Saint Michael College

Cantilan, Surigao del Sur

Senior High School Department

Literature Review

According to Lapada (2020), The teachers are able to express their

readiness to switch to distance learning education in certain ways; however,

they felt hampered due to lack of facilities, equipment, and capacity building

to distance learning education. Those resources mentioned can be potential

factors in the efficiency of teaching method of teachers and learning capacity of

students in modular distance learning. It is indeed a burden for teachers because

students heavily depend on the quality of teaching they can offer and with those

lack of materials and equipments that instructors really need, it’ll surely provoke

changes that may contribute to the uncertainty of learning efficiency and capacity

of students.

Kini & Podolsky (2016) stated that the length of teaching experience

affects the readiness to distance learning education since teachers who have

taught for several years have more experience dealing with difficult times like

during natural calamities. Length of experience in teaching is very vital but the

literacy and ability of instructors to adapt on the ways of how modular distance

learning can be well implemented also stand as primary and significant factors

for the effectiveness in learning of students. It is for the reason that length of

teaching experience of mentors may not be as important as to their flexibility to

be versatile enough to adapt to the changes brought about by a certain

phenomenon in the teaching and learning method like that of the modular

distance learning which is nowhere near similar to the traditional way.

According to Korkmaz and Toraman (2020) Problems that educators

experienced during this distance learning method brought about by the Covid-19
 Saint Michael College
Cantilan, Surigao del Sur
Senior High School Department

Pandemic are about lack of educator-student interaction, not being able to make

a reliable assessment of learning and lack of knowledge about how to evaluate

the learners’ knowledge and skills. The potential absence of those fundamental

components may take a toll in the guaranty of efficiency in the teaching process

of instructors and learning capacity of students. Lack of interaction and

communication between educators and students may result to an uncertainty of

the ability of students to acquire, understand and comprehend the lessons being

given to them through print modules. Distance learning makes it hard for

students to demand for concerns and ask for queries about certain components

that relate to their lessons. The assurance of a reliable assessment and

evaluation of learning and knowledge of students is also not guaranteed

because unlike the face-to-face classes, teachers aren’t able to carefully and

deeply monitor the students’ integrity or honesty in answering the given modules

during this modular distance learning.

According to Phan & Dang (2017) factors such as training, attitude, technical

competence, time constraint, pedagogy and methodology were the

consequential distance learning realm. Such elements are basic factors in the

teachers’ encountered challenges in this distance and modular learning and they

have different types of struggles of their own. Those elements may also widen

their perspective on different coping mechanisms to overcome the said

struggles.

According to Ventayin (2018) despite the bounded experience of DepEd

teachers in distance education such as technical skills, attitude, time

management and knowledge, they were still able to cope up with the trends in
 Saint Michael College
Cantilan, Surigao del Sur
Senior High School Department

online and modular learning. It shows that DepEd teachers have unending

solutions to meet up the standards and styles when it comes to teaching. Usually

their limited experience will give them problems and find themselves in a new

atmosphere where coping is hard.

(Cheng et al., 2010) stated that helping students to identify the ways that

they learn best and providing them with opportunities to use all their senses and

different intelligences is one of the key challenges for instructors and teachers in

modular learning. It is for the reason that unlike traditional teaching method,

teachers and students wouldn’t be able to establish a certain connection

between each other which is very vital in the scholastic learning component of

both instructors and students. Furthermore, another key challenge for the

teachers is to come up with a fair rating to what extent the students are able to

acquire and learn all the information they give them through modules unless they

will let them all pass. Primarily because unlike in the traditional way wherein they

can be able to monitor them during tests and exams, it is uncertain that students

are really able to adhere to the only required and limited resources given to them

like books, pdfs and other documents to answer during tests and exams to avoid

any forms of cheating.

(Atkins et al., 1991) states that when designing modules, it is essential for

teachers to be aware of the concepts of deep and surface approaches to

learning. Many researches have previously been conducted on the relationship

between courses and the approach students take to learning. Module

developments promote practice to plan and develop modular materials. The

creativity of the teachers might be enhanced in modular distance learning, it

 Saint Michael College
Cantilan, Surigao del Sur
Senior High School Department

would help them in making the modules for their students, fun and existing, it’s

all up to them. Teachers can do their best in the creative and constructive

engagement with learning activities that leads to understanding. Module writers,

which are the teachers, will develop a common frame work for the design and

development of modular materials.

(Pashler et al,. 2009) states that learning styles describe to individuals’

differences relate to what mode of instruction or study is most effective for them.

Educators develop different learning styles and so students are inspired and

adopt it. They must choose the most effective type of learning strategy for the

learnings of the students depends on it. They are doing their best to impart the

ideas and information they have.

Khanza (2015) concludes that teachers acknowledge students’ learning style

need to be responded by implementing several kinds of teaching methods

including teaching materials. Teachers are the very instrument for learning this

time of pandemic. They have been fielding such questions for some time now, as

part of their efforts to overcome the hurdles presented by the lockdown from

counselling students to keeping them engaged amidst the lockdown. Traditional

learning is much easier, or they can understand the lesson immediately

compared to other methods of learning.

Shevin (1992 ) states that Teachers' attitudes regarding students' differences

are critical factors that can influence students' success in schools. Investigating

general education teachers' attitudes on diversity issues such as students' ability

and disability can be beneficial because this factor plays a critical role in the

success of inclusive education. The teacher’s attitudes can affect students’

 Saint Michael College
Cantilan, Surigao del Sur
Senior High School Department

performance for they are the once who mold a student’s being. They act as role

model to students. In this time of pandemic our patients are very much tested, in

a way that teachers make modules, and students answering it. Students should

have hundred percent of cooperation that the teachers need.

