First year students take time to adjust to college life. A number of priorities are considered in order to survive in the tertiary level. One of which is complying with the academic requirements. The study described the study skills of the first year students in the College of Education, La Salle University, Ozamiz City, Philippines. The framework used in identifying the study skills of the first year students was adopted from Lucas and Corpuz (2007:4).These study skills were correlated to the students’ academic performance using Kendall’s Tau B, Chi-square, and Multiple Regression tests. There were 128 first year students who were taken as respondents of the study. The study reveals that the first year students have the skills in organizing and planning their work, preparing assignments or projects, and note-taking and reading. The students’ skills in organizing and planning one’s work; working with others and utilizing resources and feedback; note-taking and reading; and preparing an assignment/project correlate with their grades. The best predictor of students’ academic performance is note-taking and reading. First year college students need to develop the habit of studying their lessons, reading, and taking down notes to improve their academic performance.Keywords: Education, study skills, academic performance, descriptive design, Philippines

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The curriculum of Bachelor in Elementary Education requires prospective teachers to undergo student teaching. In the student teaching phase, the student teacher is mentored by a student teaching supervisor and cooperating teachers. They are exposed to both on and off-campus training. In the on and off-campus training, the student teachers performed at least 15 teachings, 1 straight teaching, and a final demonstration. All of these teachings are evaluated by the cooperating teachers. The student teaching supervisor joined the cooperating teachers during the straight teaching and final demonstration to evaluate the teaching performance of the student teachers. Individual consultations were conducted to provide feedback on how to improve the teaching skills of the student teachers. In the final demonstration in the off-campus is observed by the Education Program Specialists of the Department of Education. The Education Program Specialists and the School Principal conducted a conference with the student teachers in the presence of the Student Teaching Supervisor and Dean of the College of Teacher Education. In the conference, feedbacking on the strengths and weaknesses of the student teachers' teaching performance was done. It is a way of the University to receive feedback from the Education Program Specialists which could be input on how to enhance the Student Teaching Program. The training of the student teachers in the private and public elementary schools may have bearing on the development of their teaching efficacy. Definition of the literature on the concept of teaching efficacy centers on one's belief of his/her competencies. With this premise, the researcher employed the constructivist model of qualitative research to describe the teaching efficacy of student teachers. A focused group discussion was conducted to describe the indicators of teaching efficacy. Statements describing teaching efficacy were organized in a questionnaire. To establish the reliability of the items, the questionnaire was pretested to 37 student teachers who were doing their observation and participation prior to student teaching/internship. The questionnaire yielded a Cronbach alpha of 91%. The result signified that the items are reliable. The questionnaire was then administered to the 24 student teachers. Based on the data gathered, three core categories based on the weighted means of the items emerged. These core categories centered on training, professional, and personal competencies. It was further described that the student teachers' level of teaching efficacy is generally very high. In conclusion, the on and off-campus training of the student teachers contributed much to the development of their teaching efficacy. The training had developed their professional and personal competencies. For further usability of the questionnaire developed from this study, it is recommended that a broader scope be considered, other variables that correlate to teaching efficacy be identified, and pretest and posttest be considered to describe the s...

Day Care Centers are managed by Day Care Workers (DCWs). These teachers contribute to the total development of the early childhood learners. In this present study, it was noted during the interview and focus group discussion that the DCWs needed enhancement activities for them to carry out their teaching tasks. Exercises on letter sound were the most priority need over teaching strategies, production of instructional materials, and pedagogy. Thus, an action plan for a three-day enhancement program was proposed.

The Commission on Higher Education emphasized that extension programs provide the space to discover practical evidence, and science-based answers to real-world social, economic, and environmental challenges for partner communities. This descriptive study looked into the impact of an extension program to address the needs of the day care workers. It employed a questionnaire, unstructured interview, and focus group discussion in gathering the data. The study revealed that the parents and the social workers were responsive to the needs of the day care workers. Seven themes emerged namely: eliciting parents and children’s active involvement, improving collaboration and communication, learning from seminars, availing necessities and learning resources, improving pedagogical competence and practices of DCWs, and improving the learning environment. The extension program helped the day care workers established sustainable and effective day care centers through forging and sustaining strong partnerships with parents, government, and non-government organizations.