Pilot Testing

After finalizing the design and content of the Self-Learning Modules, the project proceeded to pilot testing. The first module titled “Introduction to Project Management” was used as the primary learning material in a 2-hour synchronous class held on Google Meet. There were 6 SK council member participants in total. Mr. Vito Dominic Sese, a teacher of Media and Information Literacy at the Angeles City National High School - Senior High School and an instructor from City College of Angeles, facilitated the class. Days before the event, I shared with him the module’s soft copy (see Appendix G), the slide presentation (see Appendix J), and the teacher’s guide (see Appendix K) for advanced preparation.

The class started with the usual preliminaries of greetings. The conversation was light as some of the participants were already familiar with the instructor who was their former Practical Research I and II teacher in senior high school. This familiarity contributed to the comfortable atmosphere of the virtual class.

Afterward, the facilitator tasked the participants to complete a multiple choice and True or False pre-test within 5 minutes. The instructions along with a QR code directing where the participants should submit the scans of their answers are clearly posted in the slide presentation. The completion and checking of answers took longer than the set 5 minutes as the participants needed more time. The learners' answer sheets can be viewed in the Appendix L.

After the formative assessment, the instructor went on to introduce the topic and learning objectives. A slide containing the objectives in bullet and verb forms is projected onto the screen, making it easier for the participants to know what is expected of them at the end of the class.

The instructor formally began the discussion after the introduction by first giving an overview of project management. The instructor still uses a friendly, non-aggressive tone of voice to converse with the participants. He also provides examples of the sections he discusses. These examples are always related to the SK and their functions.

Overview of PM.mp4

He pauses for some moments to encourage participants to actively involve themselves in the discussion by asking them to relate a project’s key attributes to their experiences as SK council members. The questions used to probe reflection include:

What kind of project is it?
What makes it a project?
What type of unique product, service, or result did your project generate?
How did you deliver them?

Recall Projects.mp4

The instructor also played a supplementary video material to discuss the 4 stages of a project’s life cycle. This is to accommodate the audiovisual learning preference/ style of the learners as revealed in the learner analysis. The instructor still followed this with further explanation to expand the discussion. Similar to the previous strategy, he used questions to encourage participants to engage in the learning process by asking them questions such as:

What are the 4 phases of a project life cycle?
What are the factors that should be considered in every phase?
Do you think a project‘s process could be done alone or with a team?
What are your overall thoughts on the phases?

Video Presentation.mp4

This active engagement from the participants can be seen throughout the discussion. The instructor asks them to share their thoughts on the text and give their own examples from their previous experiences in project management.

The next enrichment activity is an individual bulletin board discussion in Padlet. The participants actively shared their answers and pinned them on the board. The instructor let them work on their own while still answering some questions of clarification from other participants.

Similarly, the next enrichment activity that opens the topic of “Intra and Interpersonal Skills” was successful with the active teamwork of the participants. They were divided into 2 groups and participated in the discussion forum on Padlet. The overall behavior and attitude of the participants during these activities can be described as cooperative and lively. The friendly discussion of their answers afterward contributed to this.

Afterward, the instructor resumed the discussion. The instructor routinely asked questions to ensure that the participants were still paying attention at this point of the virtual class.

This was followed by the summative assessment. The participants were given 10 minutes to complete the questions. However, the instructor extended the time limit to 5 more minutes as some participants faced connectivity issues when uploading their scanned answer sheets in the Gdrive folder.

After ensuring that all participants have submitted their answers and entertaining more questions about the topic, the instructor formally concludes the discussion by listing the lesson’s key points. The participants were also encouraged to give their own insights to help them recall the concepts. Afterward, the participants and instructor exchanged thanks and the instructor dismissed the class.

Issues Occurred During the Session

The instructor had to extend the time limit for activities for a few minutes due to connectivity issues and participants needing more time to finish their answers and upload them on Google Drive. There were also problems with some of the participant’s audio during the session due to device issues and connectivity issues. The background noise would sometimes echo or overpower the speaker’s voice which makes it difficult for the others to hear them clearly. The connectivity issues and sound issues were exacerbated by the heavy downpour and thunderstorms in the middle of the session. As a result, some participants had to leave the meeting to refresh their signal and then come back.

There was also an instance where the participants encountered problems during the individual and group activity on Padlet. Many of them were unfamiliar with the platform and needed help with how to use it at first. Fortunately, the interface was easy to navigate and no sign-in was required for the users making it less complicated to use. The instructor was easily able to guide them through the activities on this platform.

Observations and Conclusion

There were a few moments in the class that I would like to emphasize. First, the instructor’s voice stayed friendly and non-aggressive throughout the whole discussion. Despite his tone, it did not come off as disrespectful or informal. I believe that this helped make the participants feel more comfortable in addition to their familiarity with him. Second, although the instructor facilitated the discussion and posed questions for learner reflection, it did not come out as a teacher-centered instruction. There were a lot of opportunities for the participants to drive the discussion and communicate their thoughts rather than being passive receivers of information.

Another highlight from the class is the attitude of the participants. They were very cooperative in the activities and questions presented by the instructor. They share their insights when asked and display a positive attitude and behavior toward the instructor and their peers. I believe that aside from the friendly tone of the instructor, the participants’ cooperation and engagement helped foster a light and conducive learning atmosphere during the class.

As the instructional designer and observer, I believe that this session has successfully achieved its goal of pilot-testing the module and introducing basic project management concepts to the participants. The instructor’s teaching methods also speak for his rich experience of handling youth learners. His expertise along with the positive attitude of the participants contributed greatly to the success of this stage of the project.

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Pilot Testing

Get in touch at ajfujino@up.edu.ph