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Study Protocol

Assessing the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, shift to online learning, and social media use on the mental health of college students in the Philippines: A mixed-method study protocol

Roles Funding acquisition, Writing – original draft

Affiliation College of Medicine, University of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines

Roles Methodology, Supervision, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliations Department of Clinical Epidemiology, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines, Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, National Institutes of Health, University of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines

Roles Methodology

Affiliation Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines

Roles Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Project administration, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

• Leonard Thomas S. Lim, 
• Zypher Jude G. Regencia, 
• J. Rem C. Dela Cruz, 
• Frances Dominique V. Ho, 
• Marcela S. Rodolfo, 
• Josefina Ly-Uson, 
• Emmanuel S. Baja

• Published: May 3, 2022
• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267555
• Peer Review
• Reader Comments

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic declared by the WHO has affected many countries rendering everyday lives halted. In the Philippines, the lockdown quarantine protocols have shifted the traditional college classes to online. The abrupt transition to online classes may bring psychological effects to college students due to continuous isolation and lack of interaction with fellow students and teachers. Our study aims to assess Filipino college students’ mental health status and to estimate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, the shift to online learning, and social media use on mental health. In addition, facilitators or stressors that modified the mental health status of the college students during the COVID-19 pandemic, quarantine, and subsequent shift to online learning will be investigated.

Methods and analysis

Mixed-method study design will be used, which will involve: (1) an online survey to 2,100 college students across the Philippines; and (2) randomly selected 20–40 key informant interviews (KIIs). Online self-administered questionnaire (SAQ) including Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and Brief-COPE will be used. Moreover, socio-demographic factors, social media usage, shift to online learning factors, family history of mental health and COVID-19, and other factors that could affect mental health will also be included in the SAQ. KIIs will explore factors affecting the student’s mental health, behaviors, coping mechanism, current stressors, and other emotional reactions to these stressors. Associations between mental health outcomes and possible risk factors will be estimated using generalized linear models, while a thematic approach will be made for the findings from the KIIs. Results of the study will then be triangulated and summarized.

Ethics and dissemination

Our study has been approved by the University of the Philippines Manila Research Ethics Board (UPMREB 2021-099-01). The results will be actively disseminated through conference presentations, peer-reviewed journals, social media, print and broadcast media, and various stakeholder activities.

Citation: Lim LTS, Regencia ZJG, Dela Cruz JRC, Ho FDV, Rodolfo MS, Ly-Uson J, et al. (2022) Assessing the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, shift to online learning, and social media use on the mental health of college students in the Philippines: A mixed-method study protocol. PLoS ONE 17(5): e0267555. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267555

Editor: Elisa Panada, UNITED KINGDOM

Received: June 9, 2021; Accepted: April 11, 2022; Published: May 3, 2022

Copyright: © 2022 Lim et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funding: This project is being supported by the American Red Cross through the Philippine Red Cross and Red Cross Youth. The funder will not have a role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak as a global pandemic, and the Philippines is one of the 213 countries affected by the disease [ 1 ]. To reduce the virus’s transmission, the President imposed an enhanced community quarantine in Luzon, the country’s northern and most populous island, on March 16, 2020. This lockdown manifested as curfews, checkpoints, travel restrictions, and suspension of business and school activities [ 2 ]. However, as the virus is yet to be curbed, varying quarantine restrictions are implemented across the country. In addition, schools have shifted to online learning, despite financial and psychological concerns [ 3 ].

Previous outbreaks such as the swine flu crisis adversely influenced the well-being of affected populations, causing them to develop emotional problems and raising the importance of integrating mental health into medical preparedness for similar disasters [ 4 ]. In one study conducted on university students during the swine flu pandemic in 2009, 45% were worried about personally or a family member contracting swine flu, while 10.7% were panicking, feeling depressed, or emotionally disturbed. This study suggests that preventive measures to alleviate distress through health education and promotion are warranted [ 5 ].

During the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers worldwide have been churning out studies on its psychological effects on different populations [ 6 – 9 ]. The indirect effects of COVID-19, such as quarantine measures, the infection of family and friends, and the death of loved ones, could worsen the overall mental wellbeing of individuals [ 6 ]. Studies from 2020 to 2021 link the pandemic to emotional disturbances among those in quarantine, even going as far as giving vulnerable populations the inclination to commit suicide [ 7 , 8 ], persistent effect on mood and wellness [ 9 ], and depression and anxiety [ 10 ].

In the Philippines, a survey of 1,879 respondents measuring the psychological effects of COVID-19 during its early phase in 2020 was released. Results showed that one-fourth of respondents reported moderate-to-severe anxiety, while one-sixth reported moderate-to-severe depression [ 11 ]. In addition, other local studies in 2020 examined the mental health of frontline workers such as nurses and physicians—placing emphasis on the importance of psychological support in minimizing anxiety [ 12 , 13 ].

Since the first wave of the pandemic in 2020, risk factors that could affect specific populations’ psychological well-being have been studied [ 14 , 15 ]. A cohort study on 1,773 COVID-19 hospitalized patients in 2021 found that survivors were mainly troubled with fatigue, muscle weakness, sleep difficulties, and depression or anxiety [ 16 ]. Their results usually associate the crisis with fear, anxiety, depression, reduced sleep quality, and distress among the general population.

Moreover, the pandemic also exacerbated the condition of people with pre-existing psychiatric disorders, especially patients that live in high COVID-19 prevalence areas [ 17 ]. People suffering from mood and substance use disorders that have been infected with COVID-19 showed higher suicide risks [ 7 , 18 ]. Furthermore, a study in 2020 cited the following factors contributing to increased suicide risk: social isolation, fear of contagion, anxiety, uncertainty, chronic stress, and economic difficulties [ 19 ].

Globally, multiple studies have shown that mental health disorders among university student populations are prevalent [ 13 , 20 – 22 ]. In a 2007 survey of 2,843 undergraduate and graduate students at a large midwestern public university in the United States, the estimated prevalence of any depressive or anxiety disorder was 15.6% and 13.0% for undergraduate and graduate students, respectively [ 20 ]. Meanwhile, in a 2013 study of 506 students from 4 public universities in Malaysia, 27.5% and 9.7% had moderate and severe or extremely severe depression, respectively; 34% and 29% had moderate and severe or extremely severe anxiety, respectively [ 21 ]. In China, a 2016 meta-analysis aiming to establish the national prevalence of depression among university students analyzed 39 studies from 1995 to 2015; the meta-analysis found that the overall prevalence of depression was 23.8% across all studies that included 32,694 Chinese university students [ 23 ].

A college student’s mental status may be significantly affected by the successful fulfillment of a student’s role. A 2013 study found that acceptable teaching methods can enhance students’ satisfaction and academic performance, both linked to their mental health [ 24 ]. However, online learning poses multiple challenges to these methods [ 3 ]. Furthermore, a 2020 study found that students’ mental status is affected by their social support systems, which, in turn, may be jeopardized by the COVID-19 pandemic and the physical limitations it has imposed. Support accessible to a student through social ties to other individuals, groups, and the greater community is a form of social support; university students may draw social support from family, friends, classmates, teachers, and a significant other [ 25 , 26 ]. Among individuals undergoing social isolation and distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, social support has been found to be inversely related to depression, anxiety, irritability, sleep quality, and loneliness, with higher levels of social support reducing the risk of depression and improving sleep quality [ 27 ]. Lastly, it has been shown in a 2020 study that social support builds resilience, a protective factor against depression, anxiety, and stress [ 28 ]. Therefore, given the protective effects of social support on psychological health, a supportive environment should be maintained in the classroom. Online learning must be perceived as an inclusive community and a safe space for peer-to-peer interactions [ 29 ]. This is echoed in another study in 2019 on depressed students who narrated their need to see themselves reflected on others [ 30 ]. Whether or not online learning currently implemented has successfully transitioned remains to be seen.

The effect of social media on students’ mental health has been a topic of interest even before the pandemic [ 31 , 32 ]. A systematic review published in 2020 found that social media use is responsible for aggravating mental health problems and that prominent risk factors for depression and anxiety include time spent, activity, and addiction to social media [ 31 ]. Another systematic review published in 2016 argues that the nature of online social networking use may be more important in influencing the symptoms of depression than the duration or frequency of the engagement—suggesting that social rumination and comparison are likely to be candidate mediators in the relationship between depression and social media [ 33 ]. However, their findings also suggest that the relationship between depression and online social networking is complex and necessitates further research to determine the impact of moderators and mediators that underly the positive and negative impact of online social networking on wellbeing [ 33 ].

Despite existing studies already painting a picture of the psychological effects of COVID-19 in the Philippines, to our knowledge, there are still no local studies contextualized to college students living in different regions of the country. Therefore, it is crucial to elicit the reasons and risk factors for depression, stress, and anxiety and determine the potential impact that online learning and social media use may have on the mental health of the said population. In turn, the findings would allow the creation of more context-specific and regionalized interventions that can promote mental wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials and methods

The study’s general objective is to assess the mental health status of college students and determine the different factors that influenced them during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, it aims:

• To describe the study population’s characteristics, categorized by their mental health status, which includes depression, anxiety, and stress.
• To determine the prevalence and risk factors of depression, anxiety, and stress among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic, quarantine, and subsequent shift to online learning.
• To estimate the effect of social media use on depression, anxiety, stress, and coping strategies towards stress among college students and examine whether participant characteristics modified these associations.
• To estimate the effect of online learning shift on depression, anxiety, stress, and coping strategies towards stress among college students and examine whether participant characteristics modified these associations.
• To determine the facilitators or stressors among college students that modified their mental health status during the COVID-19 pandemic, quarantine, and subsequent shift to online learning.

Study design

A mixed-method study design will be used to address the study’s objectives, which will include Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and an online survey. During the quarantine period of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines from April to November 2021, the study shall occur with the population amid community quarantine and an abrupt transition to online classes. Since this is the Philippines’ first study that will look at the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic, quarantine, and subsequent shift to online learning, the online survey will be utilized for the quantitative part of the study design. For the qualitative component of the study design, KIIs will determine facilitators or stressors among college students that modified their mental health status during the quarantine period.

Study population

The Red Cross Youth (RCY), one of the Philippine Red Cross’s significant services, is a network of youth volunteers that spans the entire country, having active members in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The group is clustered into different age ranges, with the College Red Cross Youth (18–25 years old) being the study’s population of interest. The RCY has over 26,060 students spread across 20 chapters located all over the country’s three major island groups. The RCY is heterogeneously composed, with some members classified as college students and some as out-of-school youth. Given their nationwide scope, disseminating information from the national to the local level is already in place; this is done primarily through email, social media platforms, and text blasts. The research team will leverage these platforms to distribute the online survey questionnaire.

In addition, the online survey will also be open to non-members of the RCY. It will be disseminated through social media and engagements with different university administrators in the country. Stratified random sampling will be done for the KIIs. The KII participants will be equally coming from the country’s four (4) primary areas: 5–10 each from the national capital region (NCR), Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, including members and non-members of the RCY.

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

The inclusion criteria for the online survey will include those who are 18–25 years old, currently enrolled in a university, can provide consent for the study, and are proficient in English or Filipino. The exclusion criteria will consist of those enrolled in graduate-level programs (e.g., MD, JD, Master’s, Doctorate), out-of-school youth, and those whose current curricula involve going on duty (e.g., MDs, nursing students, allied medical professions, etc.). The inclusion criteria for the KIIs will include online survey participants who are 18–25 years old, can provide consent for the study, are proficient in English or Filipino, and have access to the internet.

Sample size

A continuity correction method developed by Fleiss et al. (2013) was used to calculate the sample size needed [ 34 ]. For a two-sided confidence level of 95%, with 80% power and the least extreme odds ratio to be detected at 1.4, the computed sample size was 1890. With an adjustment for an estimated response rate of 90%, the total sample size needed for the study was 2,100. To achieve saturation for the qualitative part of the study, 20 to 40 participants will be randomly sampled for the KIIs using the respondents who participated in the online survey [ 35 ].

Study procedure

Self-administered questionnaire..

The study will involve creating, testing, and distributing a self-administered questionnaire (SAQ). All eligible study participants will answer the SAQ on socio-demographic factors such as age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, residence, household income, socioeconomic status, smoking status, family history of mental health, and COVID-19 sickness of immediate family members or friends. The two validated survey tools, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and Brief-COPE, will be used for the mental health outcome assessment [ 36 – 39 ]. The DASS-21 will measure the negative emotional states of depression, anxiety, and stress [ 40 ], while the Brief-COPE will measure the students’ coping strategies [ 41 ].

For the exposure assessment of the students to social media and shift to online learning, the total time spent on social media (TSSM) per day will be ascertained by querying the participants to provide an estimated time spent daily on social media during and after their online classes. In addition, students will be asked to report their use of the eight commonly used social media sites identified at the start of the study. These sites include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, and social messaging sites Viber/WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger with response choices coded as "(1) never," "(2) less often," "(3) every few weeks," "(4) a few times a week," and “(5) daily” [ 42 – 44 ]. Furthermore, a global frequency score will be calculated by adding the response scores from the eight social media sites. The global frequency score will be used as an additional exposure marker of students to social media [ 45 ]. The shift to online learning will be assessed using questions that will determine the participants’ satisfaction with online learning. This assessment is comprised of 8 items in which participants will be asked to respond on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree.’

The online survey will be virtually distributed in English using the Qualtrics XM™ platform. Informed consent detailing the purpose, risks, benefits, methods, psychological referrals, and other ethical considerations will be included before the participants are allowed to answer the survey. Before administering the online survey, the SAQ shall undergo pilot testing among twenty (20) college students not involved with the study. It aims to measure total test-taking time, respondent satisfaction, and understandability of questions. The survey shall be edited according to the pilot test participant’s responses. Moreover, according to the Philippines’ Data Privacy Act, all the answers will be accessible and used only for research purposes.

Key informant interviews.

The research team shall develop the KII concept note, focusing on the extraneous factors affecting the student’s mental health, behaviors, and coping mechanism. Some salient topics will include current stressors (e.g., personal, academic, social), emotional reactions to these stressors, and how they wish to receive support in response to these stressors. The KII will be facilitated by a certified psychologist/psychiatrist/social scientist and research assistants using various online video conferencing software such as Google Meet, Skype, or Zoom. All the KIIs will be recorded and transcribed for analysis. Furthermore, there will be a debriefing session post-KII to address the psychological needs of the participants. Fig 1 presents the diagrammatic flowchart of the study.

• PPT PowerPoint slide
• PNG larger image
• TIFF original image

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267555.g001

Data analyses

Quantitative data..

Descriptive statistics will be calculated, including the prevalence of mental health outcomes such as depression, anxiety, stress, and coping strategies. In addition, correlation coefficients will be estimated to assess the relations among the different mental health outcomes, covariates, and possible risk factors.

Several study characteristics as effect modifiers will also be assessed, including sex, gender, sexual orientation, family income, smoking status, family history of mental health, and Covid-19. We will include interaction terms between the dichotomized modifier variable and markers of social media use (total TSSM and global frequency score) and shift to online learning in the models. The significance of the interaction terms will be evaluated using the likelihood ratio test. All the regression analyses will be done in R ( http://www.r-project.org ). P values ≤ 0.05 will be considered statistically significant.

Qualitative data.

After transcribing the interviews, the data transcripts will be analyzed using NVivo 1.4.1 software [ 50 ] by three research team members independently using the inductive logic approach in thematic analysis: familiarizing with the data, generating initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing the themes, defining and naming the themes, and producing the report [ 51 ]. Data familiarization will consist of reading and re-reading the data while noting initial ideas. Additionally, coding interesting features of the data will follow systematically across the entire dataset while collating data relevant to each code. Moreover, the open coding of the data will be performed to describe the data into concepts and themes, which will be further categorized to identify distinct concepts and themes [ 52 ].

The three researchers will discuss the results of their thematic analyses. They will compare and contrast the three analyses in order to come up with a thematic map. The final thematic map of the analysis will be generated after checking if the identified themes work in relation to the extracts and the entire dataset. In addition, the selection of clear, persuasive extract examples that will connect the analysis to the research question and literature will be reviewed before producing a scholarly report of the analysis. Additionally, the themes and sub-themes generated will be assessed and discussed in relevance to the study’s objectives. Furthermore, the gathering and analyzing of the data will continue until saturation is reached. Finally, pseudonyms will be used to present quotes from qualitative data.

