The Open High School Program:

Learning Anywhere, Anytime

Mechanics of Implementation1. Independent Learning Readiness Assessment

Learners who wish to participate in the Open High School Program shall take the Independent Learning Readiness Assessment to be administered by the school, the results of which shall be the basis for placing them in the appropriate learning mode:

a. Learners, who are not yet ready for independent learning, are placed in the transition program which will provide a bridging curriculum focused on the development of the learning-to-learn skills.

b. When the learners are assessed to be almost ready for independent learning, then they may be placed in the blended learning program when undertaking the required curriculum.c. Learners who are ready for independent learning may do the entire curriculum on their own, or be home-schooled, with the option to seek teacher’s guidance or help from experts or resource persons in the community.

2. Learning Contractonce the learners get into the program, they and their parents/ guardians are oriented on the mechanics and the requirements of the curriculum including assessments.

3. CurriculumThe core curriculum prescribed for those in the formal learning system is the same curriculum that learners in the Open High School will go through, the only difference being the mode of learning.

4. Working with Teacher-FacilitatorsWhen the learners’ readiness to learn

independently has been established, they are given the modules (or access to the online learning resources when these are available) which they can take home.5. Assessments

Assessments are a critical component of the learning materials.

Issues and ChallengesThe Open High School was designed

originally as an alternative learning system for those who are unable to start or complete secondary education due to problems of time, distance, education design, physical impairment, or financial difficulties, and for those living in areas of conflict. This design inadvertently created the impression that he program was for at-risk students only.

The system is learner-centered and makes use of a wide range of teaching-learning strategies through a combination of print and non-print media.

Lesson and InsightsThe program was initially micro-tested in a number

of schools and was subsequently revised to address some implementation issues. The revision were based on lessons and insights gained from the micro-testing.

One critical lesson is that self-directed learning, as a basic feature of the Open High School Program, is ideal if students can indeed learn on their own. This implies that a lot of capacity-building will need to happen before learners can be certified as ready for independent learning. Experience has shown that those children who drop out or who are out-of-school are usually incapable of learning on their own. Thus, as a safety net, the program provides tutorials and intensive teacher guidance and monitoring until such time when the learner can demonstrate capacity for independent learning.

Automatically putting at-risk students in the alternative delivery mode of learning on the assumption that this is what they need in order to complete their basic education outside of formal school structure suffers from a too linear view of the problem of school dropouts. Research has shown and, as our experience in working with public secondary schools reveals, that the problem is brought on by a host of factors, hence the dropout intervention cannot certainly be limited to how education is delivered.

What has emerged from the experience of public secondary schools and their communities is an integrated, systemic and collaborative approach to dropout reduction that recognizes that uniqueness and capacities of schools and its personalized and customized to the needs of at-risk students as it addresses the specific causes of dropping out.

Necessarily, schools must own the program. Normally, schools would be assigned to participate in the try-out. We learned, however, that success rate can be high if the schools themselves volunteer to get involved. Thus, when the program was revised, the criteria for participation were likewise refined and true enough when the invitation was issued to the field, many schools even from far-flung areas signed up.

Moreover, in order to ensure that the program is sustained, the community must be made to own it. The public schools do not have the resources to support multi-channel learning. Thus, it will benefit the learners if the school can establish partnership with non-government organizations, the local government unit, and the parents for additional resources for learning. One of the requirements asked of participating schools is the certification of financial support from the local government unit. Another requirement is that the community must make available to the learners its facilities for off-school learning. In addition, parents or guardians are required to co-sign with the learners the learning contract with the school in order to establish joint responsibility for learning.

Lastly, a rigid monitoring and evaluation system must be in place in order to ensure that learners have mastered the tools of learning how to learn and that they have the capacity to benefit from the system. It is not enough that learners are given the materials for learning. The school must be able to keep track of the learners’ progress and apply the appropriate intervention when necessary.

1. Schools is no longer a place, but a process that can take place anytime, anywhere and which must be made available to anyone. School is an open learning system that will make education accessible to everyone, and will recognize learning regardless of how and where it is acquired.

2. Learners who wish to participate in the Open High School Program go through the following steps:a) Take the Independent Learning Readiness Assessment

Learners, who are yet ready for independent learning, are placed in the transition program which provides a bridging curriculum focused on the development of the learning-to-learn skills.

Learners who are assessed to be almost ready for independent learning, they may be placed in the blended learning program, a combination of school-based, face-to-face learning and distance learning or home schooling.

Learners who are ready for independent learning may do the entire curriculum on their own. Or be home-schooled and may seek teacher’s guidance or help from experts or resource persons in the community if they want to do so.

b) Sign the Learning Contract The learners and their parents or guardians sign a learning

contract with the school after they have been oriented on the mechanics and requirements of the curriculum.

c) Go through the learning process independently through the use of modules or with teacher-facilitators.

3. Learners of the OHSP go through the same core curriculum as the formal school system. They are subjected to the same guidelines on assessment and grading system.

4. OHSP is not only for students at-risk. It is for all students including high-performing who actually are most ready for independent learning.

5. For OHSP to succeed, the following conditions are necessary:a) The learners must be ready for self-directed learning.b) The program must be owned by the school and community.c) A rigid monitoring and evaluation system must be in place and so the school must be able to keep track of the learners’ progress and apply the appropriate intervention when necessary.

THANKS ♥ !!!!!!

Nathaniel Rodofol