Lights, Camera, Action… Research: CAS Division of Professional Education and Community Outreach Program/BIDANI launches public service project

| Written by Padayon UP

Lights, Camera, Action… Research: CAS Division of Professional Education and Community Outreach Program/BIDANI launches public service project

As a constituent unit of the country’s national university, the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) aims to effectively and efficiently deliver its tripartite functions of teaching, research, and extension. It persistently seeks opportunities for significant impact on knowledge production and community transformative presence. As such, it is consistently collaborating with other government agencies and non-government organizations in the conduct of significant and promising research and public service activities.

“ACTI(on) Research Project stands for Assistance, Collaborations, Trainings, and Other Interventions (ACTI) on Research. It is a public service initiative aiming to improve the basic education outcomes through research-related extension activities,” explained Mx. John Bert C. Tutisura, one of the Project Managers.

The Project is a collaboration among faculty members, staff, and students of the College of Arts and Sciences, specifically co-headed by the Division of Professional Education and the Community Outreach Program/BIDANI (COP/BIDANI).

BULIG-PASANYOG

To develop a culture of research in the basic education sector, the teachers and the policy implementers might need scaffolding at first.

“Bulig-Pasanyog” (BP) as one of the programs of the ACTI(on) Research Project aims to provide free technical assistance to teacher-researchers and research managers of the Department of Education – Western Visayas.

The services offered include (1) psychometric/testmaking consultations, (2) research proposal review, (3) research manuscript/article review, (4) statistical computations, and (5) assistance in screening of research technical working group members.

The terms “Bulig-Pasanyog” come from two Hiligaynon terms: “Bulig” which means “assist” and “Pasanyog” which means “enhancement.” “Bulig-Pasanyog” essentially means helping the teacher-researchers and research managers build a capacity among themselves to establish a system that will enhance the research mechanism of divisions and schools in the region.

PAGHANAS-REPASO

After establishing a system that will facilitate change among teacher-researchers and research managers in the divisions and schools, a series of trainings in research writing, review, editing/revising, and publishing will be conducted to help them improve their competence in research.

“Paghanas-Repaso” (PR) a program that aims to capacitate teachers review, write, and edit research manuscripts for possible submission in grants, presentation in conferences, and publication in journals. “Paghanas” and “Repaso” are two Hiligaynon terms which means “to train” and “to review” respectively. The project emphasizes that to build and nurture a culture of research, teacher-researchers and research managers need to be capacitated.

With the set vision, teachers will experience a hands-on training on the process of writing research papers, manuscript editing, publication, and research dissemination from the project advocates and implementers.

PULONG-KAALAM

Action research helps teachers look for solutions to improve the quality of instruction and learning outcomes. To inspire and help other teachers do the same, Prof. Early Sol A. Gadong, one of the Project Managers, said that, “Research dissemination is an “essential” part of the research process, passing on the benefits to other researchers, professional practitioners, and the wider audience.”

Prof. Gadong added that the dissemination of research findings, results, and reflection is a contribution to existing body of knowledge.

“Pulong-Kaalam” (PK) as sharing of knowledge through paper presentation came from the Hiligaynon terms “Pulong” which means “word/speech” and “Kaalam” which means “knowledge.” It is a program of the ACTI(on) Research Project that gives basic education teachers the opportunity to share their research works in a colloquium.

In this program, there are several themes which the teachers can use as a basis when sharing their research. The themes adhere to the Basic Education Research Agenda (BERA) of the Department of Education namely: Teaching & Learning, Child Protection, Human Resource Development, Governance, Disaster Risk Reduction Management, Inclusive Education, and Gender and Development.

Besides disseminating research findings and results, PK is also a venue for academic discussions. Teachers from the basic education sector will get to discuss and exchange ideas with panel members from UPV CAS and be given advice on how to become better researchers and practitioners in the teaching profession.

ADVOCATES AND IMPLEMENTERS

Prof. Early Sol A. Gadong of the Division of Professional Education serves as the Project Manager and together with her is Mx. John Bert C. Tutisura of the Community Outreach Program/BIDANI as the Co-Project Manager. Along with them are the Project Implementers, UPV CAS Individual Advocates, and a student volunteer.

The project implementers from the Division of Professional Education are: Dr. Lovella S. Divinagracia, Prof. Gerthrode Charlotte Tan-Mabilog, and Prof. Dominique J. Maquiran. Prof. Vivian A. Topor serves as the Division implementer adviser.

The COP/BIDANI implementers are: Mx. John Bert C. Tutisura and Ms. Elna Mariel Nanta. Together with them is Prof. Josephine T. Firmase as their adviser.

The UPV CAS Individual Advocates and student volunteer are: Mr. Prabhat Ranjan B. Ubas of the Division of Humanities who also serves as the Assistant Project Manager, Prof. Moniq M. Muyargas and Prof. Augil Marie Q. Robles of the Division of Social Sciences as individual advocates and implementers, and Ms. Myra Angeline Soriaso of the Communication and Media Studies program of the Division of Humanities as student volunteer.

For more information about the ACTI(on) Research Project, visit the project’s official Facebook Page: @UPV.ACTIonResearchProject.

(This article, Mr. Prabhat Ranjan Ubas, was first published in the UPV Website on October 14, 2021)