Data triangulation.

Data triangulation using the two different data sources will be conducted to examine the various aspects of the research and will be compared for convergence. This part of the analysis will require listing all the relevant topics or findings from each component of the study and considering where each method’s results converge, offer complementary information on the same issue, or appear to contradict each other. It is crucial to explicitly look for disagreements between findings from different data collection methods because exploration of any apparent inter-method discrepancy may lead to a better understanding of the research question [ 53 , 54 ].

Data management plan.

The Project Leader will be responsible for overall quality assurance, with research associates and assistants undertaking specific activities to ensure quality control. Quality will be assured through routine monitoring by the Project Leader and periodic cross-checks against the protocols by the research assistants. Transcribed KIIs and the online survey questionnaire will be used for recording data for each participant in the study. The project leader will be responsible for ensuring the accuracy, completeness, legibility, and timeliness of the data captured in all the forms. Data captured from the online survey or KIIs should be consistent, clarified, and corrected. Each participant will have complete source documentation of records. Study staff will prepare appropriate source documents and make them available to the Project Leader upon request for review. In addition, study staff will extract all data collected in the KII notes or survey forms. These data will be secured and kept in a place accessible to the Project Leader. Data entry and cleaning will be conducted, and final data cleaning, data freezing, and data analysis will be performed. Key informant interviews will always involve two researchers. Where appropriate, quality control for the qualitative data collection will be assured through refresher KII training during research design workshops. The Project Leader will check through each transcript for consistency with agreed standards. Where translations are undertaken, the quality will be assured by one other researcher fluent in that language checking against the original recording or notes.

Ethics approval.

The study shall abide by the Principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (2013). It will be conducted along with the Guidelines of the International Conference on Harmonization-Good Clinical Practice (ICH-GCP), E6 (R2), and other ICH-GCP 6 (as amended); National Ethical Guidelines for Health and Health-Related Research (NEGHHRR) of 2017. This protocol has been approved by the University of the Philippines Manila Research Ethics Board (UPMREB 2021-099-01 dated March 25, 2021).

The main concerns for ethics were consent, data privacy, and subject confidentiality. The risks, benefits, and conflicts of interest are discussed in this section from an ethical standpoint.

Recruitment.

The participants will be recruited to answer the online SAQ voluntarily. The recruitment of participants for the KIIs will be chosen through stratified random sampling using a list of those who answered the online SAQ; this will minimize the risk of sampling bias. In addition, none of the participants in the study will have prior contact or association with the researchers. Moreover, power dynamics will not be contacted to recruit respondents. The research objectives, methods, risks, benefits, voluntary participation, withdrawal, and respondents’ rights will be discussed with the respondents in the consent form before KII.

Informed consent will be signified by the potential respondent ticking a box in the online informed consent form and the voluntary participation of the potential respondent to the study after a thorough discussion of the research details. The participant’s consent is voluntary and may be recanted by the participant any time s/he chooses.

Data privacy.

All digital data will be stored in a cloud drive accessible only to the researchers. Subject confidentiality will be upheld through the assignment of control numbers and not requiring participants to divulge the name, address, and other identifying factors not necessary for analysis.

Compensation.

No monetary compensation will be given to the participants, but several tokens will be raffled to all the participants who answered the online survey and did the KIIs.

This research will pose risks to data privacy, as discussed and addressed above. In addition, there will be a risk of social exclusion should data leaks arise due to the stigma against mental health. This risk will be mitigated by properly executing the data collection and analysis plan, excluding personal details and tight data privacy measures. Moreover, there is a risk of psychological distress among the participants due to the sensitive information. This risk will be addressed by subjecting the SAQ and the KII guidelines to the project team’s psychiatrist’s approval, ensuring proper communication with the participants. The KII will also be facilitated by registered clinical psychologists/psychiatrists/social scientists to ensure the participants’ appropriate handling; there will be a briefing and debriefing of the participants before and after the KII proper.

Participation in this study will entail health education and a voluntary referral to a study-affiliated psychiatrist, discussed in previous sections. Moreover, this would contribute to modifications in targeted mental-health campaigns for the 18–25 age group. Summarized findings and recommendations will be channeled to stakeholders for their perusal.

Dissemination.

The results will be actively disseminated through conference presentations, peer-reviewed journals, social media, print and broadcast media, and various stakeholder activities.

This study protocol rationalizes the examination of the mental health of the college students in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic as the traditional face-to-face classes transitioned to online and modular classes. The pandemic that started in March 2020 is now stretching for more than a year in which prolonged lockdown brings people to experience social isolation and disruption of everyday lifestyle. There is an urgent need to study the psychosocial aspects, particularly those populations that are vulnerable to mental health instability. In the Philippines, where community quarantine is still being imposed across the country, college students face several challenges amidst this pandemic. The pandemic continues to escalate, which may lead to fear and a spectrum of psychological consequences. Universities and colleges play an essential role in supporting college students in their academic, safety, and social needs. The courses of activities implemented by the different universities and colleges may significantly affect their mental well-being status. Our study is particularly interested in the effect of online classes on college students nationwide during the pandemic. The study will estimate this effect on their mental wellbeing since this abrupt transition can lead to depression, stress, or anxiety for some students due to insufficient time to adjust to the new learning environment. The role of social media is also an important exposure to some college students [ 55 , 56 ]. Social media exposure to COVID-19 may be considered a contributing factor to college students’ mental well-being, particularly their stress, depression, and anxiety [ 57 , 58 ]. Despite these known facts, little is known about the effect of transitioning to online learning and social media exposure on the mental health of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. To our knowledge, this is the first study in the Philippines that will use a mixed-method study design to examine the mental health of college students in the entire country. The online survey is a powerful platform to employ our methods.

Additionally, our study will also utilize a qualitative assessment of the college students, which may give significant insights or findings of the experiences of the college students during these trying times that cannot be captured on our online survey. The thematic findings or narratives from the qualitative part of our study will be triangulated with the quantitative analysis for a more robust synthesis. The results will be used to draw conclusions about the mental health status among college students during the pandemic in the country, which will eventually be used to implement key interventions if deemed necessary. A cross-sectional study design for the online survey is one of our study’s limitations in which contrasts will be mainly between participants at a given point of time. In addition, bias arising from residual or unmeasured confounding factors cannot be ruled out.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying effects will persistently affect the mental wellbeing of college students. Mental health services must be delivered to combat mental instability. In addition, universities and colleges should create an environment that will foster mental health awareness among Filipino college students. The results of our study will tailor the possible coping strategies to meet the specific needs of college students nationwide, thereby promoting psychological resilience.

The impact of extreme weather on student online learning participation

• Ezekiel Adriel D. Lagmay 1 &
• Maria Mercedes T. Rodrigo   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7881-7756 1  

Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning volume  17 , Article number:  26 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced over 1 billion learners to shift from face-to-face instruction to online learning. Seven months after it began, this transition became even more challenging for Filipino online learners. Eight typhoons struck the Philippines from October to November 2020. Two of these typhoons caused widespread flooding, utilities interruptions, property destruction, and loss of life. We examine how these severe weather conditions affected online learning participation of Filipino students pursuing their undergraduate and graduate studies. We used CausalImpact analysis to explore September 2020 to January 2021 data collected from the Moodle Learning Management System data of one university in the Philippines. We found that overall student online participation was significantly negatively affected by typhoons. However, the effect on participation in Assignments and Quizzes was not significant. These findings suggested that students continued to participate in activities that have a direct bearing on their final grades, rather than activities that had no impact on their course outcomes.

Context of the study

The shift to online learning because of COVID-19 offered us a unique opportunity to quantify the impact of extreme weather on the online learning participation of Filipino students. In prior years, the majority of education in the Philippines, as in most countries, took place in person. While some institutions made use of Learning Management Systems (LMSs), most instruction was face to face. LMSs were repositories for materials, submission sites, or test platforms, but were typically not used to replace class time. The onset of the pandemic forced 1 billion students (UNESCO, 2021 ), including Filipinos, to shift to an online mode. The struggle to teach and learn online worsened when eight typhoons entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) from October 11 to November 12, 2020 (Lalu, 2020 ). Two of them, Typhoons Goni and Vamco, were particularly destructive, causing widespread destruction, utilities disruptions, and loss of life. The migration of all instruction to digital platforms thus enabled us to capture a greater variety of instructional activities, data that were previously unavailable, and to use this data to study the effects of these typhoons on student learning behaviors.

Effects of extreme weather on academic achievement

The immediate effects of extreme weather events such as severe typhoons and heat waves include property destruction, crop failure, and human casualties. On November 8, 2013, for example, Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in the Philippines. A Category 5 storm, it was one of the most powerful typhoons of all time. It displaced 4.1 million people, killed 6,000, damaged 1.1 million homes, and destroyed 33 million coconut trees, a major cash crop (World Vision, 2021 ). In total, Typhoon Haiyan caused damages estimated at US$5.8 billion. Typhoon Goni made landfall in the Philippines on October 27, 2020, seven months into the COVID-19 pandemic. Like Haiyan, Goni was a Category 5 storm, the strongest of 2020, with maximum sustained winds of 255 km per hour. It left 25 dead and damaged over 280,000 houses. Damage to crops, livestock, fisheries, and agriculture was estimated at P5 billion, while damage to infrastructure such as roads and bridges was estimated at P12.8 billion (International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies, 2020a ). Typhoon Vamco made landfall in the Philippines on November 11, 2020. Vamco was weaker than Goni, with maximum sustained winds at 155 km per hour (International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies, 2020b ). However, Vamco brought historically high levels of flooding in parts of the country—the worst in 45 years. The storm killed 101 people and left over P20 billion in damages to livelihoods and infrastructure.

The longer-term consequences of these events are far-reaching and complex. In the developing world specifically, limited savings among less wealthy households and the lack of social supports such as access to credit and insurance make it difficult for poorer families to recover from shocks caused by extreme weather (Groppo & Kraehnert, 2017 ; Marchetta et al., 2018 ). Parents are forced to shift their investments from their children’s schooling, e.g., uniforms, books, transportation, tuition (Joshi, 2019 ), instead directing their resources to recovery from the economic consequences of the typhoon’s damage (Deuchert & Felfe, 2015 ). Post-typhoon enrollment decreases. Parents spend less time on their children’s learning and care (Joshi, 2019 ). Children spend less time in school and more time helping at home. Teens and young adults who are transitioning from school to work are particularly vulnerable to these shocks. They are likely to drop out of school and join the workforce in order to mitigate the impact of extreme weather. Poor young women in particular are susceptible to being pushed into the labor market (Marchetta et al., 2018 ).

These necessary choices cause an immediate gap in learning that grows over time. When Typhoon Mike hit Cebu in 1990, the children whose houses suffered typhoon damage lagged 0.13 years behind in school. The lag grew to 0.27 years in 1998, 0.52 years in 2002, and 0.67 years in 2005. By the time children are 22 years old, the gap in educational attainment is approximated at one year (Deuchert & Felfe, 2015 ).

The work of Bernabe et al. ( 2021 ) agrees. They found that storms have a disruptive impact on education. In areas severely affected by winds, children are 9% more likely to accumulate an educational delay and 6.5% less likely to complete secondary education. Individuals severely affected by storms between the ages of 23 and 33 are less likely to complete higher education, reducing their ability to obtain regular salaried jobs.

One might ask: Is it not possible for these children and young adults to return to school to make up for these gaps? Cunha and Heckman ( 2007 ) argue that different stages of childhood are more receptive to certain types of inputs than others. Secondary language learning, for example, is best before 12. They also find that public training programs for adults that try to bridge learning gaps from childhood do not produce substantial gains for most of their participants and tend to be more costly than remediation provided at earlier ages.

In summary, the physical and economic damage wrought by extreme weather events has an adverse impact on educational achievement. The education of young children who come from economically disadvantaged homes receives less financial support and parental attention, resulting in an achievement gap that increases with time. Adolescents and young adults, on the other hand, are sometimes forced to discontinue their studies and to enter the workforce to help mitigate the effects of the event. Resuming studies after an interruption is challenging because oftentimes an optimal window for learning has passed and attempts at remediation are costly and generally produce fewer gains.

Research questions

For this study, we ask two main research questions:

RQ1: To what extent was student participation affected by Typhoons Goni and Vamco?

RQ2: Was student participation able to return to pre-typhoon levels, or did the typhoons dampen participation for the rest of the post-typhoon period? If participation did return to pre-typhoon levels, how long did it take for participation to recover?

Time series analysis in education

We use CausalImpact analysis (Brodersen et al., 2015 ) to analyze the ways in which student participation in an online learning environment was affected by Typhoons Goni and Vamco. CausalImpact is a type of causal inference analysis method for time series data.

Time series analysis methods

Causal inference refers to a family of analysis methods that enable researchers to draw conclusions about the effect of a causal variable or treatment on some outcome or phenomenon of interest (Hill & Stuart, 2015 ). These methods have the same general approach: They take time series data prior to an interruption or intervention, create a model from this data, use the model to predict counterfactual post-intervention trends, and then compare the counterfactual against the actual data to check for differences. They differ in terms of their underlying modeling approach. Examples of these methods are as follows (Kuromiya et al., 2020 ; Moraffah et al., 2021 ):

CausalImpact—It is developed to evaluate the impact of a market intervention using difference-in-difference to infer the causality from observational data. Under the hood, “…it builds a Bayesian structural time series model based on multiple comparable control groups (or markets) and uses the model to project (or forecast) a series of baseline values for the time period after the event.” (Brodersen et al., 2015 ; Nishida, 2017 )

Interrupted Time Series (ITS) Model—Uses segmented regression model with dummy variables representing the period of the intervention for evaluating the effectiveness of population-level interventions. It is simple in terms of interpreting the results. (Bernal et al., 2017 )

Prophet—A type of generalized additive model consisting of trend, seasonality, and holidays. There is no need to interpolate missing values since the model handles time series analysis as a curve fitting problem and can predict future values at a very high accuracy. (Taylor & Letham, 2018 )

CausalTransfer—An improvement to CausalImpact which estimates treatment effects from experiments spanning multiple time points by using a state-space model. The main issue with CausalImpact is that it “treats every time point as a separate experiment and does not pool information over time”; hence, one is “only able to observe the outcomes under the treatment for one time series and under the control for the treatment for another one, but not the potential outcome under control for the former and under treatment for the latter.” CausalTransfer “combines regression to adjust for confounding with time series modelling to learn the effect of the treatment and how it evolves over time” and does not assume that data is stationary. (Li & Bühlmann, 2020 )

Several methods based on neural networks and deep learning have been introduced in recent years (Moraffah et al., 2021 ):

Recurrent Marginal Structural Network (R-MSN)—A sequence-to-sequence recurrent neural network (RNN)-based architecture for forecasting responses to a series of planned treatments. In contrast to other marginal structural models (MSMs) which model “the potential outcomes associated with each possible treatment trajectory with the Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighted (IPTW),” which in turn is “dependent on a correct specification of the conditional probability of treatment assignment,” R-MSN directly learns “time-dependent treatment responses from observational data, based on the marginal structural modeling framework.” (Lim et al., 2018 )

Time Series Deconfounder—This method “uses a novel recurrent neural network architecture with multitask output to build a factor model over time and infer latent variables that render the assigned treatments conditionally independent” prior to performing causal inference with the aforementioned latent variables being used in place of the multi-cause unobserved confounders. To further ensure that the factor model is able to estimate the distribution of the assigned causes, “a validation set of subjects were considered in order to compare the similarity of the two test statistics.” This overcomes the problem of having to ensure that all the confounders are observed, which may lead to biased results otherwise. (Bica et al., 2020 )

Deep Sequential Weighting—It is used for estimating individual treatment effects with time-varying confounders by using a deep recurrent weighting neural network for inferring the hidden confounders using a combination of the current treatment assignments and historical information. The learned representations of hidden confounders combined with current observed data are then utilized for obtaining potential outcome and treatment predictions. For re-weighting the population, the time-varying inverse probabilities of treatment are computed. (Liu et al., 2020 )

For their own study, Kuromiya et al. ( 2020 ) first considered ITS and Prophet as possible approaches. They found that ITS had weak predictive power and limited flexibility. Prophet was better than ITS at predicting future values. In determining the impact of an event, though, Prophet was more difficult to interpret. They therefore decided to use a method called CausalImpact instead. As this was the study that we emulated, we used CausalImpact as well. We were not able to consider using CausalTransfer nor any of the neural network/deep learning methods.

