E-Journal

This stage marked the beginning of what I consider the most time-demanding and challenging part of my instructional design project: creating the five instructional booklets. I still remember coming home from work, grabbing a tall mug of coffee, and locking myself in with my laptop, determined to meet my goal of developing materials that would be purposefully tailored for ALS learners.

Although I have years of experience creating learning resources—starting as a teacher’s assistant preparing class presentations and later as a virtual assistant developing educational booklets—this project felt different. Unlike past work where I followed prescribed formats, I now had the freedom and responsibility to design booklets entirely on my own terms, grounded in both theory and learner needs. This freedom was exciting because I knew that my outputs would directly benefit a community of learners who often have limited access to high-quality materials.

Over the course of two to three days, I drafted the booklets with a clear scope and sequence to organize objectives, topics, focus areas, and activities. I deliberately integrated Scaffolded Task-Based Instruction (TBI)—a combination of scaffolding and task-based learning approaches. Since the goal was to enhance reading comprehension, task-based instruction was an appropriate pedagogical choice as it uses authentic, meaningful tasks to develop literacy and language skills (Ismail et al., n.d.). Scaffolding provides temporary instructional support, gradually releasing responsibility to learners until they can work independently (The Bell Foundation, n.d.). Merging these two approaches allowed the booklets to guide ALS learners through real-life reading contexts, starting with teacher-led demonstrations and leading to independent application.

I also drew from Robert Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction, ensuring that the sequence of learning events moved logically from gaining attention to supporting transfer of learning. Similarly, Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory influenced my decisions to scaffold tasks according to learners’ developmental readiness, especially since ALS learners vary in age and ability.

In developing the booklets, I carefully mapped objectives from the DepEd ALS Curriculum Guide to ensure alignment with mandated competencies. This process was complex and at times overwhelming, but it allowed me to integrate and apply almost every theory and principle I had studied throughout my BES program. It was a moment of realization—seeing how theoretical frameworks on instructional design, learning psychology, and material development converged in practice. 

Reflection

This phase was both stressful and fulfilling. Stressful, because designing instructional materials that are both theoretically grounded and learner-centered demands intense time, creativity, and precision. Yet fulfilling, because it showed me the relevance of my BES training in real-world educational contexts. For the first time, I was not just studying theories but actively applying them to produce something tangible for a community in need.

I also became more aware of the broader issue of resource creation in ALS. Teachers like Sir John, often with limited time and support, face the enormous challenge of tailoring materials for diverse learners. This raises critical questions: "How sustainable is it for individual teachers to develop high-quality instructional resources on their own? " "What systemic supports or resource-sharing mechanisms could DepEd or local governments establish to ease this burden?"