According to Loveless (2020) When teachers create a positive

environment and well-being among themselves, it could foster improved

academic performance and promote social and emotional progress among

students even outside the classroom. Teachers are responsible in being

adaptive and flexible enough to create a positive environment. Boosting self-

confidence by spreading motivation and encouragement to one another in doing

individual’s academic obligations in these trying times can help. Embracing the

change in learning modalities should be the top priority of teachers in order to

provide quality education.

Johnson (2020) believes that the teacher can experience a series of

frustrations when the teachers’ theories to teaching and students’ approaches

about learning are mismatched. They might have different perceptions, but they

will have the same frustrations about how to deal with this modular distance

learning. They are just one of those people who is very affected by the pandemic

we are facing right now.

Fox (2020) posits that mismatch often occurs where students view the

teaching and learning process as a transfer of knowledge. Accordingly, they will

expect the teacher to provide information that can be regurgitated in

examinations. Such students view creative exercises designed to help them

learn for themselves as an abdication of responsibility by the teacher. These

 Saint Michael College
Cantilan, Surigao del Sur
Senior High School Department

students believe that it is the teachers’ job to teach them. Fox (2020) also stated

that given this expectation-gap scenario, bot teachers and students are likely to

experience frustration in such a teaching and learning environment of modalr

distance learning due to this pandemic.

One primary goal of the modules is to provide resources to instructors that

will allow them to transform their classrooms into active, student-centered

learning environments (Wilkerson et al., 1999). A module’s objective specifies a

specific, observable behavior, skill, or action in small, discrete pieces. The

module goals can be viewed as the building blocks or tasks that lead students to

mastery of a course objective that must be done with the help of the teachers.

The following common characteristics of a module can be distinguished that it is

self-contain , independent instruction unit, systematically organized, well defined

have a means of evaluating the work (Brown et al., 1977). Those standards

should be met by the instructors in order to cater an efficient learning material for

stu Lederman (2020) stated that due to the COVID-19 crisis, Teachers and

students find themselves in the situation where they felt forced to adapt the

digital academic experience as the summum bonum of the online teaching-

learning process. It indicates that the primary goal of online learning is the

capability of students and teachers to cope up and adapt to the digital academic

experience. Their experience makes them feel that they are forced to adapt in

order to meet such goals.

According to Sadeghi (2019) electronic means and digital tools are

required to keep the contact between students and teachers, distribute

educational materials, access online platforms, and entertain students’ queries .

 Saint Michael College
Cantilan, Surigao del Sur
Senior High School Department

Constant communication among Teachers and Students has become a

challenge unlike face-to-face. Technologies plays an important role in new

method of delivering education to students. Sadeghi also stated that the

techniques applied in face-to-face classes are not relevant in this new modular

distance learning.

According to Laghign (2020) Examinations will be prone to cheating and

plagiarism, and lose the purpose of good quality evaluation. Assessing students’

works and learnings will be more difficult in terms of validity and honesty.

Trustworthiness will be an issue for educators can’t guide students when

academic activities dents.

According to Rhini (2018) to continue facing the distance learning education,

educators must be equipped with knowledge and skills. There are educators who

aren’t equipped with facility and training for distance learning during these times,

especially in rural areas. New educators lack skills and find it hard to adapt in

distance learning since they didn’t experience this during their training years.

(Lassoued et al., 2020) stated that professors and students face self-

imposed obstacles as well as pedagogical, technical, and financial or well-

organized obstacles. These said obstacles of instructors may require certain

coping mechanisms in order to still establish efficiency in learning of students.

Financially, another challenge would be that some of the teachers lack resources

for them to comply the print modules and schools are even forced to raise funds

in a short time to meet those expenses.

(Ince et al., 2020) explained that teachers and academic staffs find distance

education as a factor that prevents students from socializing and them learning
 Saint Michael College
Cantilan, Surigao del Sur
Senior High School Department

without a teacher cannot be realized in distance education. School indeed is

there to provide the youth an avenue for socialization and camaraderie. Primary

concern of the teachers is to help their students grow and excel not just in school

but also for them to develop and evolve into a grown and mature person they

can be when they meet ends with their education. With this modular distance

learning, teachers find it difficult for them to connect with their students due to

lack of interaction and communication. This branch of the commitment they

promise to fulfill to students is set aside in order to focus on the top priority which

is academic learning capacity of the students.

Shackelford and Maxwell (2012) stated that the interactions between

learners provided with instructor modeling, support and encouragement,

facilitating discussions, multiple communication mode, and required participation

are concerns that educators must fulfill in order to assure efficiency of learning of

students in a distance learning method.

With all the findings from various studies browsed from the internet, the

researchers are able to acquire myriad of information about their topic which

relates to teachers’ perceived challenges and coping mechanisms towards

modular distance learning. First is that those studies exemplified that the key

challenges that teachers are able to encounter with this modular distance

learning include lack of resources and training of educators, reshaping their

competencies, lack of in depth teacher-student interaction, undergo a paradigm

shift in education, not being able to reach all the learning outcomes determined

for learning, difficulty of providing feedback to students, lack of knowledge about

how to evaluate the learners knowledge and skills, difficulty in teaching

 Saint Michael College
Cantilan, Surigao del Sur
Senior High School Department

according to the individual interests and abilities of the students and lack of

students and educators motivation. Ways that teachers can be able to cope with

those encountered problems and challenges towards modular distance learning

may include, trainings that will empower educators competencies, revising the

curricula and making it more effective, training teachers to acquire the skills and

knowledge appropriate for learning management system, revising all educational

practices starting from the concept of education itself and making a new

structuring program, taking measures to promote educators’ creative thinking

skills and most importantly providing them with adequate resources and facilities

to meet the requirements needed in order to ensure learning efficiency upon

students.