UPLB conducted its 83rd Seminar On Teaching on Aug. 23-26, a historic one because it was the first-ever virtual iteration of the seminar meant to orient and familiarize newly hired individuals with everything they needed to know to be a member of UPLB’s teaching staff.
Entitled “SOT:Facilitating Learning”, the seminar featured guest lectures and talks from speakers on a variety of topics such as academic and administrative policies for faculty.
It highlighted the use of remote and distance learning in UPLB’s current teaching methods and the experiences and lessons learned by both the faculty and the guest speakers on the subject.
In his opening message for the seminar, Chancellor Jose V. Camacho Jr. expressed the importance of discussing flexible learning by referring to it as “the direction for higher education even when the pandemic is over.”
According to Chancellor Camacho, there truly was “no going back,” and that post-pandemic, it was likely that remote and on-site learning would be combined instead of going back to the traditional classroom setup.
Aside from discussions on remote learning and its impact on the curriculum, students, and teachers, the seminar also featured talks on such topics as ‘Teaching and Learning Landscape’, ‘UP Branding’, ‘Philosophy of Education’, ‘Psychology of Learning’ and ‘Learning Styles’.
Participants were also briefed on instructional outcomes and objectives, oral presentation skills, remote learning tools, authentic assessment and evaluation, classroom management and questioning skills, instructional design, and formulation of course packs.
In addition, a significant portion of the four-day seminar was devoted to discussing how to address the psycho-social needs of the students, as well as learning about mental health issues, their symptoms and doing interventions in their capacity as a teacher.
The seminar speakers included UPLB officials and faculty, and guests from other academic institutions. The seminar was conducted by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
(This article was first published in the UPLB Website on August 27, 2021)