Prior Studies using CausalImpact analysis

CausalImpact is a specific type of causal inference that enables researchers to estimate the impact of an intervention such as an ad campaign on an outcome variable such as additional clicks (Brodersen, 2014 ; Brodersen, et al., 2015 ). Given time series data, we first identify predictor variables, the outcome variable, and the pre- and post-intervention time segments. CausalImpact uses the pre-intervention data to model the relationship between the predictor variables and the outcome variable. It then uses the model to estimate the post-intervention counterfactual. The impact of the intervention is the difference between the counterfactual and the observed post-intervention data. While many algorithms may be used to model the counterfactual, CausalImpact made use of Bayesian structural time series models, explained in detail in (Brodersen, et al., 2015 ). The CausalImpact R package (Brodersen, 2014 ; Brodersen, et al., 2015 ) is publicly available at http://google.github.io/CausalImpact/CausalImpact.html .

CausalImpact was created within a commercial context and was intended for use on marketing data and clickstream traffic (Brodersen, 2014 ). Since its release in 2014, the method has also been used to model the effects of product modularity on bus manufacturing (Piran et al., 2017 ), US cyber policies on cyberattacks (Kumar et al., 2016 ), Arab uprisings and tourism (Perles-Ribes et al., 2018 ), and the performance of app store releases (Martin, 2016 ).

In 2020, Kuromiya and colleagues applied CausalImpact to estimate the effects of school closures on student use of the LMS Moodle and the electronic book reader BookRoll (Kuromiya et al., 2020 ). They performed this analysis for all courses in aggregate and for one specific English course. In their analysis, they found that student traffic in Moodle and BookRoll increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. For all courses in aggregate, Moodle traffic increased by 163%, while BookRoll traffic increased by 77%. With the English course, Moodle traffic increased by 2227%, while BookRoll traffic increased by 875%. Note that Kuromiya and colleagues use the term “intervention” to refer to school closures rather than a new teaching strategy. They therefore expanded the definition of “intervention” to include external events that may affect a system, rather than deliberate actions from researchers, educators, or other persons that are intended to influence how the system behaves. In this study, we use this expanded definition of “intervention” to refer to the typhoons that affected online learning.

In 2021, Lagmay and Rodrigo began the analysis of Typhoons Goni and Vamco’s effects on student participation in online classes and published initial results at an international conference (Lagmay & Rodrigo, 2021 ). While this paper drew inspiration from Kuromiya et al. ( 2020 ), it differed in its choice of predictor variables. Lagmay and Rodrigo ( 2021 ) made use of teacher and non-editing teacher activity to predict student activity. In contrast, Kuromiya et al. ( 2020 ; personal communications, 26 January 2021) used number of logs per day as both the input variable and the outcome variable.

Lagmay and Rodrigo ( 2021 ) analyzed Moodle activity from September 9, 2020, to January 9, 2021. The pre-intervention period was defined as the pre-typhoon period from September 9, 2020, to October 28, 2020. The intervention period were the days disrupted by the typhoon, October 29 to November 13. Finally, the post-intervention period was November 14 to December 23, the period after the typhoon to just before the Christmas break. The paper found a statistically significant decrease in all LMS activity but a non-statistically significant difference in activities related to assessment. The paper we present here expands the Lagmay and Rodrigo ( 2021 ) paper by experimenting with the time periods.

While much educational research makes use of causal inference in general, as of the time of this writing, the works of Kuromiya et al. ( 2020 ) and Lagmay and Rodrigo ( 2021 ) were the only applications of CausalImpact on educational data that our survey of the literature could find.

The dataset was composed of a time series of log data from the Moodle of a privately owned university in Metro Manila, Philippines. Prior to the study, the researchers conferred with the University Data Protection Office and the University Counsel to determine whether we needed to seek informed consent from faculty and students to access their Moodle data. Since the data that we received were anonymized and because we did not have the ability to re-identify the same, there was no need to seek informed consent from the Moodle users (J. Jacob, personal communication, 25 September 2020; P. Sison-Arroyo, personal communication, 25 September 2020). Furthermore, the University Research Ethics Office determined that our research protocol was considered exempt from institutional ethics review because it was research conducted in educational settings involving normal educational practices, and that the information was processed such that participants could not be identified (L. Alampay, personal communication, 11 October 2020).

We collected data from 11,736 students, 925 teachers, and 38 non-editing teachers beginning September 9, 2020, and ending on January 9, 2021. The students were undergraduate and graduate students. Undergraduate students were from 18 to 22 years old, while graduate students were 23 and older. Students generally came from middle- to upper-class families. Teachers had at least a bachelor’s degree in the subject area that they were teaching. Most had master’s degrees or higher. Both students and teachers were a mix of males and females, though the exact distribution was not included in the Moodle data.

This time period of data collection represented two distinct academic terms: the first quarter (September 9 to October 24) and second quarter (October 28 to January 9). The dataset contained a total of 2,641,461 logs from 12,699 users. Each transaction was composed of the complete set of the following columns available from Moodle:

Time—timestamp of the of the action, up to the minute.

User ID—numerical identifier (ID) of the user performing the action.

Affected user—numerical identifier of the user affected by the action; When Teacher T sends a notification to Student S, the User ID would be that of Teacher T whereas the Affected user would be Student S.

Event context—teacher-given name of the module or activity within which the action took place, e.g., “Classroom Exercise 1 Module 1.”

Component—one of 43 Moodle-defined categories under which various events take place, e.g., Quiz.

Event name—one of 244 Moodle-defined names for actions that can be performed by the user, e.g., Quiz attempt viewed.

Description—narrative description of the action performed by the user, e.g., The user with id '1603' has viewed the attempt with id '20202' belonging to the user with id “1603” for the quiz with course module id “18804.”

Origin—The method used to access Moodle (examples: web, cli (Client), etc.).

IP address—If Moodle is accessed via the web, this gives the originating IP address (this was anonymized or deleted to ensure data privacy concerns).

The users of Moodle fell into three categories: teachers , non-editing teachers (e.g., a teaching assistant; non-editing teachers may view and grade work but may not edit or delete course content), and students . Because the logs did not include the user category, the university’s systems administrators provided the researchers with each user’s type.

We used transaction log volume, i.e., counts, as the indicator of participation. A transaction is defined as any interaction with Moodle. Each time a student performs an action such as accessing course materials or answering a quiz within Moodle, that action is logged as a transaction. The more the student works within Moodle, the more transaction Moodle logs for that student. While we were interested in broad types of transactions such as quizzes, we did not examine the actual content of course activities and resources. We did not read lectures, discussion postings, exams, quizzes, etc. To answer our research questions, an examination of transaction categories and volumes was sufficient.

Data preprocessing

The raw data consisted of 3 files of User IDs and User Types (each file representing a user type), and one transaction log file for each of the 123 days of the academic term under study. To preprocess the data, we first merged the list of User IDs and User Types with the transaction logs. We eliminated identifying features such as IP addresses, user full names, and ID numbers. We also had to parse and separate the Time column into separate Date and Time features. The log file was then aggregated according to the Date, User Type, and Component, and the rows that fall under each category were counted. All preprocessed files were then appended to a single file of transactions.

The second phase of the data preprocessing procedure, just prior to the CausalImpact analysis, was to normalize the data (See Table 1 ). We first aggregated the data frame according to User Type and Component columns (305 for 2020-10-10 and 1133 for 2020-12-23). We took the maximum possible Total for each group across all dates (6146). Then, the items in the Total column were divided by their respective maximum possible value according to the User Type and Component, normalizing the data between 0 and 1 for each User Type and Component (0.05 and 0.18).

We then decided to model three of the top ten most frequently occurring components overall: System, Quiz, and Assignment which, together, represented over 88% of all transactions (See Table 2 ). System refers to all actions related to communication and course management. Quizzes in Moodle are activities that are completed online and are often automatically graded. Assignment in Moodle is usually file uploads of work completed outside of the LMS.

CausalImpact analysis

We performed a CausalImpact analysis for four outcome variables: overall student LMS activity, the System component, the Assignment component, and the Quiz component. In this section, we discuss the analysis in three sections: predictor variable selection, time period definition, and CausalImpact results.

Predictor variable selection

We opted to use teacher and non-editing teacher transactions as predictor variables. Our theoretical grounding for this choice is the teacher expectancy effect (TEE), also known as the Pygmalion Effect. The Pygmalion Effect stems from research on how interpersonal expectations shape reality (Szumski & Karwowski, 2019 ). It is a form of self-fulfilling prophecy, asserting that teacher expectations have an impact on students’ academic progress. Through verbal and non-verbal behaviors, teachers signal their expectations to students about how the students will (not should) behave or how they will succeed or fail academically (Niari et al., 2016 ). Students then enact the behaviors or achievement levels that meet teachers’ expectations. Pygmalion effects have been observed at the individual and class level for both achievement outcomes and self-concept (see Friedrich et al., 2015 ; Szumski & Karwowski, 2019 ). These effects have been shown to persist over time (see Szumski & Karwowski, 2019 ). On this basis, we speculate that what teachers signal as their expectations for the online classes will serve as cues to the student about what they will deliver in order to pass the course.

Since teacher and non-editing teacher transactions were categorized under various components, it was necessary to determine which of these components were most predictive. We used Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) to arrive at a parsimonious set of predictor variables. As explained in (Larsen, 2021 ), the usual approach to finding the relationship between a predictor and a response variable in time series data is to use the Euclidean distance. However, this penalizes instances where the relationships between data have shifted. DTW finds the distance along the warping curve, as opposed to the raw data, to arrive at the best alignment between two time series. We used the MarketMatching R implementation of the DTW algorithm (Larsen, 2021 ). It should be noted, however, that MarketMatching will only work on predictor variables with a complete set of values and with a variance or standard deviation not equal to 0. To guarantee this, we trimmed the dataset to the top 10 most frequently used components across users. The result of this algorithm was a set of predictor variables with the closest relationship with the response variable (See Table 3 ).

Time period definition

The definitions of the pre- and post-intervention periods required some consideration. As mentioned in Sect.  2 , we collected data from the first quarter (September 9 to October 24) and second quarter (October 28 to January 9) of the academic year. The start of the second quarter was immediately disrupted by Typhoons Goni and Vamco. This led the university to suspend second quarter classes from November 16–21. The university mandated asynchronous-only classes from November 23–28 and resumed synchronous classes, if teachers chose to hold them, from November 29 onward (Vilches, 2020 ). Furthermore, the second quarter included a Christmas break from December 24 to January 3. To factor in the possible impacts of the class suspension and the Christmas break, we decided to run CausalImpact on four different time periods (See Fig.  1 ). The pre-intervention period was from September 9 to October 28, the days before the typhoons entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR). We included October 25 to 27, the period in-between the quarters, because it was during this time that teachers began contacting students to send them links to the online classroom where they would meet on the first meeting day. The intervention period was the period in which the two typhoons struck. We considered two possible endings to this period: November 13, the day Typhoon Vamco left the PAR, and November 21, the last day of the post-typhoon break. The post-intervention period followed and, like the intervention period, had two possible end dates: December 23, before the Christmas break, and January 9. Hence, we created four time periods:

Intervention period that does not include the post-typhoon break; post-intervention period that includes the Christmas break (NB-WC)

Intervention period that does not include the post-typhoon break; post-intervention period that does not include the Christmas break (NB-NC)

Intervention period that includes the post-typhoon break; post-intervention period that includes the Christmas break (WB-WC)

Intervention period that includes the post-typhoon break; post-intervention period that does not include the Christmas break (WB-NC)

Time period definitions

Note that we were working with the same dataset reported in Lagmay and Rodrigo ( 2021 ). In this current paper, though, the end date of the intervention period and the start date of the post-intervention periods in time periods WB-WC and WB-NC are different. The dates in Fig.  1 are consistent with the university memo regarding the post-typhoon period (Vilches, 2020 ). These same time period definitions in Lagmay and Rodrigo ( 2021 ) were off by 2 days.

CausalImpact results

Tables 4 and 5 show the results of the analysis for each of the time periods.

All LMS Activity

During time period NB-WC, all LMS activity decreased significantly ( p  = 0.02). The response variable had an average value of 0.17. The counterfactual prediction was 0.21. The typhoons therefore had an estimated effect of − 0.041 with a 95% confidence interval of [− 0.077, − 0.0063]. When the data points during the intervention period are summed, the response variable had an overall value of 9.61. The counterfactual prediction was 11.98 with a 95% confidence interval of [9.97, 14.10]. This means that overall student participation decreased by − 20% with a 95% confidence interval of [− 37%, − 3%].

Figure  2 a shows the CausalImpact graph of all LMS activity for time period NB-WC. Each unit on the x -axis represents one day in the time period. The topmost graph labeled “original” shows a solid line representing the actual observed data, i.e., the number of transactions per day. The broken line represents the prediction. The light blue band represents the confidence interval of the prediction. The middle graph labeled “pointwise” shows the difference between the predicted number of transactions and the actual number of transactions per day. If the predicted number of transactions for day 1 was 100 and the actual number of transactions was 80, the pointwise difference was 20. Finally, the cumulative graph at the bottom shows the accumulated difference between the predicted number of transactions and the actual number of transactions. If the pointwise difference on day 2 was 10, the accumulated difference of days 1 and 2 is 30. If the pointwise difference on day 3 was 12, the accumulated difference of days 1, 2, and 3 is 42. The gap in the pointwise and cumulative graphs is the intervention period. There is no accumulated difference during the pre-intervention period. The differences are accumulated post-intervention. Note that the cumulative graph shows a downward trend during the post-intervention period and that there was indeed a slump in the week or so following the typhoons.

CausalImpact graphs for all LMS activity

During time period NB-NC, all LMS activity also decreased significantly ( p  = 0.01). Student participation had an average value of 0.18. The counterfactual prediction was 0.23. The typhoons therefore had an estimated effect of − 0.045 with a 95% interval of [− 0.082, − 0.010]. When the data points during the intervention period are summed, the response variable had an overall value of 7.41. The counterfactual prediction was 9.25 with a 95% confidence interval of [7.83, 10.77]. Like time period NB-WC, student participation decreased by − 20% with a 95% confidence interval of [− 36%, − 5%]. Figure  2 b shows the CausalImpact graph for time period NB-NC.

The results for all LMS activity during time periods WB-WC and WB-NC were insignificant. Time period WB-WC yielded a p value of 0.044, while time period WB-NC yielded a p value of 0.033. However, in both cases, the signs of the 95% CI fluctuated, which means that even if the p value implies significance, the results cannot be meaningfully interpreted. Since time periods WB-WC and WB-NC included the class suspension, it is possible that the definition of the intervention period was too long and the effect of the typhoons had already worn off. Figure  2 c, d shows a visualization of this scenario. We trim off the slump that follows immediately after the typhoons. Although the cumulative graph still follows a decreasing trajectory, the difference between the predicted and actual data is no longer significant. Note that the graph shape does not change, regardless of time period. What changes is the size of the intervention period from the end of October to around the middle of November and the length of the graph’s tail.

During time periods NB-WC (Fig.  3 a) and WB-WC (Fig.  3 c), System activity decreased, but not significantly. Although the p value of time period NB-WC was 0.03 and student participation showed a decrease of − 26%, the 95% interval of this percentage was [− 52%, + 1%]. The p value of time period WB-WC was 0.04 and the response variable showed a decrease of − 25% with a 95% interval of [− 52%, + 5%]. These fluctuations of the sign during the post-periods of the two time periods meant that the effect is not significant and cannot be meaningfully interpreted (Coqueret & Guida, 2020 ).

