To officially commence the approved Academic Program Improvement of the National Service Training Program (NSTP) Diliman Office, an Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) Seminar-Workshop was held at the Toyota Room of the National Center for Transportation Studies last June 17, 2019.
Majority of the NSTP coordinators and some NSTP instructors from various UP Diliman colleges, schools, and institutes were present in the workshop to assess the topical contents of the NSTP Common Module in order to achieve uniformity in offering the program. The workshop was a venue to consolidate efforts that would harmonize the course content with the OBE principles as well as the provisions of the NSTP law.
Prof. Rosella M. Torrecampo, Director of the Office for the Advancement of Teaching, facilitated the sessions that clarified and refined the NSTP Component Learning Outcomes (CLOs). The CLOS were initially created by the members of the NSTP Extended Council who were grouped together prior to the seminar-workhop. Prof. Torrecampo reiterated that the program objectives and course objectives should be strategically positioned to suit the goals and needs of students.
The current Common Module Learning Outcomes (CMLOs) were finalized by the assembly and are articulated as follows:
“By the end of the Common Module (CM), the students shall be able to:
- Express correctly the NSTP framework that is anchored on the vital role of the youth, and University’s ideals of honor, academic excellence, and public service to address national security concerns;
- Reflect on the concepts of self and others; citizenship and nation building; Philippine society and culture; human dignity and rights; gender sensitivity; environmental advocacy; DRRM; community engagement in order to become a better involved citizen of the country;
- Demonstrate basic competencies such as principles of community engagement, sensitivity to issues, and/or military science skills necessary for citizenship training and community service for CWTS, LTS, and ROTC;
- Demonstrate civic consciousness, security preparedness, ethical public service, and a role in nation-building.”
On the first part of the workshop, the council also agreed that the topics that are to be included in the Common Module should be categorized as Core, Supplementary, and Optional. The NSTP coordinators and instructors voted on the topics that should be included in the module. The second workshop targets to adjust the NSTP CM contact hours from 27 hours to 25 hours, in compliance with the NSTP Law.
A review and an assessment of the existing 10 NSTP CM topics are to be discussed in the coming Strategic Planning of the NSTP Extended Council. These efforts are part of the Pedagogical Improvement of NSTP Common Module (CM) Part that aim to ensure that the objectives, framework, and format of the NSTP Diliman Common Module Syllabus conform to the OBE principles and learning objectives and practices; to revitalize offerings of Common Module course; and to strengthen the NSTP Common Module offerings of Colleges and Units.
By Klaribelle Anne B. Languayan and Mathew Nicole Asuncion
