Teaching Method
At Ateneo de Naga University Senior High School, teachers apply various teaching methods to create an engaging and interactive learning environment. Classroom instruction is delivered through discussions, guided activities, collaborative tasks, practice exercises, and writing workshops. Students are encouraged to participate actively through question-and-answer sessions, pair work, reflections, and performance tasks such as outlining and essay writing. The lessons also integrate formative assessments and feedback sessions to strengthen students’ understanding, critical thinking, and writing skills.
Learning Materials & Innovation
The delivery of instructional content at Ateneo De Naga has successfully integrated conventional and digital media. Starting with conventional media resources, the school provides two to three whiteboards to support learning. An innovation I observed in the use of these conventional media is an unwritten rule implemented by Ateneo De Naga, whereby teachers are required to write the Lesson Objectives on the whiteboard and are only allowed to erase them once the lesson is over. This is intended so that during the lesson, teachers can link each topic to the lesson objectives themselves. Regarding digital media, Ateneo De Naga provides a digital television of sufficient size with a screen visible to students. Teachers actively use this, particularly when explaining material with the aid of Canva. Unfortunately, there are times when the internet connection and electricity are unreliable. When this happens, teachers continue the lesson using the whiteboard or direct oral explanations; however, observing from student participation and focus perspective, they perform better when the teacher switches to explaining via the whiteboard rather than orally.
Source Learning and Technology
The learning environment at Ateneo de Naga is highly conducive to student comfort and well-being. This includes spacious classrooms, ample desks and chairs, high-quality conventional and digital learning resources, and air conditioning that keeps the classrooms cool (given the Philippines’ often extreme heat). The school also features a school-wide internet connection and a reliable power supply. In addition to the classrooms, learning can also take place in the library; the library facilities at Ateneo de Naga are also very adequate, with plenty of tables and chairs, a clean and spacious room, and a smooth internet connection. Another special aspect of Ateneo de Naga is the teacher-student relationship. During the early stages of my classroom observations, I was quite surprised to see many students communicating casually and appearing very close to their teachers. It is evident that with strong conventional, digital, and emotional support, student learning performance can also be excellent.
Authentic Assessment
Student assessment at Ateneo De Naga isn’t limited to written tests—such as multiple-choice or essay exams—but also takes the form of projects that relate to real life. These include projects like creating social awareness posters, analyze political issues, writing argumentative essays, crafting scholarship essays, and so on. This allows students to understand and apply the practical applications of the course material. I find this approach more effective for students because they understand the practical applications of these assignments in their daily lives, which motivates them to complete their work. They also don’t easily get bored with the project format since the projects are always varied and tailored to the specific assignment and subject matter