CausalImpact graphs for System component

System activity during period NB-NC (Fig.  3 b) significantly decreased ( p  = 0.01). Student participation averaged 0.11 as opposed to a counterfactual prediction of 0.15 with a 95% interval of [0.12, 0.19]. The effect of the typhoons is estimated at − 0.046 with a 95% interval of [− 0.080, − 0.013]. The sum of student participation data points during the post-intervention period was 4.43 in contrast to a predicted 6.30 with a 95% interval of [4.96, 7.71].

The results of time period WB-NC (Fig.  3 d) were also statistically significant ( p  = 0.01). Student participation averaged 0.12 as opposed to the predicted 0.17 with a 95% interval of [0.13, 0.20]. The effect of the typhoons was therefore estimated at − 0.046 with a 95% interval of [− 0.081, − 0.0072]. The sum of the student participation data points was 4.04 in contrast to a predicted 5.57 with a 95% interval of [4.28, 6.70].

Assignments

The effects of the typhoons on student behavior on Assignments were not significant across any of the time periods. p values were 0.14, 0.348, and 0.195 for time periods NB-WC, WB-WC, and WB-NC, respectively. Although time period NB-NC had a p value of 0.04, student participation’s sign fluctuated. It showed a decrease of − 18% with a 95% interval of [− 37%, + 2%]. This meant that the result could not be meaningfully interpreted.

The effects of the typhoons on student behavior on Quizzes were not statistically significant for any of the four time periods. p values were 0.29, 0.39, 0.45, and 0.14 for time periods NB-WC, NB-NC, WB-WC, and WB-NC, respectively.

The purpose of this paper was to determine (1) the extent to which extreme weather affected student participation during online classes and (2) whether and at what point they were able to return to pre-typhoon levels of participation. It extends the earlier work by Lagmay and Rodrigo ( 2021 ) in several ways: The earlier work only included one time period definition, which we labelled in this paper as NB-NC, while this paper experiments with four different time period definitions. Furthermore, Lagmay and Rodrigo ( 2021 ) limited the discussion of the findings to the significance of the decrease, the standard deviation, and the confidence interval. This paper also discusses the absolute and relative effects which were not discussed in the prior paper. Despite these differences in scope, the findings were consistent: Student participation decreased as a whole but those certain components of participation remained at pre-typhoon levels. These findings need to be unpacked for greater nuance.

While student participation as a whole decreased, we found that the significance of the decrease varied, first depending on the definition of the intervention period and second depending on component. When the post-intervention time period excluded the Christmas break (time periods NB-NC and WB-NC), post-typhoon participation as measured in System component significantly decreased, while when the intervention time period excluded the additional week of post-Vamco class suspensions (time periods NB-WC and NB-NC), all LMS Logs significantly decreased.

What was most interesting was that participation in the Assignments and Quizzes components was not significantly different from their predicted behavior, regardless of time period. Because we did not examine the details of actual learning design, course activities, or relative weights of assessments, these findings suggest that students continued to comply with academic assessments as assignments and quizzes make measurable contributions to their grades. System behavior, on the other hand, refers to actions such as checking the course for announcements. These activities are generally not graded. This implies that students were able to continue complying with academic requirements despite the setbacks brought on by the typhoons.

The findings from this study are consistent with findings from prior work on the negative effects of interruptions on academic outcomes. Short-term, small-scale interruptions from social media use, family and friends, sleepiness, and computer malfunctions can derail concentration and throw learning off-course (Zhang et al., 2022 ; Zureick et al., 2018 ). Hence, students who experience these interruptions tend to have lower assessment scores than peers who do not. Larger-scale interruptions such as extreme weather and other natural disasters have adverse long-term effects on educational outcomes, especially among marginalized groups (Bernabe et al., 2021 ; Groppo & Kraehnert, 2017 ; Marchetta et al., 2018 ). It is therefore unsurprising that overall student participation dropped following Typhoons Goni and Vamco.

That students were able to continue engaging with Assignments and Quizzes calls for further reflection. How did students still have the capacity to work on assessments when it seemed most logical, under the circumstances, for them to deprioritize their studies in general? The work of Lai et al. ( 2019 ) offers some insight in this regard. They found two trajectories of school recovery after a disaster: low-interrupted and high-stable. The low-interrupted trajectory referred to school performance levels that dropped following a disaster, while the high-stable trajectory referred to relatively unchanged performance levels. Schools that had higher levels of attendance in general were more likely to have high-stable trajectories, while schools with a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students were more likely to have low-interrupted trajectories. Sustained engagement with assessments despite the typhoons implies that the university examined in this study had a high-stable trajectory and that its students, by and large, were not economically disadvantaged.

There are solutions available to mitigate the effects of inclement weather. Herrera-Almanza and Cas ( 2017 ) studied the long-term academic outcomes of Filipino public school students whose schools were built as part of the Typhoon-Resistant School Building Program of the Philippine government and the Government of Japan. The project made use of Japanese pre-fabrication construction methods and materials to build more structures that were less prone to storm damage, increasing post-typhoon access to schools. The researchers found that students from these beneficiary schools accumulated more years of schooling and were more likely to complete secondary school. Programs such as this illustrate ways in which policy makers can increase the resilience of economically disadvantaged communities.

Limitations

The generalizability of these findings is subject to at least five limitations. Firstly, CausalImpact analysis requires that the predictor variables should not be affected by the same intervention as the response variable (Brodersen & Hauser, 2014 –2017). In this case, it was the likely case that the teachers and non-editing teachers were affected by the typhoons, just as their students were. To this point, we offer two counterarguments: First, we used DTW to find the teacher and non-editing teacher features that were most predictive of student behaviors. The algorithm eliminated the features with no predictive power, leaving only those that could give us a reasonable estimate of student behavior. Multicollinearity was not an issue of concern because CausalImpact’s underlying model “uses spike and slab priors to combat collinearity” (K. Larsen, personal communications, June 29, 2021). The methodology is provided in (Larsen, 2016 ).

Second, we return to our theoretical framework regarding the Pygmalion Effect (Szumski & Karwowski, 2019 ). Teacher expectations have been shown to affect student behavior, achievement, and self-concept. Since teachers continued to provide learning materials and assessments after the typhoons and throughout the second quarter, this may have signaled to the students that they were still expected to fulfill their academic obligations.

Our second limitation has to do with the population from which the data were taken. Prior research cited in the “ Effects of extreme weather on academic achievement ” section showed that extreme weather has detrimental, long-term effects on student achievement, and yet these students seemed to have flourished despite these two typhoons. One possible explanation for this is that the students in this sample were among the best in the country. They generally came from well-to-do socioeconomic backgrounds, and their families had the economic stability to withstand the typhoon’s shocks. Their resilience may not be indicative of the resilience of the Philippines or any developing country as a whole. It may, at best, serve as validation of prior findings that the impact of extreme weather varies along socioeconomic lines. Those who are more financially able will survive, possibly flourish. While it would have been revelatory to perform this analysis on data from an LMS used by less economically fortunate people, such data were not available.

Third, the university had two LMSs working in parallel, Moodle and Canvas. We were only able to capture Moodle data for this study, and the classes using the Moodle server were generally the Computer Science and Management Information Systems classes. The students were therefore technology-savvy and adept at online modes of communication. Students from other courses might have encountered greater challenges.

Fourth, the data captured here represent LMS participation but not other important outcomes such as assessment results, the quality of the educational experience, or the mental health consequences of online learning coupled with severe weather. While students and faculty evidently powered through their requirements, it would be best to triangulate these results with findings and observations from other constituency checks, for a more complete reading of our community.

Finally, as mentioned in the “ Time series analysis methods ” section, we were not able to consider using CausalTransfer, a more updated version of CausalImpact, nor any of the neural network or deep learning approaches. Future studies may consider experimenting with these other approaches to determine if they yield better results.

Despite these limitations, this paper contributes to technology-enhanced education research and practice. For education researchers, this paper adds to the literature by applying CausalImpact analysis on LMS data to determine the effects of severe weather on students. It contributes to what is quantitatively known about how Philippine students cope with online learning. In the context of severe weather, quantitative research on this subject is still scarce.

This paper serves also as a possible model for researchers who wish to determine the effects of an intervention on a system. They can consider the use of CausalImpact as a possible approach if they have sufficient pre-intervention data for CausalImpact to draw an accurate model, a clearly defined intervention period, and sufficient post-intervention data to serve as a comparison. Future researchers should also be careful with their choice of predictor variables as the behavior of predictor variables should not be affected by the intervention.

For education practitioners, this paper provides evidence that schools and their students can be resilient, and that academic continuity is possible even in the face of difficult circumstances. However, evidence of resilience for some students should not be interpreted as resilience for all. Markers of resilience such as hope and confidence must be grounded in reality (Mahdiani & Ungar, 2021 ). Resilience should not be used as an excuse for social inequalities and should not shift the responsibility to survive and thrive on people who may lack the power or resources to do so. As extreme weather events that are characteristic to the Philippines, policy makers have to invest in typhoon-resistant infrastructure (Herrera-Almanza & Cas, 2017 ) and practitioners will have to provide marginalized students with more support in order to achieve desired educational outcomes.

Availability of data and materials

The dataset(s) supporting the conclusions of this article are available in the RPTEL_CausalImpact_Lagmay_Rodrigo repository, https://github.com/KielLagmay/RPTEL_CausalImpact_Lagmay_Rodrigo .

Project name: RPTEL_CausalImpact_Lagmay_Rodrigo.

Project home page: https://github.com/KielLagmay/RPTEL_CausalImpact_Lagmay_Rodrigo .

Archived version: N/A.

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Programming language: R, Python, Jupyter Notebook, Shell, PowerShell, and Batch.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Hiroyuki Kuromiya and Hiroaki Ogata of Kyoto University for their advice. Finally, we thank the Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences for its constant support.

Funding for this project was provided by Ateneo Research Institute for Science and Engineering (ARISE) of Ateneo de Manila University through the grant entitled: Analysis of Student and Faculty Behavior within Canvas and Moodle.

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EADL was primarily responsible for the quantitative analysis of the data and contributed to the writing of the paper. MMTR conceptualized the study, scaffolded the analysis of the data, and contributed to the writing of the paper. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Lagmay, E.A.D., Rodrigo, M.M.T. The impact of extreme weather on student online learning participation. RPTEL 17 , 26 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41039-022-00201-2

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Online classes and learning in the Philippines during the Covid-19 Pandemic

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Recommendations include enhancing technology access, addressing mental health concerns, and improving online teaching methods to mitigate learning delays caused by class cancellations in the Philippines during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Students' Perception on Online and Distance Learning and their Motivation and Learning Strategies in using Educational Technologies during COVID-19 Pandemic

Ernie C. Avila 1,2 , Gracia J. Abin 1 , Glenda A. Bien 1 , Dominador M. Acasamoso Jr. 1 and Dorren D. Arenque 1

Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd Journal of Physics: Conference Series , Volume 1933 , Virtual Conference on Engineering, Science and Technology (ViCEST) 2020, 12-13 August 2020, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Citation Ernie C. Avila et al 2021 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 1933 012130 DOI 10.1088/1742-6596/1933/1/012130

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1 Ragay, Camarines Sur Branch, Polytechnic University of the Philippines

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This descriptive study calculated the perceptions of 258 freshmen students of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines' Ragay, Camarines Sur Branch on the use of educational technologies in online and distance education, their level of motivation, and their learning strategies for the First Semester of Academic Year 2020-2021. It revealed that the students perceived that distance learning is excellent and essential. However, their access to the computer and other devices is limited. They perceived that their university branch's online or distance learning is moderately successful and that the university and their subject professors are moderately helpful in providing support and understanding during this type of learning arrangement. Likewise, they are motivated to use the educational technologies and perceived themselves to Often Utilized different learning strategies in using educational technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, it is recommended that instructors and students train before the start of the semester to improve the level of acceptance of students to this new kind of learning set up to ensure that they will achieve better competence relative to their chosen and enrolled degrees.

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Distance learning in the Philippines: A year of hits and misses

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This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

REMOTE EDUCATION. Parents and students return the modules to teachers at the Araullo High School in Manila on Tuesday, July 13, as the school year came to a close.

Every morning, Adelaide Dolar would ask a favor: could she charge her mobile phone at her neighbor’s house? She didn’t have electricity at home, and her children needed her gadget for online class work. She did this for the whole duration of the school year 2020-2021. 

The pandemic made it difficult for financially struggling families like hers to fulfill their children’s needs for distance learning, the 43-year-old vendor from Batangas province told Rappler in an interview on Sunday, July 18.

Despite this, she made sure that her children would not miss school the past year, when the government enforced a remote setup due to pandemic lockdowns.

Her three children – all basic education students – were enrolled under the modular learning system. The eldest, who was in Grade 10, needed to occasionally attend online classes. The younger ones, however, couldn’t just answer the modules distributed by the school; they also needed to watch video lessons uploaded on YouTube or do research for their classes.

With a meager income of P300 ($5.91) a day from selling afternoon snacks to her neighbors, Dolar had to budget this amount between their meals and an allotment of mobile data   for her children’s online classes.

“If they have online classes, I need to have P200 for internet ‘load.’ If my eldest son needs to attend a Google meet, I need to buy internet load worth P50 per hour. Of course, there’s also research that needs to be done, so the P50 load won’t be enough – that’s why we’re spending P200 for it. It will be registered for three days,” she said.

To make a living, Dolar and her husband sell snacks every afternoon in their neighborhood. Her husband has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, so he cannot help that much with household finances. Dolar also does laundry services just to get by.

Not good for mental health

Aside from the financial burden brought by remote education, Dolar said that her children’s mental health had been affected. Without teachers explaining the lessons to students, she had to change her morning routine so she could guide and motivate her children to answer their learning modules. That delayed her preparation of food she would sell in the afternoon.

“They’re looking for the [in-person] school. They said in-person classes are better. They miss their interaction with their classmates. They are unmotivated to study. What will happen next school year? Will we be in this kind of situation again?” Dolar asked.

“They were culture-shocked. They are not used to this kind of situation. They’re hoping to interact with their teachers and their classmates,” she added.

In a recent video interview released by the Ateneo School of Government, Professor Carmel Abao said that aside from the issue of accessibility, remote learning also had an impact on students’ mental health.

“There’s an issue on the impact of this kind of learning on mental health. I still think that this is not advisable. Our kids are not made for this kind of isolation. Even if you do perform well in online learning, it’s different if you’re able to see, feel, and talk with your classmates,” she said.

Students didn’t learn as much

In a Rappler Talk interview on Friday, July 16, senior high school graduate Cheska Avenido said she found the remote learning setup really difficult.

“Besides the adjustment under the new modes of learning, sometimes we ask ourselves if studying during a pandemic is still worth it, because there are a lot of uncertainties,” she said.

Dolar shared that sentiment, saying her children didn’t learn that much in the remote setup, as she could not teach them properly. Though Dolar graduated with a degree in computer science, she wasn’t able to practice any related profession.

“I think they’re learning, but learning with teachers is far way better. Sometimes, I find it really hard to understand their lessons. Face-to-face classes is still the best way to go,” Dolar said.

Aside from the school system being unprepared for the shift, remote education also posed a major challenge for students who did not have anyone to facilitate learning at home, or whose parents were not capable of guiding them due to lack of knowledge. (READ:  Parents bear the brunt of distance learning as classes shift online )

Dolar said that, most times, she was the one attending her children’s online classes, especially in mathematics, so she could explain the concepts to them when answering their modules.

An online survey conducted by the multisectoral group Movement for Safe, Equitable, Quality and Relevant Education (SEQuRE) found that 86.7% of students under modular learning, 66% under online learning, and 74% under blended learning said they “learned less” under the alternative modes of learning compared with the traditional face-to-face setup.

The survey also found that only 5.4% under the blended learning, 5.7% under modular learning, and 9.1% under online learning “learned more.”

The survey was conducted from June 25 to July 12 among 1,278 teachers, 1,299 Grades 4 to 12 students, and 3,172 parents.

Teachers’ Dignity Coalition chairperson Benjo Basas said in a Rappler interview that, while the teachers would always do their best to teach students under any circumstance, they didn’t have any control on how students would respond.

