THE FILIPINO BIOLOGY TEACHER

Here's the abstract of the paper I presented during the 2nd International and 28th National Convention of State and Universities Teacher Education Association (SUCTEA) held at the University of Rizal System in Morong,Rizal on Feb. 18-20, 2009. The paper focused on rubrics assessment as one of the hot topics in the agenda for curricular reform. The investigation was done in a physical science class. Studies revealed that rubrics, which came in various types, appealed to teachers because of the marked improvements observed in the quality of students’ works. But what factors could speak for students’ performance in this kind of assessment technique? Considering the different lessons covered in the course, the procedural aspects in selecting topics and constructing assessment tasks for rubrics assessment were documented to serve as template for those who would try this intervention. Issues around the use of rubrics like validity and reliability were also tackled. Based on a semester lo...

We might not have won the poster competition but it rocked in the recently concluded 2nd International Conference and Scientific Meeting of the Environmental Education Network of the Philippines at Silliman University, Dumaguete City.

The paper from Romblon State College (RSC) entitled “Research Capability Building – A Strategy to Promote Research Culture in SUCs and Countryside Development: The Romblon State College Experience” won the 2009 William C. Medrano Award for Best R&D Management Paper and Poster, respectively, during the 19th Philippine Association of Research Managers, Inc. (PHILARM) National Convention held at the Mergrande Ocean Resort in Talomo, Davao City on April 21-24, 2009. This is the first national recognition received by the College from a prestigious group of research managers. The paper was presented by the College Research Director, Dr. Merian C. Mani who chronicled the metamorphosis of the RDE unit from 2003 to the present. Highlights of the paper were the creative solutions introduced in 2007 to foster the research interests and confidence of the faculty members and to cultivate the research culture in the academe, a model that can be aped by other SUCs with poor R&D performance. ...

A doctor from Odiongan, Romblon reported to abs-cbnNEWS.com yesterday that a dolphin got stranded in the area on Tuesday, June 30, 2009. Doctor Kurt Tan sent photographs of the sea mammal as fishermen tried to help bring it to deeper waters. Tan said the incident happened at around 8:30 pm in Barangay Panique. They learned of the incident at around 5 pm and got to the site a few minutes later. Fishermen tried to bring the dolphin to deeper waters that day but it got re-stranded three more times. To prevent the dolphin from getting drowned, the fishermen in the area came up with a make-shift support for the dolphin while trying to bring it to deeper waters. “We tried to rescue the dolphin but the animal was too tired and looked like it was dying when we got to the site,” Tan said in his email to abs-cbnNEWS.com. He told abs-cbnNEWS.com that they even asked for assistance from a specialist in marine mammals from the University of the Philippines. But all the efforts were to no avail. The...

In the past several decades, our climate has been changing. Climate change is not new: the Earth went through six ice ages in the past 600,000 years. However, recent measurements show that the climate has begun to change rapidly. The size of the North polar ice cap in the month of September is only half the size it was fifty years ago. The sea level has been rising since direct measurements began in 1870, but the rate since 1990 is five times faster than it was at the beginning of recorded measurements. Here is the remarkable scientific discovery: For the first time in human history, science has told us that human activity is dramatically altering the destiny of our planet. Our carbon emissions since the beginning of the industrial revolution have caused the climate to change, and science is now projecting how our actions will affect the Earth fifty and a hundred years from now. If the world continues on a business-as-usual path, a number of studies predict that there is a fifty-fifty ...