Diwa 5G is MATATAG Curriculum Compliant!

In order for education to thrive, teachers and school leaders must yearn for innovation and embrace changes in the education landscape. For Diwa Learning Systems Inc. (Diwa), innovation in education does not end in producing quality learning materials but it extends to helping educators and school administrators navigate changes in Philippine education.

The Department of Education (DepEd) recently launched the MATATAG Curriculum with the aim to decongest the overcrowded curriculum; make learning competencies age-appropriate and properly sequenced in terms of progression; and strengthen the foundational skills of the learners.

The implementation would happen in phases, with Grades 1, 4, and 7 adapting to the change on S.Y. 2024-2025; Grades 2, 5, and 8 on S.Y. 2025-2026; and Grades 3, 6, and 9 on S.Y. 2026-2027; and Grade 10 on S.Y. 2027-2028. For this S.Y. 2023-2024, DepEd will conduct pilot implementation in select public schools in the country. Meanwhile, private schools, along with the rest of the public schools, will follow the phased implementation plan.

Responding to the Changing World

As Philippine education responds to the changing world with the new MATATAG Curriculum, Diwa has transformed its Diwa 5G into a comprehensive suite of learning resources that will help schools mold competent, job-ready, active, and responsible individuals.

Diwa 5G Textbooks are available in print, digital, and interactive digital formats. The new MATATAG Curriculum compliant textbooks feature a strong emphasis on building literacy, numeracy, and other foundational skills for subjects like Makabansa, Science, Math, English, Filipino, Araling Panlipunan, and MAPEH.

Whether for classroom or distance learning, Diwa 5G Textbooks provide educators with a detailed and chronological sequence of teaching strategies that they may implement in delivering lectures and assigning activities. Each textbook also comes with an enriched and detailed Teacher’s Manual that encourages the use of varied, evidence-based pedagogical strategies.

Diwa 5G Magazines or Supplemental Education Magazines (SEMs) offer an abundance of print and digital interactive and thematic content that follows the MATATAG Curriculum to support teaching objectives. With the Teacher’s Guide and Editorial Content, educators can enrich classroom discussions using content that is fresh and up-to-date, ensuring that the students’ learning goals are met.

Diwa 5G Systems or Genyo e-Learning, on the other hand, equips educators and students with expertly crafted MATATAG Curriculum-based content resources and a dependable and secure e-learning platform adaptable to various learning modalities.

Through expert guidance on technical setup from Diwa’s Genyo implementation team, as well as tailored e-learning training sessions and seminars, Genyo e-Learning helps schools be ready for different modes of lesson delivery.

Lastly, Diwa 5G Assessments or Checkbox is an adaptive gamified online assessment portal that encourages mastery in different subject areas, building the foundational skills needed by students as specified in the MATATAG Curriculum. Its ready-made and customized drills and activities allow the free flow of instructional feedback between teachers and students, making learning possible anytime, anywhere.

With the implementation of the MATATAG Curriculum, Diwa commits to help create rich teaching and learning experiences that will empower schools to become resilient and innovative learning hubs, support educators in their role in shaping the minds of each generation, and provide students with a strong foundation as they become nation-builders.

Preparing Schools for the Seamless Implementation of the MATATAG Curriculum

As a response to the DepEd’s release of the guidelines for the implementation of the MATATAG Curriculum, schools commenced their preparations for the Phase 1 Implementation. To support educators and school leaders during this shift, Diwa geared up its editorial team for the creation of a new set of educational resources, and crafted supplemental programs that promote deeper appreciation of the new curriculum.

Preparation started when the announcement of a new curriculum was mentioned as part of DepEd’s MATATAG agenda launch at the start of 2023. Diwa’s editorial team started developing new learning resources that would be compliant with this new curriculum. The team would eventually train its author pool when the curriculum launches to ensure that each learning resource produced would be compliant with the changes.

During this time, a series of pocket teacher training called Diwa 5G Experience was held in different parts of the country. While the learning sessions centered on presenting a pedagogical framework that will help teachers narrow the learning gap while achieving learning outcomes, improving student engagement, and developing learners’ 21st-century skills and transformative competencies, the subject area experts who facilitated the sessions also provided teachers with a first look into the possible changes under the new curriculum.

MATATAG Curriculum Learning Sessions for Educators and School Leaders

In September 2023, after the official launch of the MATATAG Curriculum, Diwa organized a learning session on the MATATAG Curriculum for its editorial and sales teams with the goal of effectively helping its partner schools adapt to changes in the curriculum. Facilitated by DepEd Bureau of Curriculum Development Director Jocelyn Andaya, the session provided an in-depth understanding and appreciation of the new curriculum and how these changes will affect Diwa’s stakeholders.

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Armed with this knowledge, Diwa celebrated National Teachers’ Month by holding a MATATAG Curriculum centered webinar series under the How To Be a Highly Effective Teacher (HTBHET) Seminar Series Online in partnership Bato Balani Foundation Inc (BBFI). The three learning sessions, which were streamed live on Facebook for free, aimed to prepare educators for the implementation of the Department of Education’s newly launched MATATAG Curriculum.

The first session focused on building strong literacy, numeracy, and social and emotional skills in students, and was facilitated by the Dean of College of Arts, Sciences, and Education of FAITH Colleges, Ms. Jerrylyn Magbuo, PhD. During the second session, the founder of the Center for Learning and Assessment Development–Asia, Mr. Carlo Magno, PhD, gave insights on the importance of developing critical thinking as one of 21st-century skills with the topic, Embedding Metacognitive Strategies in Developing Critical Thinking in 21st Century Education: Implications in the MATATAG Curriculum.

The final installment of the webinar series was a special learning event on September 30 that focused on providing an in-depth discussion about the MATATAG Curriculum. Department of Education’s Bureau of Learning Resources Director Edward Jimenez, PhD shared the salient features of the new curriculum and guided educators on how to initiate transition in time for its implementation.

With its preparations underway, Diwa launched its Diwa 5G comprehensive suite of MATATAG Curriculum compliant learning resources during the 2023 Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) National Convention in Cebu City where Diwa was a major sponsor. Diwa used the opportunity to reach more educators to help them know more about the MATATAG Curriculum and how Diwa products can help them in the transition to and implementation of the new curriculum.

More MATATAG Curriculum Learning Sessions Coming Soon

To ensure that educators are guided and supported every step of the way, more learning sessions that are focused on the implementation of the new curriculum are scheduled for next year.

Diwa 5G Experience is set to have another run starting the first quarter of 2024. The learning sessions will focus on providing in-depth discussion about the MATATAG Curriculum and helping teachers create lessons that are aligned to it.

Meanwhile, Diwa has started to build partnerships with different local and international educational organizations to develop richer teaching and learning resources and open more opportunities for educational innovation and advancement, not only for the learners but also for educators and school leaders.