Five state universities from northern Luzon have joined hands in conducting the first inter-regional webinar series as an avenue to share their best practices on flexible learning in nursing education.

These schools are the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) and University of Northern Philippines (UNP) in Region I, Isabela State University – Echague Campus (ISU) in Region II, Tarlac State University (TSU) in Region III, and Benguet State University (BSU) in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). 

The first session of the webinar series held last December 11, 2020 was hosted by the MMSU through the College of Health Sciences – Department of Nursing (CHS-DN). The online session sought to identify institutional mechanisms in the planning, implementation, and supervision of flexible learning in the nursing program. 

The virtual activity was participated in by the deans and faculty members of the nursing colleges or units of the five SUCs. Speakers in the first session were Dr. Elmer A. Santos, chairperson of the nursing department at MMSU-CHS; Dr. Jude L. Tayaben, dean of BSU College of Nursing (CN); Prof. Mary Jane N. Rigor, dean of TSU College of Science (CS); Prof. Edmelyn B. Cacayan, dean of ISU-CN; and Prof. Julieta T. Guinid, dean of UNP-CN.

In the event, Dr. Santos underscored the different technologies used by MMSU-CHS in flexible learning such as the MMSU Virtual Learning Environment (MVLE), Open Broadcaster Software (OBS), and Google Meet. Aside from this, the college also applies other teaching-learning strategies like small group discussions, facilitated return demonstration, problem-based learning, and clinical duty scenario in conducting its related learning experience (RLE) activities. 

Meanwhile, Dr. Tayaben said the BSU-CN uses Microsoft teams for their teaching and learning activities, highlighting the use of Kamustahan Session as one way of ensuring the mental well-being of their learners. He added that they are devising their catch-up plan to effectively conduct their RLE activities. 

For her part, Prof. Rigor shared that TSU-CS uses Google Meet for their synchronous sessions and provides modules for asynchronous learning. She also revealed that their college will conduct its RLE on the second semester since this was replaced with general education (GE) subjects during the first semester. 

Rigor said that their college also conducted webinar training of faculty, training in the construction of modules, recalibration of course syllabi, revision and compliance with the latest outcomes-based teaching and learning format of TSU, regular faculty meeting and monitoring their students.

Moreover, Prof. Cacayan highlighted that ISU uses Edmodo as their learning management system, saying that they also use other social media platforms in uploading their modules and recorded videos. She added that their learners are given ample time to integrate and synthesize their learnings from the different modalities. 

Further, Prof. Guinid shared that the UNP-CN has conducted the Research-Based Training-Workshop of Faculty on Flexible Learning to equip the faculty with the needed instructional skills in this flexible learning scheme. She also said that they use modules and recorded videos for the delivery of instruction, noting that they plan to conduct a retraining on the use of high-fidelity simulator in case a limited face to face interaction is allowed next year. 

Aside from this, an integration forum was also conducted for the participants to share their comments and inquiries regarding the presented topics. 

The second and third sessions of the webinar series will be conducted by next year. ISU and TSU will host the next session that will focus on the outlining of the flexible learning best practices along with the strategies and learning methodologies in the different professional nursing courses. BSU and UNP will host the third one which will deal with the summarizing of institutional mechanisms in the assessment of learning outcomes in the different RLE/professional courses. – Crisper Deo P. Quilala, CHS correspondent