INNOTECH Propels School-Based Innovation through the Educational Innovation Accelerator Program (EIAP)

Proponents of budding school-based educational innovations supported by SEAMEO INNOTECH’s Educational Innovation Accelerator Program (EIAP) met with Center Director Prof. Leonor Magtolis Briones last 25 September 2023 to discuss the future of learning through responsive practices being rolled out in their respective schools.

The Education for Nanays (mothers) in the Community (E-Nay.Com) by Mr. Rowan L. Celestra, School Principal of Cambulaga Elementary School in Sorsogon City, and Project Vincent by Mr. Samuel DR. Olalia, Teacher II at the Vicente P. Trinidad National High School (VPTNHS) in Valenzuela City, were selected from a pool of school-based educational innovations under INNOTECH’s pilot run of the Educational Innovation Accelerator Program (EIAP).

The two said proponents were joined by Mr. Alvin Patrick Peñaflorida, Project Vincent TWG member and School Principal of VPTNHS as they visited INNOTECH to discuss the milestones made by their school-based educational innovations. They were welcomed by Prof. Briones, Dr. Diosdado M. San Antonio, Manager of the Educational Research and Innovation Office, and Ms. Yolanda C. De Las Alas, Senior Specialist and Educational Innovation Unit Head.

The EIAP is the Center’s first attempt to nurture school-based educational innovations. As part of INNOTECH’s mandate to identify educational needs and develop innovative solutions to address the varied learning needs of the region, the EIAP strives to accelerate solutions development through collaborative engagement with field practitioners, specifically school-based innovators, to reach and benefit as many learners as possible.

From October to December 2022, various budding school-based innovations (i.e., innovations that are implemented at a small-scale level or have yet to be widely disseminated) were thoroughly reviewed and screened by a selection committee against a set of indicators. In the program’s pilot run, the EIAP identified school-based innovations designed to address educational needs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic but have the potential to be replicated, scaled up, and sustained, benefitting both elementary and high school learners even beyond the pandemic period.

Mr. Rowan L. Celestra, School Principal of Cambulaga Elementary School in Sorsogon City, together with Mr. Samuel DR. Olalia, Teacher II at the Vicente P. Trinidad National High School (VPTNHS) in Valenzuela City, the proponents behind the two school-based innovations under EIAP pose for photo at SEAMEO INNOTECH in Quezon City, Philippines.

E-Nay.Com, a community-based capability-building program for parents as learning partners, is one of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Educational Innovation Awardees for 2021-2022. E-Nay.Com has been capacitating mothers in Buenavista, West District, Sorsogon City as learning facilitators since 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. E-Nay.Com is also currently being adopted by Cambulaga Elementary School in collaboration with the local government and civil society organizations. Parental support contributed to the implementation of the Department of Education’s Basic Education – Learning Continuity Plan during the pandemic through distance learning.

Project Vincent is a chatbot learning platform deployed through Facebook Messenger developed by teachers to administer interventions using remediation materials for students-at-risk (STARs, i.e., students who did not achieve a passing grade of 75% in one or more subject areas) at the VPTNHS.

Under the EIAP, the two school-based innovations are undergoing a series of technical assistance from SEAMEO INNOTECH for acceleration activities, such as mentoring and coaching sessions, provision of a minimal grant, and access to pitching or networking opportunities.

The EIAP’s pilot run is currently being implemented in the Philippines, with the hope of expanding its implementation in the Southeast Asian region in the succeeding years.