Saint Louis University (SLU), through the University Instruction and Development Committee (UIDC), conducts its Program for Sustained Trainings to Advance Responsive Teaching (UPSTART) to further capacitate its faculty members from the various Schools.
The UPSTART training sessions were held as follows: September 3 and 4 (School of Engineering and Architecture), September 12 to 17 (School of Accountancy, Management, Computing, and Information Studies), September 19 (School of Law), October 1 to 3 (School of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts), October 15 (School of Nursing, Allied Health and Biological Sciences), and October 16 and 17 (School of Medicine).
Director of the Office of Institutional Development and Quality Assurance (OIDQA), Mr. Hector L Martin, welcomed the participants and introduced the rationalization for the sessions. Mr. Martin then gave a brief background on Outcomes-Based Education (OBE), the SLU OBE Manual, and the tedious process of the adaptation and full implementation of OBE in different schools and programs within the institution. “Looking back and looking forward to our OBE processes, we are able to contextualize the SLU OBE Framework in the courses that we are currently handling or offering.”
Specific topics on “Content Knowledge: Revisiting the Implementation and Development of the OBE Framework in the Discipline, an SLU Experience”, the “Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF)”, “OBE Vertical and Horizontal Alignment”, and the opportunities for the originality checking software, “Turnitin”, were presented and thoroughly discussed by the University’s Vice President of Academic Affairs Felina P. Espique, PhD; SAS Graduate Program Coordinator for Teacher Education Program Geraldine Wakat, PhD; and SLU Section Head Librarian Raquel S. Estrada, respectively.
The SLU School of Medicine Dean, Dr. John Anthony A. Domantay, facilitated the series of talks on “The Pedagogy of Teaching Courses in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs),” while SONAHBS Faculty Jefferson S. Galanza tackled the “Principles of Assessment.”
Putting a close to the series, SONAHBS Dean Ann P. Opina, PhD, expressed appreciation to the speakers, the SLU Committee, and UIDC for making the series of trainings possible. “This is indeed an activity that is in line with continuous quality education because we follow the method: Plan, Do, Check, Act.”
Centered on SLU’s Mission and Vision and alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 4: Quality Education, the full participation of the Louisian faculty in capability-building programs is a testament to the role of the University in upholding the quality of excellence in school management systems. (Article by Agnes Dela Pena, UIO Intern | Photos by Keziah Vestidas, UIO Intern)
