A Case Study on La Loma School

IMPLEMENTATION OF INDIVIDUALIZED INSTRUCTION IN LA LOMA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (A CASE STUDY)

Submitted by: Keira Lopez BSEd-English III-D

Submitted to: Mr. Devin Ruiz

Introduction

Countless people mill around the impassable arcs of the circles they create around their heads. Is it not time to draw a point, let the ink glide through a straight line? -at least somewhere becomes a destination and destination is anywhere but within the decaying walls of complacency.

“All is flux, nothing stays still,” Plato declared. Indeed the world is ever growing and ever changing. The surest way to survive is to keep existing -to keep changing that is. The case of La Loma School resounds a deep alarm on the subject of complacency and change. For years the school has comfortably found its haven in the old comfortable ways until Mr. Dormido, the principal, insisted on an innovation. Innovation being a very brilliant way of attaining the school's progress was therefore necessary. However, the thrust of the individualization of instruction which addresses the individual differences and provides the children a deep sense of responsibility for their own growth,was found gravely challenging. The emergence of the new system created an unforgiving decline of the nature of the school. Thus is the dilemma. Hence, this case study seeks to identify and investigate the barriers that kept the innovation from its success and furthermore propose possible solutions and alternatives.

Background

The school, as it is widely known, is the threshold of widom and guidance for the children. Parents send their kids along with a relatively enormous load of trust to the school, expecting that their kids learn and develop sturdy walls to fend for themselves against the blind ignorance and weakness when faced with the atrocity of the nature of the real world when they grow older. This is no easy and light issue. The school, like all other social departments must keep its creed to keep the children constantly in the light and protect them from the dangers of oblivion. Its main duty is to preserve that light by shedding its resplendence into the receptive and growing tender minds. These young minds, with proper handling, are substances with potentials that can outshine the splendour of the sun. Hence the weight of putting the potential into its tangible form rests like heavy anchors upon the shoulders of the school and the school's leaders. The principal of the La Loma school recognized the great responsibility and didn't allow the chance of neglecting his duty. The future of the students remained partly as a consequence of the decisions he chose. Seeing this matter, he sought to make an innovation and therefore executed several

new changes in order to keep the school going. After seeing the success of the proposed individualized instruction among the other schools, he decided that this was a good innovation. Mr. Dormido hoped to provide the best and the latest education program to the students. The foreshadowed end point was generally a jewel, which was that the students enjoy the learning process. John Dewey, a famous philosopher who wrote about progressive education, demonstrated his viewof education that emphasizes the need to learn by doing. Dewey believed that human beings learn through a 'hands on' approach. In the case of La Loma school, the individualized instruction gives the students opportunity to hold an active participation in his learning. Starbuck and Hedberg (2003) suggest that positive outcomes are much more apt to result in a positive and successful learning experience. They contend, "Pleasant outcomes (successes) reinforce Stimulus-Response links whereas unpleasant outcomes (failures) break Stimulus-Response links. As a result, pleasant outcomes are much more effective at teaching new behaviors" (p. 331). The pressure being put to the children in requiring too many projects and assignments fail to ignite the students' passion and interest which is partly caused by the inconsiderable amount of time. This remains inefficient in making the students understand the educational topics that they need to learn. What they need is a positive atmosphere and a positive reinforcement in order to get a positive result. Thus, the individualized instruction was launched. This gives the children their measured freedom to direct and monitor their own learning. In the early 1900s, Henri Fayol contributed to the organization theory. He is credited with identifying strategic planning, staff recruitment, employee motivation, and employee guidance (via policies and procedures) as important management functions in creating and nourishing a successful organization. This highlights the importance of proper communication among the leader and the staff. Hagreaves (1995) and Kyriakides (1997) also both emphasized the importance of creating coordinated efforts that supported a modification of teachers’ roles in policy revision as it relates to curriculum review and revision. Frederick W. Taylor (1856—1915) is praised for his theories in the book entitled Principles of Scientific Management which was published in 1911. Taylor explained the roles of training, wage

incentives, employee selection, and work standards in organizational performance. These are factors to consider in handling an organization. The Systems Theory which got its term from Bertalanffy's General System Theory elucidated the function of a system. The proponents of the theory who thoroughly understood the concept of it recognize how the system tremendously affects the worker and vice-versa. A system consists of a variety of parts that function together to achieve a goal. It also adheres to the principle that permits managers to scan patterns and events in the workplace. This helps managers to make the programs work as a collective entity for the overall achievement or goal of the organization instead for sole departments.

Alternatives The launching of the new learner-centered approach created a mayhem in the system of the school. Not only did it bring a colossal chaos upon the teachers and school staff but it also decreased the parents' faith in their kids'performance. The present materials needed revisions and modifications. So much so that teachers were left with no choice but to produce their own materials. This they did with a doubt shown in their hushed complaints. The teachers were propelled to go to school on a Saturday despite it being a rest day for an employee who worked straight for five days. This additional effort yielded no additional wage despite the additional burden imposed upon them. This frustrated the teachers. There was also a running issue concerning the students' parents. They saw the deterioration of their children's time management ensued by unsatisfactory outcomes. Children had to go to school during Saturdays in order to work with their lessons in advance. This posed yet another problem for the parents since weekend is a family day as far as tradition and old practices dictated. In addition, the parents were troubled about the obtained second-hand books from relatives and elder siblings. Since the new system did not require the use of such books anymore, they

considered putting them away. The school janitors as well felt complications in keeping the hallways and corridors clean. They said that with the children doing their assignments and spilling out into the area all day long, it was impossible to maintain cleanliness. These obstacles were faced by the principal, school staff, parents and students. In the 1991 book "Managing Transitions”, William Bridges, the proponent of the Transition Model, agreed that for all sorts of understandable reasons, people are inherently uncomfortable with change. And such can lead a person to resist it or oppose it. In the case of La Loma school, the sudden demand for an enormous change overwhelmed the people concerned. Although slightly reluctant, they strived hard. However, with lack of enthusiasm due to poor management and communication, they were severely drawn to chaos. Thus, they seemed to forget that it was a transition, and not a tragedy. Recommendation Mr. Meynardo Lumcad should accept the appointment from Mr. Canonigo. As the leader of the group who undergoes the process of change, he must formulate strategic planning that encompasses the individual concerns. He must give the system ample time to fucntion properly and adapt to the changes. Decisions should not be made in haste. An established good communication between the faculty and staff must also be implemented for it is necessary in achieving cooperation. Collaboration and cooperation are vital components in attaining a healthy and efficient system that reaches their aims and goals. Thus it will be good to call on a meeting and explain to the teachers and parents the importance of what they are about to do. After a considerable amount of time, he will check the progress and see which ones are the weak and strong points of the individual's performance. They also need to do a thorough research about the individualized instruction so that they may decide on proper ways in implementing such.

Conclusion Generally, La Loma school aimed to seek holistic growth and development for the school and its students. However, they found it complicated to attain such due to poor management and cooperation. Thus, such problems should be adressed in order to create a vital change.