“Either of those modalities, whether online or modular, it was difficult to learn. It’s difficult for the students. It’s also difficult for the teachers because we’re not trained for this system,” he said.

In March, senators questioned a report from the Department of Education (DepEd) that said 99% of public school students obtained a passing grade in the first quarter of the school year (October-December 2020).

The lawmakers were baffled by the high passing rate because many students struggled with distance learning. They cited instances when it was the parents or household members who ended up answering the exercises in the learning modules.

In remote learning, some students pay someone else to do their classwork

Education Undersecretary Diosdado San Antonio said it was likely that teachers were being considerate and therefore gave students high passing rates.

When pandemic is over, Basas said, teachers would have a tougher job because the students will need to catch up on the level of learning that corresponds to their grade or class.

“We have a lot of catching up to do because we’re promoting students to the next level even though we’re unsure if they do actually learn. But then we cannot do something about it because we’re asked to be considerate since we’re in a pandemic,” he said.

Erroneous modules, not enough gadgets

Education advocates have said that the pandemic highlighted the gaps in the Philippine education system. This was evident in the erroneous learning modules distributed to public school students during the pandemic.

“Painful” grammatical errors ,  wrong math equations , and depictions of  gender stereotypes  alarmed a public already worried over the quality of education that over 24 million students were receiving during the pandemic.

Aside from learning module blunders, Ateneo’s Abao said the pandemic exposed the “cracks” in the country’s education system.

“If the problem before the pandemic was the lack of classrooms, the problem now is the lack of computers. We have a problem with the quantity and quality which were magnified by the pandemic,” she said.

Better than academic freeze

Still, there were those who appreciated that the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education were able to go ahead with the school year amid the pandemic.

Dolar said that, even though the implementation was flawed, distance learning was still better than having an academic break. (READ: School time out during a pandemic? Pros and cons of an academic break )

“They have nothing to do at home, that’s why it’s okay to have distance learning. But we hope that they can improve the implementation and provide support to parents, teachers, and students,” she said.

Professor Jayeel Cornelio, director of Ateneo de Manila University’s development studies program, said that while remote education provided an opportunity for those in the academe to be creative, it would not be as effective if not all had equal access to the tools needed for the digital shift.

“As a professor, [remote education for me] is a good. We take advantage of every platform available, but the question is – who is winning and losing here? The reality is that if you come from an elite private school, you can easily cope with it. But we cannot say that flexible learning is the way to go for small private schools and state universities,” he said.

Students and teachers remain safe from the virus while they continue learning from their homes. Despite the challenges brought by remote learning, senior high school graduate Avenido said she still felt unsafe to return to face-to-face classes.

“I’d be comfortable to return to face-to-face classes if the government finds better solutions to our pandemic problems. If they can find ways to contain virus spread and ramp up vaccination, it’s the only way I will feel safe to join face-to-face classes,” she said.

Over a year into the pandemic, the Philippines is still struggling to contain the deadly virus that has so far infected more than 1.5 million and has killed over 26,000 of its population. The country is bracing for a possible surge in infections, as the threat of a more virulent Delta variant looms.

Finding local solutions

Regina Sibal, lead convenor of education advocacy group Aral Pilipinas, said that, aside from the slow response, the government’s top-down approach in its policy making was another barrier in the reopening of schools. She said that the government should not be implementing a “blanket rule” across the country.

“Our remote learning now is for all schools and no provision is given to other areas that are able to do face-to-face classes. Disparity in education access has been more pronounced now, especially in marginalized areas that lack resources,” she said.

Sibal said that what government should be doing now is to provide local communities with guidelines on finding solutions specific to their areas and situations. (READ: Empower LGUs to make decisions on school opening – advocacy group )

President Rodrigo Duterte turned down several times calls for face-to-face classes due to the threat of the pandemic.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones, however, was hopeful the DepEd would get the go signal to start limited face-to-face classes in some 100 schools it had identified. She was banking on the vaccination of teachers and the planned inoculation of students.

Are PH schools ready for face-to-face classes during pandemic?

The DepEd had said that it was preparing for “the delivery of quality education no matter what the circumstances will be in the coming months.”

Public schools in the country will start classes for school year 2021-2022 on September 13 , while private schools can start as early as June since they closed the past school year earlier.

“Enhanced”  blended distance learning will continue to be implemented. But will the government make it right for millions of students this time around? – Rappler.com

Editors’ Note: All Filipino quotes were translated into English .

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View on effectiveness of online learning over in-person schooling Philippines 2021

Perception on the effectiveness of current distance learning compared to face-to-face schooling in the philippines as of april 2021.

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Online Classes in the PH Push Through Amid the Pandemic

• August 19, 2021

As the Philippines enters various lockdowns every month — with Manila on its third strictest lockdown this 2021 since COVID-19 pandemic broke out last year — online classes in the Philippines will continue. Most students and teachers would like to go back to face-to-face classes, but they really can’t do anything for now other than follow the government’s recommendation to continue mobile learning.

The Philippine government, together with the Department of Education (DepEd), announced last August 5 that the school year for this 2021 will officially open on September 13 and shall end on June 24, 2022. However, the fact remains that most youth can’t attend school, whether it is online or modular class, due to lack of material resources and provision. Hence, they become out-of-school youths .

Number of Out-of-School Youth Continually Rises Amid the Pandemic

An alarming number of students can’t attend online classes in the Philippines right now, and are thus are forced to drop out of school. On the other hand, parents are left to struggle to find work and daily source of income just to feed their families and provide for their children’s tuition fees.

According to the data from DepEd , 4 million students were not able to enroll for the last school year. This figure will keep growing unless there’s an upgrade in the educational system, or the government’s action to provide funds for students’ mobile learning .

What are Online Classes?

As one form of flexible learning widely used right now, online classes in the Philippines are courses held on the internet. Because of the pandemic, mobile learning is the way to go to continue learning. Either student attends online class or modular style.

In line with the new normal, the Department of Education established the Basic Education – Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP) as a response to protect the health and safety of the students, educators, and personnel from the ongoing pandemic. This aims to provide quality distance learning with the use of self-learning modules in digital form, radio, television, and the internet.

Advantages of Online Classes in the Philippines

Online classes are currently the type of educational system most education institutions use these days. Here are the advantages of online classes in the Philippines:

• It is convenient because students can reach their teachers and classmates online within the day.
• This arrangement offers flexibility because students can study anytime and teachers can teach from the comforts of their own homes, without having to stress what to wear and how to travel from home to school.
• It is the safest way to study right now because they don’t have to leave the house and worry about getting sick or catching the virus.
• Students can spend more time and catch up frequently with their families.

Disadvantages of Online Classes in the Philippines

Having that said; the impact of the pandemic forces students to endure the hassles that come with online classes. Here are the disadvantages of online classes in the Philippines:

• Lack of mobile gadgets to use for online classes hampers a student’s education.
• Time can be hard to manage properly. There is an expectation for students to juggle studies and help with household chores the entire day.
• Just to avoid catching the virus, both students and teachers struggle mentally and physically as they try to adjust to this mobile learning and teaching.
• Students who live in the rural areas lack internet connection. Others have to climb mountains, cross rivers, and walk for miles just to get signal or connect to free Wi-Fi to attend online class or download modules.
• The bills for electrical and internet connection double, as students stay at home and manage their studies. This also leaves out street children who have no means of paying for their families’ basic needs.

As online classes in the Philippines take off, street children are the ones having the hardest time adjusting to the new norm. Especially now that the educational system is focused on technology based learning , we can extend our help by looking for ways to donate and fund children’s education. Take the first step in extending your help by connecting to Childhope Philippines. Childhope aims to help street children and provide education and other types of help they can offer.

How Childhope Philippines Helped Street Children

The struggle to get school supplies, mobile gadgets, stable internet connection, financial provision to pay bills and other basic needs is too much to handle for parents who are truly having a hard time to provide. This is most especially true with the underprivileged families and children.

In light of this, Childhope Philippines continues its activities for street children , so they continue learning despite the struggle brought by the pandemic. The activities include the KalyEskwela Mobile Community Learning Hub (KMCLH), school supplies distribution, and Online Alternative Education Sessions.

1. KalyEskwela Mobile Community Learning Hub (KMCLH)

KMCLH provides access for street children’s beneficiaries to new learning technologies . This initiative aims to help them adapt to the new normal setup of online classes in the Philippines during this pandemic era.

In KMCLH, street children can use mobile tablets and access the internet for their online classes, all for free inside the KalyEskwela van. They also have street educators to facilitate and help the beneficiaries in their school-related tasks or concerns.

2. School Supplies Distribution Program

Childhope Philippines also held school supplies distribution to the street children. As of June 30, 2021, the foundation has distributed 882 sets of school supplies to the street children. Due to quarantine restrictions, the parents received the school supplies on behalf of the children. The new supplies encouraged the youngsters to attend and be ready for their online and modular classes.

3. Online Alternative Education Sessions

Another initiative Childhope Philippines implemented are the Online Alternative Education Sessions. The sessions are about Skills for Life, Life Skill Life Goal Planning, Gender Sensitivity, Teenage Pregnancy and Adolescent Reproductive Health. The sessions aim to help the participants to understand gender, become socially responsible by managing negative emotions and stress, make use of goal setting, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills in particular situation.

A Success Story of a Street Child

Because of continuous support and donation to Childhope Philippines, many street children received help and achieved their success stories. These include the story of Khay , a street child who sold sampaguita graduated with a degree in tourism. She’s one of the many beneficiaries of Childhope Philippines.

From the start of Khay’s childhood, she had to beg and sell sampaguita from different churches in Cubao, Quezon City; and Sampaloc, Manila. Her parents could not afford to send her to school with the little earnings they made. This encouraged her to sell sampaguita in her elementary years while attending school at the same time.

She was nine years old when she joined the sessions led by street educators. Khay actively took part in Childhope’s activities and learned rights and responsibilities as a child, proper hygiene and basic health care, and values like hard work and determination.

Khay was seen as leadership potential by Childhope, who in turn helped her hone her skills. Then, in her third year in high school, Khay was chosen to be a beneficiary of Childhope’s Educational Assistance Program (EAP). Because of her perseverance to finish studies, along with the donors’ support flooding generously for her schooling, Khay was able to complete her college studies.

Help Street Children Achieve Their Potential Today

Childhope Philippines is a non-profit organization for children in the Philippines, committed to promoting the welfare, uphold, and protect children’s rights, particularly children in street situations. Empower every student, including the street children, by volunteering and helping them attain their right to education in these trying times.

Together, let us contribute for a better future by giving hope to every child who will be the next generation. Contact us to donate and learn more about our initiative.

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Investigating blended learning interactions in Philippine schools through the community of inquiry framework

• Published: 16 February 2023

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This article reports on an exploratory case study that applied the Community of Inquiry framework in the K-12 Philippine setting, where there are limited studies on blended learning interactions and experiences. The study examined blended learning interactions across three schools in the Philippine K-12 system to investigate the following: (1) what is the nature of interactions in the blended learning classes? and (2) how do the interactions indicate learning communities as outcomes of blended learning? A mixed method approach to data collection was undertaken, which included student surveys, focus group discussions, teacher interviews, and class observations. The constant comparative analysis uncovered thick descriptions of blended learning interactions. Findings uncovered three themes on blended learning across levels of interactions within the Community of Inquiry presences: (i) best of both worlds, (ii) learning anytime and anywhere, and (iii) learning with technology. Descriptive statistics indicated high mean ratings across the presences, revealing positive experiences afforded by the use of various technologies and social media. The study concluded that learning communities are an outcome of blended learning interactions. A Developmental Model for K-12 Blended Learning Communities was recommended to inform teacher professional development on pedagogies and practices supportive of learning community building in contexts where blended learning may continue to thrive.

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Introduction

Research into K-12 blended learning is a relatively young field. Scholarship in blended learning (BL) is dominated by the United States, with minimal reports from New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and South Africa (Barbour, 2018 ). Research in other contexts has been encouraged (Hu et al., 2019 ), and extensive studies should be undertaken on K-12 because of the mixed results on the benefits of BL (Poirier et al., 2019 ). Thus, this research focuses on the Philippines. Pre-pandemic, BL in the Philippines emerged under the Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) to accommodate secondary-level students and adult learners (Villanueva, 2021 ). The observed growth coincided with the Department of Education’s shift from a 10-year primary and secondary education to a 12-year program, referred to as the K-12 Enhanced Basic Education program, which promotes quality education for all. This shift entailed implementing much-needed policies and reforms, including a commitment to invest in technology to improve access to quality education. The integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) in K-12 schools was anticipated to enable computerization programs, flexible learning options, and the use of educational technologies and online learning resources (Bonifacio, 2013 ). The key to the definition of BL is the extent of learner control and the personalization of learning it provides students, which distinguishes BL from technology-rich learning environments (Staker & Horn, 2014 ). Beyond studies that advocate for the successful implementation of BL programs is the challenge of bridging the divide among varied settings—contexts supportive of BL and contexts in which BL is emerging as a viable option. As such, this study aims to understand BL experiences in the context of Filipino students and their teachers and pursues two research questions: (1) what is the nature of interactions in blended learning classes? and (2) how do these indicate the learning communities are outcomes of BL?

By examining BL interactions, this study aims to present outcomes that bear implications for further research related to ICT integration and BL implementation in selected schools in the Philippines. The following section presents a brief literature review on BL; a description of the exploratory case study undertaken; and the results of this study, describing the nature of BL interactions through the Community of Inquiry framework (CoI) and emerging themes of this study. The remaining sections present the study's outcomes, including recommendations for future practice and research through a proposed Developmental Model of K-12 BL, highlighting learning community building.

Literature review

Learning communities and the coi framework.

Research into BL and online learning attested to the formation of learning communities wherein knowledge construction and social learning occur through interaction, collaboration, and personal accountability (Swan, 2002 ). A learning community may be described and understood as a set of interactions among community members to arrive at a common goal. Swan ( 2002 ) sought to extend the thinking along the lines of learning community building through interactivity discussed in Moore ( 1989 ), namely, interaction with content, interaction with instructors, and interaction with students. Swan ( 2003 ) outlined a practical way to appreciate the interrelatedness of these varied interactions (Fig.  1 ).

Interactivity and learning online by Swan ( 2003 ). Note. Adapted from “Learning effectiveness online: What the research tells us,” by K. Swan, in J. Bourne and J.C. Moore, Elements of quality online education, practice and direction (p. 17), 2003. Copyright 2003 by Sloan Center for Online Education . Reprinted with permission.

Key findings from these studies point to the value of interaction and harnessing opportunities among members of a learning community. In this instance, both teachers and learners were responsible for teaching, learning, and related social interactions. As such, the CoI has been associated with social constructivism, which claims that knowledge is constructed among members or participants of the learning community, in which interaction and collaboration are primarily mediated by communication and technology. The interplay of the three elements or presences was deemed necessary for a productive online learning community (Arbaugh et al., 2010 ). Cognitive presence (CP) is “the extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse in a critical community of inquiry” (Garrison et al., 2001 , p. 11). Social presence (SP) “is the ability of participants to identify with a group, communicate openly in a trusting environment, and develop personal and affective relationships progressively by way of projecting their individual personalities” (Garrison, 2017 , p. 25). Teaching presence (TP) is “the design, facilitation, and direction of cognitive and social processes for the purpose of realizing personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes” (Anderson et al., 2001 , p. 5). In the overlaps among the presences, specific aspects of the educational experience are addressed: setting the climate, selecting content, and supporting discourse to facilitate deep learning (Garrison et al., 2000 ; Swan & Ice, 2010 ).

However, a gap in the research is in the context of learning communities at the K-12 levels, which have increasingly adopted blended and online learning and flexible modes of delivery, particularly in non-Western contexts (Barbour & Reeves, 2009 ; Christensen et al., 2013 ). Despite sustained interest in the CoI, according to Befus ( 2016 ), few research endeavors have been completed in the context of K-12 teachers and students. This study aims to address this gap by focusing on the nature of BL interactions leading to the formation of learning communities.

