Cebu Normal University (CNU) continues to uphold its distinction as a Center of Excellence in Teacher Education as it gathered educators from across the globe during the 7th International and 8th National Teacher Education Student Conference (TEStCon).
TEStCon 2020 themed Making Education Sustainable in the New Normal took place last November 23 to 24, 2020 via the Zoom platform gathering around 500 education students, educators, education researchers, and research enthusiasts to converse on the challenges in education brought by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
The annual research conference was organized by the CNU College of Teacher Education (CTE) in partnership with the Institute for Research in Innovative Instructional Delivery (IRIID).
Dr. Filomena Dayabil, CNU President, said that the conduct of TEStCon 2020 is a proof of the students, faculty members, administration, and all CTE stakeholders’ zeal to continuously contribute to the knowledge generation and dissemination despite the health crisis.
Dr. Josefino Ronquillo, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Regional Office VII Chief Education Program Specialist gave an Inspirational Talk on behalf of Dr. Maximo Aljibe, CHED Region VII Director, and said that impact analysis on the teaching-learning interventions done during the pandemic is needed to know the best practices that can answer the challenges in the new normal of education.
Three plenary talk were delivered during the two-day research conference: Challenges and Opportunities of the Next Normal: The Role of Education in a Post-COVID-19 Era by Prof. Charles Hopkins, United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Chair in Reorienting Education towards Sustainability; Managing Remote Teaching and Learning in Higher Education by Dr. Sok Soth, Faculty of Education Dean of the Royal University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia; and Culture-Based Education in the New Normal by Prof. Orlando Magno, Commissioner of the National Committee on Cultural Education.
Break-out sessions were then held after the plenary talks for student and professional researchers to share their research findings making use of the digital platform to create borderless opportunities for collaboration and partnerships among different universities.
“TEStCon is one of the evidences that we still have the spirit to continue exploring and discovering new knowledge for the advancement of Higher Education,” Dr. Daisy Palompon, CNU Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) said.
Dr. Laurence Garcia, CNU Presidential Assistant for Planning and Development and Center for Research and Development Director commended CTE for providing an avenue for researchers to gather together and share best practices virtually.
“Indeed, the pandemic didn’t stop us from sharing the knowledge regenerated and it is a realization that the research community is home to some resourceful, creative, and empathetic people,” he said. (JDF)
