 7 and Grade 8 students to verify which topics they had trouble with. On November 24, 2021, the Project Heads had a meeting with the Principal and Teaching Staff of Alta Tierra to present the topics and timeline with them. The topics which needed priority in mentoring were also taken into consideration as well as some additional topics the Mentors wanted to be included. The Mentors were grouped into two teams for Math, one each for Geometry and Algebra, and one team for English Writing. The topics were then distributed among the three teams.

Regarding the documentation, progress report meetings are held and recorded weekly. These are the meetings where each team has to have reported their progress the day before so that the Project Heads can review the materials made and make comments and suggestions during the meeting as well as give the announcements for that week.

Finally, for the Data Gathering, there were Pre-Mentoring and Post-Mentoring Program surveys to gauge the mentees’ pre- and post-mentoring levels in the topics which were mentored. This is so it could be analyzed whether the mentoring program was effective in long-term retention or not. Quizzes and homework were also utilized by the Mentors to help the students and gauge whether or not they understood the topics taught. The results of these were also compiled to help analyze the mentoring sessions' effectiveness. Additionally, feedback/interview of the Mentees and Mentors was also gathered to see whether they were able to form a bond of trust between them that could help alleviate the sense of isolation online learning presents and if the mentoring program was able to help the Mentees academically.

We consulted 2 teachers, one Math Consultant and one English Consultant, regarding the quality of the materials we made for the mentoring program:

Math Consultant: Sir Francis Nelson Infante

English Consultant: Sir Jose Arguelles

Experienced enjoyment in learning

The Mentees stated how they had found the mentoring to be very fun and enjoyable compared to their usual mode of independent or group study. It encouraged them to listen attentively during classes, armed with the belief that some topics that they had previously found difficult were actually easier than they thought.

Increased engagement and newfound interest in learning

All of the Mentees stated that the learning sessions helped them to deepen their understanding of their current lessons and remember the topics that they had forgotten. Some students also started being curious to see connections between mathematics and their other subjects. The majority of them remarked how the Mentors were well-prepared with lessons, taught in a detailed and thorough manner, and shared personal insights and techniques for understanding with them.

No fear of asking questions

One remarkable observation was the trust and openness that was apparent between the Mentors and Mentees. The younger pupils appreciated that questions were encouraged and that their questions were taken seriously by the Mentors. 

All in all, the students reported adopting better study habits and expectations, and more positive attitudes toward academics. Their interview responses are also indicative of leaning towards better self-regulation strategies in terms of studying.

Experience of joy and fulfillment from teaching younger children

All of the mentors stated that they found volunteering as a mentor in Project Erudite Path to be a very fulfilling experience, with the majority stating how they felt truly happy whenever children expressed that they were learning something from them.

Decreased sense of isolation and disconnection

Before joining Erudite Path, some mentors experienced loneliness and social isolation due to the lockdown and added that it was only after they had volunteered that they started interacting with other people again.  It made them happy to be productive and helpful at the same time.

Sense of pride from engagement in a well-supervised and organized mentoring program

They were pleasantly surprised with how organized the leadership of the project was, considering that this was the first year of implementation.

Empathy with their teachers’ challenges in conducting lessons online

One regret that mentors have is that most pupils preferred to be off-cam and off-mic, and some even stated that they actually understood how their own teachers feel when they don’t turn on their own mics and cams in their own classes. Some mentors, after personally experiencing how hard their job actually is, said that they empathize with their teachers and resolved to show their teachers some respect and appreciation.

Motivation to continue participating in a mentoring or similar service-learning activities

When asked whether they thought the mentoring program was a success, they all said yes. The mentors said that even though they would have wanted to reach out to more children, they were already satisfied that they were able to do their job as mentors, witness the children’s eagerness to learn, and feel fulfilled knowing that they were able to be of help.

As the mentors prepared learning materials, they had a good review of some difficult topics and also had them think creatively of some ways of clearing up possible misconceptions. It made them happy to try teaching the same topic in different ways. One of them even stated that they really agree with their previous teacher’s saying of “teaching is the best form of learning.”

Regarding online mentoring, the majority stated that they can see this still being feasible even upon resumption of face-to-face classes. The advantage of conducting the mentoring sessions face-to-face is that mentors could personally perceive how the students react to the lessons, whether they are confused, excited, exhausted, etc. At the same time, the volunteers were open to exploring a blended form of mentoring with a combination of online and face-to-face interaction. 

Additionally, the mentors felt that they were able to practice their public speaking skills, which have been somewhat neglected due to the current pandemic and online setup. Some said that their motivation for doing service work has increased seeing the effects of their hard work. Some said they felt like they had gained some leadership skills from handling their team.