BL models, benefits, and issues

In developed and industrialized countries, definitions and models of BL capture growing practices and acceptance at the higher education and K-12 levels. BL is the “thoughtful integration of classroom face-to-face learning experiences with online learning experiences” (Garrison & Kanuka, 2004 , p. 96). Often considered synonymous with hybrid learning, BL employs any combination of delivery methods, such as face-to-face instruction with synchronous or asynchronous modes, through the integration of technology tools for learning (Picciano et al., 2013 ). The number of models of K-12 BL programs is increasing with the advancement of technology and web 2.0 tools for learning. These models represent the extent to which the personalization of learning is afforded by the curriculum and how teachers tailor their teaching to increase academic engagement (Staker & Horn, 2014 ) while completing the learning modalities within a prescribed schedule or as allowed by the teacher (Halverson et al., 2017 ). Using these models, schools determine how to streamline BL offerings to accommodate students’ college or career goals, including credit recovery and advanced placement (Barbour et al., 2011 ). Graham ( 2009 ) allocated BL into categories of blends based on various examples observed primarily in higher education (Fig.  2 ).

Copyright 2009 by IGI Global. Adapted with permission

Categories of Blends. Note. Adapted from “Blended Learning Models” by C.R. Graham, in M. Khosrow-Pour (Ed) Encyclopedia of Information and Science Technology (p. 376), 2009, Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Thus far, all these models and categories characterize BL in terms of the degree of blendedness, delivery modes, and use of technology and other resources but are largely reported in developed countries (Halverson et al., 2012 ). With the pandemic forcing a rapid shift of course delivery to online and remote learning, new directions for BL as a productive new normal are being considered (Megahed & Ghoneim, 2022 ), even in settings with very limited resources (Shohel et al., 2022 ). Hence, further studies are recommended to provide insights into the actual experiences and perspectives of K-12 teachers and students in contexts where BL is emerging (Villanueva, 2021 ). Research in these areas informs BL practices and the professional development of teachers.

BL in the Philippines

A brief review of the K-12 system in the Philippines revealed that within the public schools, there are alternative learning programs targeting independent learners, youths in difficult circumstances, and potential school leavers ( DepEd Order No. 54 s.12 , Phils). These programs under the ADM provide access and flexibility to the current basic education offerings via assistance from ICTs (Seameo-Innotech, 2019 ). One type of ADM is the Open High School Program, which aims to enable youth and adults to continue and complete a secondary education outside of the usual classroom delivery ( Open High School System Act 2014 (Phils) s.2277). Another type of ADM is the eLearning Program, adopted selectively in city school districts. This program capitalizes on the strengths of BL delivery and support from current stakeholders.

Cultural barriers and issues relating to quality access and infrastructure for BL and ICT integration in the K-12 setting are present in the Philippines (Aguinaldo, 2013 ; Kubota et al., 2018 ). Despite these, some Filipino teachers hold favorable attitudes and positive perceptions toward ICT use in their classrooms and high regard for the innovation it provides (Cajilig, 2009 ; Dela Rosa, 2016 ). Some students have gained motivation and confidence while learning with the supplementary use of digital technologies in their classes (Aguinaldo, 2013 ; Carreon, 2018 ); hence, selected schools have provided access to marginalized populations, for which BL and flexible learning options are emerging (Villanueva, 2021 ).

This study aims to determine whether teachers and students experience the same benefits of BL in settings such as the Philippines, in which ICT integration remains a challenge. As such, positive outcomes of this study may be highlighted so that schools may be able to capitalize on their strengths while taking note of strategies and recommendations to further justify BL where conditions allow it to succeed.

Methodology

This study implemented an exploratory case study in three BL classes, which allowed for the exploration of the phenomenon as the major area of interest (Zainal, 2007 ). The BL classes comprised a single case, which was selected through snowball and convenience sampling with the assistance of school principals and teachers in an urban school district. This district was supervised by the Department of Education Central Office. The classes were further delimited to a specific year level and a cohort of learners so that course content and topics were familiar and understandable to the researcher, who was the primary data collection instrument in the qualitative aspects of the research design (Merriam, 2009 ; Stake, 1995 ).

The schools were designated letter codes X, Y, and Z (Table 1 ), with a range of student and teacher participants for the mixed method data collection. Qualitative methods were used primarily to collect data from various sources while being concerned with the search for meaning through multiple views (Creswell, 2012 ). This study included student focus group discussions (FGDs), teacher interviews, and class observations. The quantitative data collection was undertaken through surveys from the sample size indicated in Table 1 .

Data collection and analysis

The data collection was undertaken for 6 months at a time convenient to the participants and under the guidelines set by the school district office to avoid disrupting class schedules. As such, the researcher worked around the realities of data collection in the natural setting of the participants, given their class schedules, deadlines, and major school activities; hence, there are differences in the number of student participants across data collection methods in Table 1 .

Surveys are an effective means to evaluate individual experiences, perceptions, or beliefs and their relationship to the phenomenon under study (Creswell, 1998 ). The researcher found value in using surveys as valid means to establish the profile of the blended learning programs and research participants and gauge their general perception and satisfaction with their BL experiences. Two surveys were administered at different stages of the data collection phase. The first survey was the CoI Survey Part 1, with 35 items adapted from the Likert-scaled instrument validated through an empirical study on higher education by Arbaugh et al. ( 2008 ). This survey measured the overall educational experiences of students through the categories of CP, SP, and TP. A bilingual version was developed from the original open-source survey to ensure proper use among Filipino secondary-level students. This accommodation was provided in consideration of students exposed to the use of English and Filipino as the medium of instruction in their schools. The CoI Survey Part 2 comprised open-ended questions designed to elicit responses on BL interactions. To gauge overall satisfaction, this study administered an adapted version of the “BL Toolkit Survey Instrument” (n.d.), an open-source survey on BL for students. The adaptation comprised six items from the original toolkit and was modified for the K-12 setting, for example, using emojis in the rating scale and corresponding descriptors (e.g., definitely not to definitely , much worse to much better ). In both surveys, data collection on student profiles was included in determining the access to and use of the internet, digital devices, and ICTs. The data analysis from the surveys comprised descriptive statistics, namely, mean, median, and standard deviation for the CoI Survey Part 1 n  = 40 participant responses. These were used in support of qualitative results on CP, SP, and TP.

FGDs are useful, especially when there is limited time for data collection and research participants will be able to offer valuable information (Creswell, 2012 ). In this study, the FGD was undertaken with eight groups to collect additional information and assist the researcher in interpreting class observations. In these FGDs, member checks were undertaken to collect feedback on descriptions of BL interactions and the manifestations of the presences midway through the data collection.

When collected in case study research, interview data become sources of descriptions and interpretations with multiple viewpoints (Stake, 1995 ). A case study affords a flexible flow of questioning (Yin, 2009 ) while the researcher remains able to guide the participant to elicit information through increasingly specific types of questions (Creswell, 2012 ). Due consideration of participants’ views and the researcher’s intent and direction was accommodated in this study. During the interview sessions, teachers were encouraged to share anecdotes and narrate experiences on BL or explain further through follow-up questions, which were open-ended in nature and aligned with the student CoI Survey Part 2 and FGD questions.

The data generated from the quantitative measures were analyzed and reported in conjunction with the qualitative findings in the form of thick descriptions of BL interactions. Thematic analysis was employed for the qualitative data from selected items of the survey results, FGD, interview responses, and class observations. This article covers the results based on the data analysis suggested by Miles and Huberman ( 1994 ). Inferences were formed by coding and writing summaries, teasing out themes, and creating memos (Merriam, 2009 ; Miles & Huberman, 1994 ). The researcher ensured that safeguards for trustworthiness and integrity were used and that ethical protocols were followed throughout the study.

BL as the best of both worlds

BL as the best of both worlds held similar meanings among the students. First, it provided opportunities for students to learn independently and engage in cooperative or collaborative work. A substantial part of students’ “learning on my own” is interactions with content when online. Cooperative learning for the students meant interacting with peers during small-group work while at school, where interacting with their teachers was equally important. When online, they collaborated by relying on each other’s strengths to complete what was required.

CP: Interaction with content

Findings revealed CP’s manifestations because students were actively engaged in their learning and others to accomplish activities. Among all items in the CoI Survey Part 1, CP items gained the highest mean ratings among all the elements. For example, Items CP 24 and CP25 (Table 2 ) revealed that most students described their BL experiences as challenging but triggering their curiosity and motivation to explore questions. The lowest mean score, 3.63, was for Item CP23. Overall, students found that while engaging with the varied content their critical thinking was challenged through the BL face-to-face learning activities, online modules, quizzes, and assessments.

Students generally appreciated the content prepared and posted by their teachers in their school’s learning management system (LMS) and Facebook (FB) Messenger, as well as reading materials in face-to-face classes. In face-to-face lessons, interaction with content was observed during classroom observations, where the content was provided by the teacher during lectures and discussions through the blackboard or whiteboard, a projector, or a television. When online, most students liked the idea of searching for additional content related to current lessons, which can be undertaken conveniently.

Interaction with content also meant that their BL experiences entailed “learning by myself.” To Sheila and Aimee of School X, this kind of interaction involved finding online assessments, which became their “source of knowledge” and a way to challenge themselves “without being taught exactly about it.” Aimee explained that studying on her own was sometimes preferred  "because I feel I can understand more.”

However, Rachel from School Y mentioned that “not everything was really provided in the platforms.” Thus, interaction with content also meant that students actively searched for online content beyond their virtual classrooms as a way to explore and discover knowledge. Some students compared their online search for content as more satisfying than looking at textbooks, where the information and examples were “limited.” Learning from video content became part of their routine as they began to discern which lectures provided additional explanations for their lessons. Students also indicated that through self-study, they practiced more than without it and gained mastery; therefore, their opportunity to achieve higher grades increased. By accomplishing schoolwork online, students perceived that their class preparation improved.

SP: Interaction with peers

Students across class groups generally described that being online and independent studying was “easier,” “fun,” or “challenging.” Going online was an opportunity to interact and socialize and was thus beneficial socially and academically. For the block section of Grade 10 students, being face-to-face in school made them feel part of the school community, where their “small class” ran alongside classes of “regular students.” They had an opportunity to join competitions as a way to make themselves known and engage in school clubs as part of their student life. Likewise, the quantitative results indicated positive ratings of the SP items in the survey. Item SP14 on Affective Expression gained the highest mean rating and lowest standard deviation among all survey items (Table 2 ). Most of the student responses demonstrated the ease of communicating and interacting online through FB Messenger and the LMS platform, as observed in all three items under Interactive Communication, SP17-SP19. These results also demonstrate that online communication among K-12 students is an excellent way to interact and learn. Items under Group Cohesion indicated disparate results, namely, in Item SP20, about trust among classmates and peers while interacting and learning together. Schools X and Y revealed trust maintenance, despite disagreements or issues, among groupmates in the survey. School Z attested to having fewer online and face-to-face collaborations, although connectedness was perceived within their group.

Cooperative learning and collaborative work occurred online and face-to-face, as indicated by most students. Joey of School X said, “You can really see us still buzzing 11:00 at night, still talking about how we are going to do things the following day.” For the students, collaborative work meant engaging in face-to-face small-group work. Ms. Lota was a Filipino language teacher at School X and perceived that face-to-face class time was a better way to conduct cooperative learning, believing that group work was more difficult online than in face-to-face situations. Data from student FGDs indicated otherwise. When online and working together on projects, students collaborated by relying on each other’s strengths to complete what was required. Students from School X described working collaboratively as helping others understand lessons and monitoring each other’s work through the aid of technology.

All teachers viewed the online work as an opportunity for students to do work without much intervention or discussions directed by the teacher. Students noticed their teachers as sometimes being present online and said, “We know they are online, but usually, they let us do the work.” However, for the group of open high school students in School Z, collaborating online was rare owing to the difficulty in finding a common time to be online. Mia said, “I think it’s messier when we have groupings.” Other students stated that some were busy with domestic work or caring for their family members. Home responsibilities were not, however, considered by students as a barrier to their learning. Diego recounted, “I’m comfortable working by myself because I am able to focus.” Doing individual work did not prevent them from asking for help as they continued communicating with their peers about their lessons by private messaging, texting, or email.

TP: Interaction with teachers

The TP findings provided evidence of teachers fulfilling their main function to ensure student learning and content engagement. Students appreciated the teaching through content selected and organized by their teachers and students’ interactions with their teachers. The CoI Survey results of TP revealed that students perceived that all teacher participants in the study were cognizant of their role in organizing the expected topics to be covered and the corresponding content and assessments to make BL worth their time. In the Design and Organization category were Items TP1 and TP2, which related to how the teachers set the curriculum and communicate subject topics and goals. Item TP4 pertained to the communication of time parameters and received the highest mean rating, 4.25, in that category (Table 2 ). The timelines were perceived to provide structure and focus for the work that students would complete individually or in groups. However, students mentioned that they rarely received online feedback, revealed by the results of Item TP13, with a mean rating of 3.57, under the Direct Instruction category. Thus, receiving feedback was a general concern among the students. Item TP6, in the Facilitating Discourse category, received the highest mean rating, 4.30, among all the TP items on the CoI Survey. The item pertained to student questions and discussions encouraged during the classroom observation. Students’ online conversations were mainly conducted in their group chats to help each other understand lessons, indicating TP was driven by students.

Data from teacher participants supported students’ views of their BL experiences, as well as their positive experiences of their concrete actions. Teachers mentioned posting links in their LMS or through FB groups, which students described as useful information they appreciated. Ms. Lota ensured that her learning activities were posted accordingly, with clear instructions and deadlines. Mr. Bobby, another language teacher, posted additional activities using Google Classroom and in “every mode made possible” to provide the information directly to his students. Ms. Jessie, the science teacher, posted additional reminders to guide first-year BL students. Hence, BL experiences across the classes were perceived by the students as “learning more.”

Teachers expressed that when face-to-face, “we really see students recite and participate.” Sienna of School X noticed that sometimes, self-study was insufficient, stating that “the face-to-face sessions help us understand more [than the online sessions]” because they saw their teacher explain the homework. Class times were also ways to complete administrative tasks. Mr. Earl of School X observed that teachers received and checked submissions and provided general feedback face-to-face. Students of School Y also mentioned that being in school meant opportunities to resolve interpersonal issues with the guidance of their Homeroom Adviser or Guidance Counselor.

Learning anytime, anywhere

For students, BL mostly meant staying connected for easy access to the information they needed, regardless of location, learning anytime and anywhere. They went as far as saying that studying can occur while “at a relative’s house,” “by the river or amidst nature,” and “while on family vacation without having to bring books.” Teachers also observed the flexibility that BL afforded the students, and one teacher said, “They can work and fit their schedule around their learning more easily.” This observation was especially true for some students who had domestic responsibilities at home or day jobs. Flexibility for students also meant that they managed their time for studying and recreational activities. Teresa of School X stated, “You don’t always get pressured because your time is yours. You decide how to schedule your time.” Even an intermittent internet connection did not pose much of a problem for students, who mentioned, “We have classmates located in mountainous areas where internet is not always good. While at school, we tell them in advance that if they can go online at a certain time, we will just give the detailed points.” As such, students relied consistently on chatting using FB Messenger, accessed through their inexpensive mobile plans.

Two homeroom advisers mentioned that an open line of communication was valuable for various reasons. Mr. Bobby said, “I cannot just abandon them to do things on their own. It’s hard for me only to see them face-to-face. I need to have a connection with them always, anytime, from wherever they are.” Ms. Jessie remarked, “I also contact parents or guardians because they have a major responsibility over their children. They help the teachers remind their children to do the assessments.” For Mr. Earl, an eLearning Coordinator, staying connected was important for monitoring technical glitches and ensuring issues could be resolved immediately to sustain learning.

However, the view of learning anytime, anywhere implied different notions of time and space to learn and work among the teachers and students. Ms. Jessie perceived that BL benefited her students with learning needs, who were afforded extended time to complete their work because “the class is 24 hours open.” Teachers also believed that BL students had “more time” to do schoolwork than regular students or in traditional classrooms. Some students, however, shared an additional perspective on this notion of “more time.” Students from Class X indicated that teachers assumed that the students had “more time;” thus, their amount of academic work was more than for their face-to-face classes. Having additional work made the students feel that their time to comply with the academic requirements was limited. Thus, for most of the students, BL was also described as “challenging” and a way to learn responsibility and time management.

