THREE Filipino educators were selected to represent the Philippines in the Asia-Europe Foundation Classroom Network School Collaboration which aims to facilitate a conducive teaching and learning environment amid disruptions in education.

The Department of Education threw its support to Floriedes Anda of the Philippine Science High School in Quezon City, Maria Iglesias of the Narvacan National Central High School in Ilocos Sur and Jan Casuncad of the Don Ramon Costales Memorial National High School in Pangasinan.

Anda is a Mental Wellness Committee chairperson at PSHS, Iglesias is an  assistant principal at NNCHS, while Casuncad is a head teacher at DRECMNHS.

The three are jointly working on innovative teaching and learning practices alongside school leaders and teachers from 51 countries.

The three Filipino representatives will join discussions and activities on well-being and mental health, parent-teacher collaboration, pedagogical knowledge and digital competencies, and intercultural understanding and exchange.

#ASEFClassNet School Collaborations participants are expected to create and share resources to strengthen the peer-to-peer learning and support platform and promote project activities and knowledge gained from the collaboration in its learning community.

#ASEFClassNet is a platform that connects high school students, teachers and school leaders, teacher trainers, researchers, policymakers, and education technology experts across Asia and Europe.

It provides opportunities for collaborative teaching and learning and focuses on Education for Sustainable Development and the potential of education technology in the secondary education sector.

Through inter-cultural collaborations and the opportunity to share experiences with an educator community from Asia and Europe, the project also contributes to the development of soft skills, mutual understanding, and a mindset of Global Citizenship.

“Our international partners, including ASEF, are reaching out to our school leaders and policymakers. It [ASEFClassNet School Collaboration] is an avenue for our school leaders to hone their skills as they engage themselves in another learning sphere with other countries via the virtual platform,” DepEd International Cooperation Office Director Margarita Consolacion Ballesteros said.

Designed and implemented by Asian and European secondary and vocational school teachers, these collaborations are conducted either as an integral element of the daily school curriculum or as an extracurricular activity. This year’s collaboration will run until December 20.