Through the GBF STEM Collab and DepEd National Educators Academy of the Philippines' ARAL Series on Reading and Math Remediation Strategies, these educators gained practical strategies that not only helped their learners but also empowered fellow teachers in their schools.
Renz Pabico: Building Confidence in Reading Remediation
For Grade 6 Master Teacher Renz Pabico from Laguna, one major challenge was handling struggling readers at the intermediate level. “There were students who reached Grade 6 who still had not learned how to read,” he shared.
Through the ARAL Series reading remediation webinar, he learned structured strategies such as phonological awareness and decoding instruction, which he immediately applied in his classroom.
He later shared these learnings through Learning Action Cell (LAC) sessions with fellow Grade 6 teachers. “It’s not enough that I’m the only teacher who knows these strategies. All of us need to learn these strategies,” Teacher Renz said.
What began as one session eventually encouraged teachers in their school to exchange practices and support one another in addressing learners’ needs.
Marina Cajes: Connecting Reading and Numeracy
For Marina Cajes, an ARAL Program Coordinator and Master Teacher from Cagayan de Oro City, remediation required both creativity and collaboration.
“Even though my students know basic operations, many still struggle to understand word problems,” Teacher Marina observed.
After attending the ARAL webinars, she introduced the Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) Approach during their school’s INSET sessions and shared templates, manipulatives, and remediation materials with co-teachers.
Many teachers began adapting the strategies in their own classrooms. “It’s fulfilling to see other teachers appreciate and use the strategies I shared,” she shared.
Marina also noted improvements in reading assessment results, with fewer learners remaining at frustration levels.
Leilanie Palmero: Strengthening Early Math Skills
Meanwhile, teacher Leilanie Palmero of Caloocan City focused on improving foundational numeracy skills among young learners. Through the ARAL Math sessions, she learned how to maximize the CPA approach using simple and locally available materials.
She later conducted LAC and INSET sharing sessions for fellow kindergarten teachers. “I needed to capacitate and help my co-teachers,” she explained.
Teachers eventually created their own CPA materials using accessible objects such as popsicle sticks and pebbles. “Teachers do not always need expensive materials. Even simple objects can help learners understand math better,” she shared.
The impact extended beyond the classroom. “I used the CPA approach to train my kindergarten learners for an international mathematics competition, and they became gold awardees,” Teacher Lei proudly shared.
Learning Together, Growing Together
For all three educators, one lesson stood out: meaningful learning grows stronger when teachers learn from one another.
Through the GBF STEM Collab Community, these teachers gained not only new strategies, but also a support system that encouraged collaboration, sharing, and continuous growth — creating ripple effects that benefit both educators and learners alike.