Learning with technology

The BL Toolkit survey demonstrated that most students in the FGD reported on their access to laptops/gadgets and the internet and the frequency of the types of technology they used to complete their online work. Results based on n = 21 responses across three schools are depicted in Fig.  3 .

Results from blended learning survey: internet access. Note . Adapted from “Investigating Experiences and Outcomes in K-12 Blended Learning Classes through the Community of Inquiry Framework” by J.A. Villanueva, 2020, p. 131. ( https://eprints.usq.edu.au/40350/ ). Doctoral Dissertation. University of Southern Queensland.

The aforementioned provided an overall picture of student experiences of BL and ICT use. The CoI Survey Part 1 did not investigate student ICT use in detail, such as how they accessed the internet and used various ICTs for interaction and learning.

An item in the CoI Survey Part 2 collected student profiles to determine the frequency of use of selected ICTs and applications while engaged in BL (Fig.  4 ).

Results from CoI survey part 2: frequency of ICT use. Note . Adapted from “Investigating Experiences and Outcomes in K-12 Blended Learning Classes through the Community of Inquiry Framework” by J.A. Villanueva, 2020, p. 131. ( https://eprints.usq.edu.au/40350/ ). Doctoral Dissertation. University of Southern Queensland

As revealed above, the use of the LMS and group chats on FB Messenger were the primary means for students to accomplish their online work. Text messaging was sometimes used, and group emails were used the least. The students’ top three preferences were group chats and the LMS platform, because they are officially sanctioned by the school, and other ICT applications. Students indicated that they used other educational websites and applications. Students also mentioned using programs they had learned through their ICT subjects, such as Github, Circuito, and Photoshop, and other sites accessed at their preference or depending on the content that was covered in class, for example, Wikipedia, Khan Academy, YouTube, and Google Scholar.

The results of the Blended Learning Toolkit included those from items related to BL satisfaction, interaction, and technology. One item considered the extent to which technology affected the students’ interactions with their classmates and teachers (Fig.  5 ).

Results from blended learning toolkit survey items on technology and blended learning. Note . Adapted from “Investigating Experiences and Outcomes in K-12 Blended Learning Classes through the Community of Inquiry Framework” by J.A. Villanueva, 2020, p. 132. ( https://eprints.usq.edu.au/40350/ ). Doctoral Dissertation. University of Southern Queensland.

In Fig.  5 , most students recognized the effect of technology on their interactions with their teachers and classmates. Most students responded that technology produced “a little better” to “much better” effect on their BL interactions with teachers and classmates. These results indicate a positive effect on the students’ BL interactions.

The results on student satisfaction and preference for BL are depicted in Fig.  6 . Most students were satisfied with their BL classes and wanted to continue with BL rather than attending regular daily class sessions. Regarding the level of student satisfaction with BL, most students generally perceived technology as a positive contribution to their BL interactions. These findings elucidate the role of technology in their daily lives as students and as adolescent learners participating in BL.

Items from blended learning survey with student participants. Note . Adapted from “Investigating Experiences and Outcomes in K-12 Blended Learning Classes through the Community of Inquiry Framework” by J.A. Villanueva, 2020, p. 133. ( https://eprints.usq.edu.au/40350/ ). Doctoral Dissertation. University of Southern Queensland.

Some students expressed, “I like the online study,” mainly due to the use of ICTs “to encounter a new method of learning which is a great way to test my mind” and “It’s like motivation to study every day.” Students enjoyed the challenge of using ICT applications such as video editing and photo editing. In contrast with these positive experiences of BL related to technology, one subject teacher said, “There is also the problem of internet connection. It has to be very good.” Thus, technology use was dependent on good internet access.

Teachers and students perceived BL as either “different,” “emerging,” “innovative,” or a “new adventure.” Teachers’ explanations were related to the use of technology. Mr. Wilfred posited that implementing BL helped him “keep abreast with the 21 st -century trends” and “devise different teaching approaches.” Mr. Earl had used BL for 4 years and said that BL was “by far, the most challenging way of teaching.” As an ICT subject teacher and the eLearning Coordinator of School X, he perceived that the biggest challenge was “to gain the commitment of the teachers to grasp and embrace the program.”

BL was described as an opportunity for teachers and students to improve their skills for using technology. Teachers perceived that they were able to enhance their ICT skills and think of other strategies to teach. Mr. Bobby said, “There is so much more to learn and discover. It helps teachers innovate teaching strategies and techniques.” A student expressed an appreciation for honing her skills through BL and said, “I can use my training on self-studying for future use and the talent I acquired from using applications, especially in college.” Beyond learning ICT skills, a few students stated that BL was a means of improving their leadership skills, group work skills, socialization, and behavior.

What is the nature of interaction in BL classes?

Unlike most studies on BL, which have focused on either face-to-face and online work or comparisons between these modes of delivery (Halverson et al., 2014 ), this study examined interactions in a more integrative way. In doing so, this research revealed that students and teachers viewed their face-to-face and online experiences as positive. They sensed continuity in their activities, lessons, and communications because teachers and students used offline and online activities to keep connected. Teachers performed these actions consciously, but students seemed to perform them intuitively and incidentally. For homeroom teachers in this study, social interactions provided opportunities to build rapport and relationships while keeping connected. These important community building processes have been observed in face-to-face adult communities or organizations (Manalili, 2013 ; Peck, 2010 ) and in higher education (Villanueva & Librero, 2010 ). This study demonstrated similar findings in the context of the Philippine K-12 system; thus, this study adds to the data on BL in Asia and in the K-12 context.

BL interactions were also perceived as a means for students to socialize, creating a feeling of connectedness for students. A sense of community has been observed among adult members of virtual and fully online learning communities, as well as in blended and fully online courses (Chatterjee & Correia, 2020 ; Liu, 2007 ; Shea, 2006 ). These studies, however, were mostly undertaken in higher education settings. This study revealed that BL promoted a sense of community among K-12 students. The feeling of connectedness is due to varied interactions, especially with their teachers and peers, which are perceived by high school students and teachers to be important. Thus far, this study has established that student satisfaction, perceived learning, and a sense of community are outcomes of K-12 BL interactions. Contrastingly, other studies revealed that these outcomes are not solely attributed to BL but are influenced by the role of technology (Deutsch, 2010 ; Lomicka & Lord, 2007 ; Velasquez et al., 2013 ) and the choice of media (Deng & Tavares, 2013 ; Milošević et al., 2015 ). These aspects are further analyzed in the following sections.

Use of social media

Being transparent regarding their social media profiles and comments was an accepted practice among the teachers and students. Interactions using FB Messenger group chat sustained communication and learning between teachers and students. These findings reinforced prior findings in support of social media as a powerful tool for interaction, learning, and keeping connected, although these studies were mostly undertaken with adults (Bowers-Campbell, 2008 ; Milošević et al., 2015 ; Waiyahong, 2014 ). Facebook is an inexpensive, practical means to stay connected in the Philippines; therefore, the teachers and students maximized its use. When chatting over social media, social interactions are generally accepted as part of learning because adolescent learners seem to undertake this naturally through exposure to Facebook on their mobile phones.

This study provided evidence of the effective use of Facebook for learning through mobile phones at a time when government officials in the Philippines questioned its use in class-related work and classrooms (Hernando-Malipot, 2019 ). The positive experiences of BL established in this study reinforce the current actions implemented in these BL classes to set guidelines to monitor proper usage of Facebook rather than have a blanket policy of non-usage.

Role of technology

Similar to findings from research on blended and online learning in higher education, this study found that technology provided motivation and was a positive medium for the attainment of shared goals. These findings support those of K-12 research on BL in Western countries, as reported by Staker and Horn ( 2012 ). In the Philippine setting, the added motivation among high school students can be attributed to the satisfaction of searching online, learning ICT skills, and being able to experience them independently. The study found that the opportunity to use computers, digital devices, and programs available in their school environment also attracted students to BL programs while allowing for flexibility and autonomy in learning. This study reported on the overall positive perception of the use of technology and the experience of BL. These positive outcomes also resulted in positive views on the role of technology in the students’ current and future careers. As such, this study should be able to leverage additional support for the integration of ICTs in schools and for policies in the distribution and use of educational ICT applications and devices among Filipino secondary-level students. The support needed is further justified by recent shifts to distance education and online learning in higher education in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the literature, access to the internet and computers were reported as major barriers to blended and online learning in the Philippines and overall ICT integration in classrooms (Aguinaldo, 2013 ; Barbour et al., 2011 ; Kubota et al., 2018 ). However, this study revealed that pre-pandemic, forms of BL programs were used in the public school system (Appendix A). Residing in an urban area with sufficient access to technology enabled the BL programs to sustain and enhance learning experiences among K-12 teachers and students. The use of LMS platforms and FB Messenger combined with the student’s choice of ICT applications and online sources demonstrated the enabling role of technology in BL interactions while students were learning independently and with others. Despite the shift to entirely online and remote learning during the pandemic, schools will probably gradually open in the forthcoming school year, with an increased value placed on the use of ICTs in teaching and learning. As such, the BL programs documented in this study demonstrate that pedagogy and technology use as developmental and at different stages. K-12 schools may consider and learn from these BL programs and consider learning community building, as discussed in the next section.

How do the interactions indicate learning communities as outcomes of BL?

This study revealed forms of interaction in the context of K-12 learners provide a sense of community, a construct examined in higher education research (McMillan & Chavis, 1986 ; Rovai, 2002 ). This study showed how teachers use offline and online activities to keep connected as a learning community: teachers did so consciously, and students seemed to do so intuitively and incidentally. For homeroom teachers in this study, social interactions provided opportunities to build rapport and relationships while keeping connected. These important processes of community building have been observed in face-to-face adult communities or organizations (Hope & Timmel, 1984 ; Peck, 2010 ) and distance education classes (Murphy & Rodríguez-Manzanares, 2012 ). This study affirmed that community building was also observable in the context of the Philippine K-12 system. This study found that the process of learning community building is dynamic and evolving as teachers and students continue to enact and experience what it means to be a learning community within the conditions afforded by their BL classes and through their choice and use of technologies. Moreover, the findings illuminated evidence of learning communities as outcomes of K-12 BL classes through the CoI presences and corresponding levels of interaction, where connectedness and learning socially with peers were reinforced in both face-to-face and online interactions.

The dynamics of learning community building, indicated by the BL programs in the Philippines, aligned with other those of models of BL in research outside the Philippines on the use of ICTs and pedagogies (Appendix A). Graham ( 2009 ) discussed the categories and levels of blendedness in Western countries because these relate to interaction and technology use and access (Fig.  1 ). Enabling blends were described as focusing on access and convenience issues to ensure both modes deliver “equivalent” learning experiences; enhancing blends resulted to positive changes to pedagogy through additional resources (Graham, 2009 ). This study found meaning in these categories to further understand and appreciate BL in its emergent stages and in relation to learning community building and the role of technology. An enabling blend was indicated through BL at the class level of open high school students in School Z, where the time and space allowed for face-to-face interactions once per week in school. The use of FB Messenger addresses the issue of access. Moreover, FB was used to maintain open, interactive communication between teachers and students in School Z. An enhancing blend was demonstrated by School Y students and teachers who were willing to invest time engaging with content in their LMS and anticipate interacting with their peers and teachers. A transformative blend was indicated by School X, a block section of high school students who have been classmates for more than 3 years in a Science high school, through face-to-face and online collaborations facilitated by the teacher or driven by students and enriched through the use of various ICTs.

This study suggests that further investigation of learning communities is required. The outcomes of the K-12 BL interactions through the three elements of the CoI framework, specifically CP, SP, and TP, along with its intersections, require further research (Parker & Herrington, 2015 ; Peacock & Cowan, 2016 ). The CoI elements have been validated as distinct measures of educational experiences in higher education for almost two decades (Castellanos-Reyes, 2019), and further research in the K-12 setting has been recommended (Befus, 2019; Garrison, 2017 ). Such studies increase the appreciation for BL through evidence supportive of the dynamics of learning community building across the categories of blends, illustrated by the CoI framework embedded in Fig.  7 .

Developmental model of K-12 blended learning communities by Villanueva ( 2020 ). Note. Adapted from “Blended Learning Models” by C.R. Graham, in M. Khosrow-Pour (Ed), Encyclopedia of Information and Science Technology ( p. 376), 2009, Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

On the basis of a developmental model, this study posits that as teachers and students, in enabling blends and enhancing blends, enact learning community building and engage in constructivist learning, the intersections of the CoI presences increase in prominence. This model serves to guide, inform, and influence K-12 BL practices as interactions within BL classes and/or programs, which have the potential to become transformative blends. In improving the understanding of learning community building as a developmental process within K-12 BL, the aforementioned model is therefore recommended for further application and research, especially in non-Western contexts and developing countries in Asia where BL have promising possibilities.

Limitations

This research was an exploratory case study. Hence, the findings and results are only generalizable to the specific population and context of the Philippine K-12 system where BL classes and programs have been implemented. The study was conducted with a limited number of participants, and consent was provided by their parents. Data collection was also within the boundaries of time accorded by the selected K-12 schools to conform to the Department of Education Division Office's protocols for data collection. For example, the face-to-face class observations were challenging to schedule because these coincided with major school activities, assessments, and examinations. The stored data of online classes were subject to what students or teachers were willing to share and discuss. However, these still contributed to having a sufficient amount of data collected through the student FGD and teacher interviews to explore the presences in relation to community building. Despite these limitations, the results and their applicability in the study context are valid. The validity is based on the triangulation of data afforded by the qualitative methodology applied.

This study examined BL interactions through three surrounding themes and with corresponding elements of the CoI framework across levels of interaction. The themes included BL as the best of both worlds, learning anytime and anywhere, and learning with technology. These themes have been referred to in higher education research on BL, which found relevance in the Philippine K-12 setting even before the shift to remote and online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The evidence attested to the essential value or important meanings of BL among Filipino students and their teachers.

Opportunities for technology integration and BL was evidenced by different BL programs implemented at three public schools in the Philippines: (a) a regular school with teacher-driven BL class under an open high school program; (b) a premier Science High School with a parallel BL block section for each level, and (c) a regular school with a school-wide BL at the high school levels. The last two schools had eLearning Programs supported by the city’s government and the Schools Division Office. Conditions in these schools are representative of those in the city schools or municipal school districts selected by the Department of Education in the Philippines. These BL programs have thrived within settings that allowed teachers and students to gain positive teaching and learning experiences. In the case of the Philippine K-12 system, BL programs were initiated at the classroom and school district levels, and its main drivers are students, teachers, and school leaders.

This study established the importance of using other measures of BL to complement the CoI Survey based on Arbaugh et al.’s ( 2008 ) CoI instrument validated in higher education. The results from the open-source BL Toolkit Survey and the CoI instrument adapted for Filipino K-12 teachers and students, which included open-ended questions, revealed aspects of BL that held unique meanings among the participants in this study. For example the interactions with teachers alongside the use of ICTs, were found to be equally valuable to secondary school students. The results indicated the role of technology and the stakeholders’ support of technology as enabling conditions within the school system to ensure teacher and student participation in BL programs.

The results justify BL as an innovation deserving support within the Philippine educational system. The outcomes point to apply to maintaining current classroom pedagogies or gradually infusing constructivist teaching approaches under the guidance of this study’s proposed Developmental Model of K-12 Learning Community Building. With further research to generate advocacy for supportive mechanisms and enabling conditions to succeed, BL may prove to be beneficial to other teachers and students. Studies highlighting BL practices at the K-12 could become more widespread and facilitate better ways to teach and learn in the Philippines. Studies leading to measurable outcomes could then be undertaken, using quantitative studies using dual language instruments and covering other student populations and research locales. Thus, how to advocate for BL through the CoI framework may be included in teacher professional development to inform the stakeholders of the direct and indirect benefits of these BL programs.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.

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Acknowledgements

This article is based on a dissertation made possible through the assistance of the U.P. Open University Faculty of Education and the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs of the University of the Philippines-System.

