by: Jhonmark D. Barruga

Master teachers are highly proficient educators who work as a mentor to facilitate colleague professional development in delivering quality education. They are tasked to be leaders who will continuously promote excellent teaching practice to enhance instructional competence within the school. They also work as innovators in times of challenges creating a collaborative initiative for new learning opportunities.

This pandemic stretches the leadership skills of master teachers from the crafting of Self-Learning Modules, coaching on the making of learning activity sheets, planning the distribution and retrieval of modules up to the coaching on the preparation of classroom observation. And the avenue for these changes to the educational system is the conduct of session learning episode and in-service training facilitated by them. They give teachers technical assistance to various related task in understanding new strategies and schemes for the new normal.

Before the opening of classes, the conduct of Learning Modalities Course for teachers was made possible with the help of master teachers. Mapping of the essential and desirable learning competencies within the curriculum was one of the activities. It helps the teachers to Unpack and combine MELCs into Learning Objectives which guide them in preparing lessons and instructional materials suited to the local context and diversity of learners. To make sure that they are on the right track they checked, monitored and evaluated their Learning Activity Sheets and interventions given to learners with learning disability and the like.

The most challenging job that they have to do as master teachers this pandemic is to continually lead the group on how to navigate and appreciate the new technology. They have to overload themselves with time management, patience, passion and love for work. There are schools with teachers aged from 45-60 which make them hard to adapt to the advancement of technology which is very essential as a tool for learning at the moment. They assist the teachers to learn and embrace the positive impact of ICT. It is a source of other Learning Resources needed in the Modular Distance Learning. Master Teachers should always encourage their fellow teachers in learning new things through attending webinars and Learning Action Cell. It will somehow direct them to boost their morale, and mental health to better perform their duties and functions as a teacher.