Eighteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Twenty-first century learners are hyperlinked, experiential and participative, requiring content and a set-up that connect and entertain, akin to their digital experience. Philippine undergraduates are no different, indulging in over-the-top and internet-based entertainment and curating their own music line-up. Netflixed-Spotified, they interact in phrases and abbreviated sentences due to limited attention span. Caught in two worlds, they live in a online reality created by them and a restrictive realm created for them, the former offering an interactive, highly-stimulating, entertainment-laden environment and the latter restricting them in a boring teacher-centered climate whose educator is perceived as irrelevant or obsolete. How can instruction be made effective amidst the changing needs? The solution was the University of Asia and the Pacific’s tweet-and-post experiment involving 130 students in five English courses. The study was performed using the mixed methods approach to present a multi-dimensional research encompassing narratives from feedback and comments from the subjects and online survey data that ascertained the effectiveness of the innovative teaching strategy. Implemented in the first semester of 2019, this four-pronged approach employed technology to address students’ mediatization, giving of coursework on a piece-meal basis and digestible lectures, regular feedback mechanism to ensure optimum learning, and creating an interactive, comfortable and yet challenging climate. Results showed that pedagogical oceans in humanities can be bridged and addressed through carefully crafted instructional strategies designed to achieve optimum learning. Appealing and responsive humanities education is possible if educators maintain open-mindedness and remain committed to delivering quality and holistic education.