PROF ED 3 THE TEACHING PROFESSION

‘’TOPICAL MODULE’’
ATTRIBUTES OF A K to 12 TEACHER

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
AT THE END OF THIS MODULE STUDENTS WILL HAVE THE FOLLOWING
OBJECTIVES:

• Apply and explain the 21st-century skills and attributes of the K to 12 Teachers.
• To know what exactly the goal of the K to 12 Curriculum.

Attributes of a K to 12 Teacher

Preparing teachers for the K to 12 educational reform requires a change of professional

attributes There is a need to shift the teachers' perspective from the traditional way of
looking at the teaching and learning process to a more dynamic and learner-centered
perspective. The reason for this is clear and simple. The learners they teach and the
environment in which these learners live are far different from the context in which they
have been taught and lived. To make education responsive and relevant to the 21 st-
century landscape, teachers need to re-invent themselves. They have to determine the
attributes they need to possess in order to become effective teachers responding to the
21st-century learners, 21st-century environments, and 21st-century challenges. The
following discussions present the attributes required from the K to 12 teachers
inasmuch as this educational reform was crafted by the Philippine government to
prepare the Filipino youngsters to live healthily and meaningfully in the 21st century.
The goal of the K to 12 education reform is to upgrade the country's education system
and align t to the requirements of the 21st century. To realize this goal, it is required that
K to 12 teachers have to develop essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will
enable learners to cope with these changes t is imperative that they know the
characteristics critical to 21st-century education so that they may be able to integrate
them in their teaching.
According to the K to 12 Toolkit Resource Guide for Teacher Educators, School
Administrators, and Teachers (2012), the following are the attributes of the K to 12
Teachers.

Multi-literate - K to 12 education recognizes that information and communications

technologies (ICTs) have penetrated the classrooms at a very rapid pace Teachers are
now faced with the growing challenge to teach the 21st-century learners who are wired
and who are becoming more and more "wireless" in the use of technology Teaching and
living in the 21st century, therefore, requires the development of new types of literacies
Teachers have to be knowledgeable with the use of various technologies and this
demands them to have media literacy, digital literacy, information literacy, and
technological Literacy, among others. Examples of these literacies are creating and
editing audio, using social networking sites to connect with colleagues and grow
professionally, and compiling a digital e-portfolio for professional development. Others
include detecting plagiarized works in learners’ assignments, using digital assessment
tools to create quizzes, using blogs and wikis to create online platforms for learners,
exploiting digital images for classroom use, using video content to engage learners, and
using infographics to visually stimulate learners.
Multi-specialist - With the central goal of K to 12 Education to develop holistic learners
it is a basic attribute of teachers to be a multi specialists. They must not only be experts
in a single subject area but they have expanded their knowledge in other disciplines so
as to make a good integration of all learners' learning and experiences Holistic
development is ensured once learners are taught to see the connection of their learning
and experiences in science, math, social studies, etc. The K to 12 curriculum requires
that after separately teaching learners with Math, Science, Edukasyon Sa
Pagpapakatao, Social Studies, and the like, they are capable of synthesizing all that
they have learned in one unified and integrated concept. This is to show that life is not
composed of bits and pieces of things and neither is it fragmented learning and
experiences. Life is all about putting and weaving together all human experiences and
learning into meaningful insight and wisdom through application and synthesis.
Multi-skilled - Teachers must not just be skillful in teaching. They have to possess
more than one skill particularly those which ensure integration of teaching and learning
process Examples of skills that K to 12 teachers have to be competent with are along
video conferencing computer security knowledge, electronic presentation skills, web
navigation skills as well as facilitating and organizing groups and activities as well as
database skills and email management skills. All of these skills are needed to teach
21st-century learners who are called digital natives or born with the technology.
Self-directed - Teachers must be able to direct their own learning by continuing their
personal and professional learning needs throughout their lives. They must bring into
fulfillment the intended outcomes of education for their learners and the country as a
whole.
Lifelong learner - Teaching is twice learning. This necessitates K to 12 teachers to
pursue an endless quest for knowledge so as to continuously improve their teaching as
well as learners learning. They must be updated on the latest trends and developments
including current issues and problems in their field. In short, they become lifelong
learners when they learn to adapt to the changes required of their profession.
Flexible - The K to 12 Education, being a learner-centered educational reform, I
teachers to adapt to diverse learning styles and needs of the learners. A classroom
made u of 40 learners requires 40 different methods and strategies for addressing their
unique learning needs and styles. There is no best strategy or single approach that fits
all learners. Ben a flexible teacher is also important because the classroom is never a
static environment It is rather a dynamic environment that changes depending on the
lesson, type of learning activity, interest, and motivation of the learners.
Creative problem solver - Achieving quality education requires that K to 12 teachers
show their competence in creative problem-solving. It starts from being able to
accurately identify the problem to generating ideas and offering solutions to the
problems using innovative ideas. A good teacher is one who provides creative solutions
to the problems and challenges of his life, profession, and society.
Critical thinker - Critical thinking is a fundamental requirement of K to 12 Education. It
is the ability of teachers to improve the quality of their thinking through reasoned
judgment reflective thoughts, self-corrective, and self-disciplined manner. This attribute
is very important considering that one of the goals of K to 12 Education is to develop
Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) among learners. They must scaffold their learners
to reach the highest levels of cognition which are evaluating and creating.
Has passion for excellent teaching - K to 12 teachers must have the desire and
appetite to teach with excellence and quality. They have to show that there is thrill and
pleasure in acquiring knowledge and skills. This passion must contaminate the leaders
to learn and succeed in life. The passion to teach for excellence allows teachers to
journey from being merely good to great in their teaching. This passion for excellent
teaching cannot be faked because it is something that is seen over a sustained period
of time. Le from the entrance to retirement in the profession.
High Emotional Quotient (EQ) - Being a K to 12 Teacher does not solely depend on
an intelligence quotient but it also relies heavily on one's emotional quotient. There are
numerous teachers who are intelligent but they become ineffective because they are
incapable of controlling their own feelings and emotions which is imperative to guide
them in their thinking and actions inside the classroom. K to 12 teachers who have a
high emotional quotient has the heart for teaching characterized by empathy, respect,
honesty, and tolerance of human differences.
Chapter 4 Highlights