This study was funded by the University of the Philippines-System through a Doctoral Study Grant under the Faculty, REPS and Administrative Staff Development Program.

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Petrea Redmond, Linda Galligan and Douglas Eacersall have contributed equally to this work.

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Juliet Aleta R. Villanueva

School of Education, University of Southern Queensland, Baker Street, Toowoomba, QLD, 4031, Australia

Petrea Redmond

School of Mathematics, Physics and Computing, University of Southern Queensland, Baker Street, Toowoomba, QLD, 4031, Australia

Linda Galligan

Library Services, University of Southern Queensland, Baker Street, Toowoomba, QLD, 4031, Australia

Douglas Eacersall

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Villanueva, J.A.R., Redmond, P., Galligan, L. et al. Investigating blended learning interactions in Philippine schools through the community of inquiry framework. Asia Pacific Educ. Rev. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-023-09826-4

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Class suspensions for Monday, May 6, 2024

Face-to-face classes in some areas for Monday, May 6, 2024 have been suspended due to extreme heat conditions.

Schools in these areas have been advised to shift to asynchronous classes or alternative learning modalities.

In the areas where private schools are not specified, the suspension of in-person classes is left to the discretion of school authorities.

Metro Manila

• Caloocan City - afternoon classes for kinder to senior high school, public
• City of Manila - elementary and high school, public
• Pasay City - all levels, public and private
• Quezon City - heat index may reach 41°C. Face-to-face classes in public schools are automatically suspended when the heat index reaches 40°C.
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Cities and municipalities

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Heat Wave in Southeast Asia Closes Schools, Triggers Health Alerts

Children sit in buckets and basins during a hot day in Manila, Philippines, April 29, 2024. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

By Neil Jerome Morales

MANILA (Reuters) -The Philippines has closed schools down and warned of overloading on its power grid, as authorities across Southeast Asia issued a series of health alerts for a crushing and deadly heat wave.

The Philippines' country's education ministry cancelled in-person classes at public schools for two days on Sunday.

"We already have reports of high blood pressure and dizziness, and fainting for pupils and teachers in the past days," Benjo Basas, chairperson of Teachers' Dignity Coalition, a group of educators, told DWPM radio station.

Temperatures in the Philippines are forecast to reach 37 degree Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in the next three days, with many classrooms crowded and without air conditioning.

The country's weather agency said the heat index - the actual temperature felt by the body to include relative humidity - is expected to remain at a record 45 degrees Celsius (113° Fahrenheit), in the range which it classes as "dangerous" as conditions can trigger heat stroke from prolonged exposure.

The heat wave is also putting pressure on power supplies on the main island of Luzon, which accounts for three-quarters of economic output, with reserves thinning after 13 power plants had shut down earlier this month, the Philippines' grid operator said in a statement.

In Thailand, temperatures are forecast to surpass 40 degrees in Bangkok and the country's central and northern regions with the meteorological agency advising people to avoid being outdoors for extended periods.

Temperatures soared to 44.2 degrees Celsius in the northern city of Lampang on April 22, with the meteorological department saying on Monday it expects the extreme heat will continue this week.

In the past month, 30 people have died from heat stroke, data from Thailand's health ministry showed.

DEHDRATION, HEAT SHOCK

People are seeking respite from the heat in air-conditioned shopping malls in Vietnam's business hub Ho Chi Minh City, state media reported, with the country's national weather agency warning of risks of forest fires, dehydration, and heat shock.

Maximum temperatures measured in several parts of northern and central Vietnam ranged from 40.2 and 44.0 degree Celsius the agency said on Sunday, adding that temperatures won't subside until Wednesday.

Vietnam's state electricity company has also urged consumers to refrain from overworking their air conditioning units, warning that electricity consumption has reached record highs in the recent days.

Malaysia meteorological department issued hot weather warnings on Sunday for 16 areas that have recorded temperatures between 35 and 40 degrees (95 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit) for three consecutive days.

A total of 45 cases of heat-related illnesses have been reported in the country as of April 13, the health ministry said, without specifying when it began tracking the cases. Two deaths due to heat stroke have been reported, the ministry said in a statement.

In the neighbouring city state of Singapore, the meteorological service said the country's temperatures could soar higher in 2024 than last year, which was Singapore's fourth-warmest year since records began in 1929.

Singapore's hottest day recorded was May 13 last year when the highest daily maximum temperature hit 37 degrees Celsius.

Since last month some schools have relaxed rules on uniforms to allow students to wear more comfortable physical education attire amid the persistent heat.

Meanwhile, warmer temperatures in Southeast Asia's most populated nation of Indonesia are driving a surge in cases of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne infection, with cases more than doubling to 35,000 from 15,000 a year earlier, the health ministry has said.

The El Nino weather pattern has prolonged the dry season and hotter temperatures have accelerated the mosquito lifecycle, Indonesian health ministry spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi told state news agency, Antara.

(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales in Manila; Panarat Thepgumpanat in Bangkok, Khanh Vu in Hanoi, Xinghui Kok in Singapore, Danial Azhar in Malaysia and Kate Lamb in Jakarta; Editing by John Mair and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters .

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Should online educational platforms offer courses following a schedule or release them on demand?

by Marilyn Stone, American Marketing Association

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pennsylvania have published a new Journal of Marketing study that examines online educational platforms and the question of whether they should release content through a scheduled format that resembles a traditional university course or use an on-demand release strategy.

The study is titled "More Likely to Pay but Less Engaged: The Effects of Switching Online Courses from Scheduled to On-Demand Release on User Behavior" and is authored by Joy Lu, Eric T. Bradlow, and J. Wesley Hutchinson.

In 2011, the online education industry catered to around 300,000 consumers. In 2021, it served 220 million, thanks in part to increased enrollment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Traditional universities and institutions are increasingly adopting hybrid course formats. For example, the number of full-time online MBA students surpassed in-person MBA students for the first time in the 2020-21 academic year.

Today, online educational platforms like Coursera and edX offer a range of flexible course content, but these firms are faced with a tricky question: Should they release content through a scheduled format that resembles a traditional university course with a subset of lectures and quizzes available at the start of each week, or should they follow in the footsteps of Netflix and Hulu with an on-demand release strategy where all the material is immediately available upon registration?

This new article finds that the choice of format for content release not only impacts overall user engagement and firm revenue but also user performance and learning outcomes.

The researchers studied over 67,000 users taking an introductory marketing course on Coursera consisting of 32 short lecture videos and four quizzes. The study took advantage of a natural experiment policy change where the platform switched the course from a scheduled format to an on-demand release format while keeping the actual content the same.

The scheduled format closely resembled a traditional university course, with some of the study material available at the beginning of each week for four weeks. In the on-demand format, all four weeks of content was made available upon registration. All users could take the course for free or opt into paying for a completion certificate, either as a one-time fee in the scheduled format or a monthly subscription in the on-demand format.

More users, less engagement

The study's findings show that the switch to on-demand content doubled the percentage of paying users from 14% to 28%. Lu explains that "the on-demand format was successful in increasing short-term firm revenue by bringing in more paying users. On the downside, the switch resulted in significantly lower lecture completion rates and lower quiz performance."

The on-demand format also negatively impacted downstream platform engagement. The marketing course was promoted in a "Business Foundations" set with three other courses on operations, accounting, and finance.

"Compared to users in the scheduled format, those in the on-demand format ended up taking one or two fewer additional courses six months after the focal marketing course," says Bradlow.

Analysis of user activity reveals two new learning patterns:

• A subset (13%) of users in the on-demand format continued to return and take quizzes well beyond the recommended four-week course period. The greater flexibility in the on-demand content release and payment structure likely enabled these users to "stretch out" their consumption.
• The on-demand format increased the practice of binging—with user activity being clumped together (i.e., more binging) as compared to being evenly spaced out (i.e., less binging). In the scheduled format, binging was negatively related to course performance, which is consistent with the intuition that binging reflects procrastination or cramming. However, in the on-demand format, binging was positively related to performance, suggesting that on-demand users may binge as a form of strategic time management by setting aside time to consume in spurts.

Real-world implications

This study offers vital lessons for chief marketing officers in the online education space:

• The switch to the on-demand format attracted a set of users who were more likely to pay, but were less engaged in the course. On-demand content is potentially helpful at bringing in a new user segment or expanding the current user base, similar to universities offering concurrent hybrid MBAs that cater to busy students with full-time jobs. Managers must consider the trade-off between offering structure versus flexibility and may even consider offering different content release options simultaneously but at different price points by emphasizing their unique features.
• Platforms may need to adapt their content to account for users who binge on content and others who space it out over time. For example, firms can include more recaps or reviews to reduce frustration resulting from users forgetting content. It may even be a viable strategy to embrace the prevalence of binging among users by highlighting or designing sets of lectures that are "bingeable" versus more modular.
• Many online platforms offer episodic content that may be released in installments and thus need to make decisions regarding the content release format.

"Our study provides insights that help managers anticipate the potential consequences of such decisions," says Hutchinson. "On-demand content offers clear short-term benefits in terms of increased revenue but potentially long-term costs in terms of decreased engagement and new challenges in maintaining user engagement."

Journal information: Journal of Marketing

Provided by American Marketing Association

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Philippines Closes Schools as Heat Soars to ‘Danger’ Level

Scorching temperatures coincided with a nationwide strike of jeepneys, the main mode of public transport in the country.

By Jason Gutierrez

Reporting from Manila

The Philippines closed all public schools on Monday and Tuesday because of dangerously high temperatures, moving classes online in a country where schools are typically shut because of tropical storms.

Over the past week, average temperatures in many parts of the country topped 40 degrees Celsius, or more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Extreme heat is forecast this week to blanket almost the entire country, with the heat index in some regions rising to at least 42 degrees Celsius, or “danger” level, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. That designation is the second highest on the agency’s heat index scale. It advised people to avoid exposure to the sun or risk heat stroke, heat exhaustion and cramps.

In metropolitan Manila, where the heat index is forecast to hit 45 degrees Celsius early this week, residents in overcrowded slums have been cooling off by setting up colorful inflatable pools on busy roads. Others in this megacity have been dipping into Manila Bay, flouting rules that prohibit swimming in its polluted waters.

In its advisory on school closures, the Department of Education on Sunday said the extreme weather coincided with a nationwide strike of jeepneys, the colorful, open-air vehicles that are the main mode of public transportation in the Philippines. Jeepney drivers are protesting a government plan to phase out their rides — which trace their origins to U.S. military jeeps — and replace them with modern, more energy-efficient minibuses.

The extreme heat had already forced some schools to cancel classes before the government’s call for closures. The Jesus Good Shepherd School in Imus, a city south of Manila, last week sent students back home because of soaring temperatures, even though the private institution is among the small minority of schools in the country that has an air conditioner in every classroom.

“It is hard for the students and teachers alike to concentrate, because the air-con is struggling, too,” said Ana Marie Macarimbang, a fifth-grade teacher at the school who has taught for nearly two decades. “We are in a tropical country, yes, but the heat now is more intense than I can remember.”

Weather-related school closures in the Philippines have historically been more common during the typhoon season, which peaks between July and October . The current closures, teacher’s groups have contended, could have been avoided had the authorities not changed the school calendar after the pandemic. The school year now runs from August to May, roughly, rather than the former June-to-March schedule.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has said that he has no objections to readjusting the school calendar, and blamed climate change for the extreme heat. The government “really didn’t expect it to be like this,” Mr. Marcos said earlier this month.

Extreme temperatures are also disrupting everyday life in other parts of Asia, including Cambodia and Vietnam . Earlier this month, a heat wave forced schools in Bangladesh and India to close.

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Extreme heat forces school closures across Asia, affecting millions of students

HONG KONG — Schools in Asia that endured some of the longest shutdowns of the pandemic are once again canceling classes or moving them online, this time due to record-breaking heat waves .

Experts say rising temperatures fueled by climate change and the resulting disruptions to schooling threaten to widen the learning gaps between children in developing and developed countries, and that they should serve as a warning to schools around the world as summer approaches.

Some 33 million children have been forced to stay home in recent days after authorities ordered the closure of schools in Bangladesh , where temperatures in some parts of the South Asian country soared above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Nowadays it’s unbearably hot. You feel your skin burning when the sun rays fall on you,” said Kazi Rayan bin Hassan, a 15-year-old high school student in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka.

Similar closures have affected parts of eastern India, which recorded its hottest April on record, killing at least nine people as the country holds a nationwide election . On Wednesday, public schools in Cambodia were instructed to shorten the school day by two hours to avoid the hottest temperatures at midday.

Warnings of “extreme danger” and the risk of heatstroke have also blanketed the Philippines , where in-person teaching was suspended on Monday and Tuesday. Forecasters say heat index values in the capital region of Manila could surpass 100 degrees this weekend.

“We have cases of bad stomach, headache, migraine,” said Zarah Gagatiga, a high school teacher and librarian in the nearby city of Biñan. While it’s not unusual for schools in the Philippines to close due to cyclones and floods, she said, “now it’s due to climate change.”

According to the United Nations, an estimated 243 million children in the Asia-Pacific region have been “exposed to hotter and longer heatwaves,” putting them at risk of a “multitude of heat-related illnesses, and even death.”

“Young children are at greatest risk of heat-related mortality and illnesses, including chronic respiratory conditions, asthma, and cardiovascular diseases,” UNICEF said in a statement last month.

But repeated school closures could compound the setbacks students already experienced during the pandemic, which forced classes online for months or even years in some parts of Asia. Authorities in Bangladesh, where students are preparing for exams, have said they will open schools on the weekend if necessary.

Some teachers, like Nasrin Akter, are wasting no time and moving their classes back online.

“We call them Corona kids. Most of them are used to online classes for most of their education,” said Akter, who teaches English to first graders in Dhaka.

But for students that young, she said, it is equally important for them to spend time face to face with their teachers and peers.

“No matter what we do in online classes, they’re missing out on the part where we can talk to them personally,” she said.

The soaring temperatures in Asia suggest similar choices may await schools in other parts of the world, which have yet to see their hottest months of the year.

“If you’re going to have a heat wave, the schools should be aware that they’re going to have to change the hours,” said Benjamin Horton, director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore.

Horton said more long-term solutions are needed, otherwise “we’re going to get fatalities, and not just in small numbers, in huge numbers.”

“We need to address the problem, which is greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. “Otherwise, it’s continuing to get worse and worse.”

Even if students stay in the classroom, high temperatures can affect their ability to learn. A study of U.S. high schoolers published in the American Economic Journal in 2020 found they performed worse on standardized tests in years when they were exposed to higher temperatures, with a school year that is 1 degree Fahrenheit hotter reducing learning by 1%.

The study found that much of the adverse effect of high temperatures on learning could be mitigated by air conditioning, if schools have it. But much of that electricity comes from burning fossil fuels such as coal, which only adds to global warming.

The rising demand for electricity has also overloaded power grids in countries such as the Philippines.

While Gagatiga’s school can afford air conditioning, many others across the Southeast Asian country cannot.

“Very few schools can be as lucky as we are,” she said.

And air conditioning only provides relief indoors. Students still have to commute from their homes under the scorching sun.

For Hassan in Bangladesh it’s a 15-minute journey by rickshaw, and officials at his school have advised students to carry sufficient water with them and avoid physical activities as much as they can.

“Anything less than 1 liter is risky,” he said.

Although Hassan is being careful, he still misses playing soccer every day, which is now considered too dangerous under the blistering sun.

“I miss it very much now,” he said. “Nowadays it is very hard to even run.”

Mithil Aggarwal is a Hong Kong-based reporter/producer for NBC News.

Some Metro Manila universities to shift to online classes amid extreme heat

Several Metro Manila universities are suspending on-site classes and switching to online learning amid the high heat index forecast of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

As PAGASA warned of high heat index until mid-May, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) has announced that online classes will continue until May 15.

De La Salle University (DLSU) also announced that classes will be held online from May 2 to 8.

“Classes on May 9 to 15 will also be held online except for STEM laboratory and water sports classes,” DLSU added.

Meanwhile, Mapua University and Colegio de San Juan de Letran will continue their synchronous online classes on Tuesday, April 30.

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