TWO faculty members of the University of the Philippines-Visayas were named Padayon Fellows in the 4th Public Service Writing Fellowship organized by the UP Padayon Public Service Office.

These are Asst. Prof. Jeena A. Amoto from the Division of Professional Education and Asst. Prof. Rommel J. Gestuveo from the Division of Biological Sciences.

For the writing fellowship, Amoto’s public service project is titled “ACTI(on) Research Project (Assistance, Collaborations, Trainings, and Other Interventions on [ACTIon] Research Project).”

Her co-proponents include Prof. Pepito R. Fernandez, Jr., Asst. Prof. Donne Jone P. Sodusta, Asst. Prof. Josephine T. Firmase, and Ms. Elna Mariel M. Nanta.

UPV said Amoto’s research proposal is titled “Evaluating the UPV Action Research Project Based on the Context, Input, Process, and Product Model.”

“The two-fold significance of her study are for the Action Research Project Team to evaluate the capacity building activities conducted for AY 2022-2023 and to create one of the baseline data sets that will enable itself and its partners to understand the current conditions, gaps, needs, and potentials of teacher action research in the region,” it added.

“[Second], for the Division of Professional Education, the proponent of the ARP, to critically undertake an evaluation of how it conceptualizes, implements, and evaluates the impact of its current and future public service initiatives in teacher education as a resource for insight in refining its post-graduate teacher education offerings,” the university said.

Meanwhile, Gestuveo’s public service project is titled “PH 195 (Public Health Practice) as Public Service through Service Learning.”

His co-proponents include Dr. Adrienne Marrie S. Bugayong-Janagap, Prof. Serafin O. Malecosio Jr., Prof. Mary Ann F. Naragdao, and Dr. Philip Ian P. Padilla.

UPV said Gestuveo’s research proposal is “Public Service through Service Learning: Assessing the Impact of an Undergraduate Public Health Course to Rural Communities.”

“Not much is known about the impact of public service through service-learning courses to rural communities in the Philippines. Assessing a course that is fully delivered through service-learning such as PH 195 could provide recommendations on best practices related to health project implementation. It could also provide information on the scope of public service that students in higher education institutions are conducting,” Gestuveo wrote in his proposal.

The writing fellowship is an annual mentorship program designed to promote “the scholarship of public service research and make UP’s initiatives more sustainable for beneficiaries, partners, and stakeholders.”