This chapter presents the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers. the attributes
of the K to 12 teachers, and the skills needed by the 21st-century learners orient the pre-
service teachers on the competencies they need to develop in their career as well as
the skills they need to hone their learners. The following are the highlights of the chapter
1. Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST) is the new National
Competency-Based Teacher Standards (NCBTS) that defines the professional
competencies that must be possessed by Filipino teachers.
2: Quality teaching results in quality learning is the main concept of this new teacher
standard with its new feature- career stages for teachers
3. There are four main reasons for the paradigm shift from NCBTS to PPST namely (a)
the K to 12 Reform Program; (b) ASEAN Integration; (c) Globalization; and (d) the
diverse Nature of 21st-century learners.
4. The PPST has the following aims: (a) set out clear expectations of teachers along
well-defined career stages of professional development from beginning to distinguished
practice (b) engage teachers to actively embrace a continuing effort in attaining
proficiency, and (c) apply a uniform measure to assess teacher performance, identify
needs, and provide support for professional development.
5 Like the NCBTS, the PPST still has seven domains but with revisions, namely (a)
Content Knowledge and Pedagogy: (b) Learning Environment, (c) Diversity of Learners;
(d) Curriculum and Planning. (e) Assessment and Reporting; (f) Community Linkages
and Professional Engagement; and (g) Personal Growth and Professional
Development. These domains have thirty-seven (37) strands
6. The Social Regard for Learning, which is Domain 1 in NCBTS, is subsumed in other
domains. Domain 1 in PPST is titled Content Knowledge and Pedagogy which requires
the need to have requisite knowledge and skills for beginning teachers.
7. The PPST expounds four career stages, namely (1) beginning teacher, (2) proficient
teacher, (3) highly proficient teacher, and (4) distinguished teacher. Every career stage
has corresponding descriptions.
8. The career stages are developmental in nature and exist on a quality continuum.
9. Graduates need to possess four 21st Century Skills in order to live meaningfully in
this world namely (a) Effective Communication Skill-ways of thinking; (b) Learning and
Innovation S - ways of working; (c) Information, media, and technology skill tools for
working; and Life and career skill-ways of living in the world. Congruently, these are the
competencies to be first developed and demonstrated by the teachers if they so desire
to imbue their learning with lifelong skills.
10. To become an effective K to 12 teachers, one must be (a) multi-literate; (b) multi-
specialist multi-skilled; (d) self-directed; (e) life-long learner; (f) flexible: (g) creative
problem solver and critical thinker: (1) has a passion for excellent teaching; and (i) high
emotional quotient.

Evalution:
1. In your own perspectives and understanding what is the main goal of the K to 12
curriculum?
2. Why these attributes are very important to know and to learn as a future K to 12
teacher?

Let’s test your Understanding!

In your own perspective which attributes are very important to learn first? Why did you
choose these attributes and how you will apply your chosen attribute?

Prepared by:
JHON RAINIEL F. NOGRALES II BSED FILIPINO-A