Multimedia arts students create learning materials for public schools
To provide a more innovative way to foster moral development among primary students in public schools, young creatives have introduced a set of art-integrated teaching and learning materials.
Multimedia arts students Aldrin Isaac Baltazar, Ayesha Decena, Aliyah Azel Macatol, Abram Olivar, and Kyla Marie Uy from the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) believed there are more novel approaches to teaching good manners and right conduct (GMRC) to children. These techniques can likewise accommodate different learning styles, as well as help educators achieve learning objectives.
“Comprehensive and proper education on morality and ethics plays a crucial role in shaping children’s beliefs, traits, and behaviors,” they explained.
“In the Philippines, the importance of instilling strong moral values and ethics, especially in children, is widely recognized as an essential part of the primary years of a child,” they added.
Motivated by Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental Theory—that kids between the ages of 7 and 11 begin to understand logic behind solid concepts, but have trouble understanding abstract thoughts—the team decided to focus their study on Grade 3 students. Their goal: to bring art-integrated learning to public schools.
“We aimed to explore the potential of what art can contribute to the moral development of children, especially in the public sector, and understand the different mechanisms of how it can effectively foster values and ethics,” they shared.
After months of research, which included interviews to examine the various pedagogical strategies, perceptions, and experiences of both students and educators, as well as creative production, from design conceptualization to actual animation, the group finally launched Sinibatao.
Sinibatao is a set of teaching collaterals ranging from linguistic and visual storybooks to audio plays. It likewise includes learning materials such as flashcards, placards, coloring activities, and metacards.
With these resources, they champion the important role of the arts in the development of the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor abilities of the students.
“Sinibatao is a reconstruction of the Filipino words sining (art), bata (child), and pagpapakatao (to be human)—three focal points of our project,” the team said.
“It can also be interpreted as a wordplay on the phrase ‘Sino ba tayo?’ (Who are we?),” they added. “It brings the idea of assessing one’s morality, whether right or wrong, which is targeted toward children, similar to how the GMRC subject works.”
The Benildeans believe the tangibility of the offline products allows the grade schoolers to earn a deeper appreciation of the learning process, as well as socialize and build connections with their teachers and classmates, compared to having them use gadgets. The products are also made available to pupils in public schools, where access to technology may be limited.
“Our project was made to cater to different teaching and learning styles because we want to be inclusive to multiple intelligences as much as possible,” the team said.
With these diverse multimedia offerings, they hope that students will be more engaged to participate in their Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao classes and that educators will be able to save time improvising their own art learning materials.
“We hope that Sinibatao serves as a kick-off point to focus on and reinforce teaching moral development through art-integrated learning in public schools,” the team stated.
For more information about the project, visit facebook.com/sinibatao.
