“Bago ang lahat, mag-onsite meeting muna tayo…”

After two years of purely online meetings, the team of the Gokongwei Brothers School of Education and Learning Design held their first in-person meeting in their headquarters at the Arete last 26 April 2022. The quick get-together–which, needless to say, followed all the university’s prescribed health protocols–was a much-needed opportunity for us to reconnect with familiar faces, as well as to meet the new members of the team.

Although it was strange to see everyone masked up, that didn’t stop us from participating in the discussions and activities.Welcome to the new normal!

It was also a chance for us to see GBSEALD’s new Learning Studio, which now serves as the shared headquarters of the just recently established Lily Gokongwei Ngochua Leadership Academy with the Ateneo Teacher Center (ATC), the Ateneo SALT Institute, the Ignatian Initiative for Teacher Excellence (IGNITE), and Pathways for Higher Education.

For once, the team went non-digital and physically sorted out the ideas we had written on Post it’s.

The morning started with a short prayer by Fr. Francis Alvarez (Chair of the Department of Catholic Education Philosophy and Practice), followed by an ice-breaker prepared by newcomer Ket Navel-Ramirez (Secretary of the Department of Educational Leadership & Management).

For the meeting proper, the team was divided into smaller groups according to respective departments and centers. The goal was to discuss ongoing and future programs. The ideas were written on “post-its” on the glass board and grouped together under categories like research projects, academic programs, And professional development. Many welcomed this traditional process after two years of using digital apps like Padlets and Jamboards for similar brainstorming processes. 

Not only was it an interactive opportunity for us to see our work from the bigger perspective of GBSEALD’s mission, but it also allowed us to share our feelings about the work–what we were excited and passionate about and what remained unclear to us. The small groups’ sentiments were shared at the plenary session, and possibilities for collaborating across projects and “working smarter” were also identified in the process.

GBSEALD Dean, Fr Johnny Go SJ, offers his synthesis of the discussion and points out his priorities for the school this coming academic year.

Fr. Johnny Go SJ, GBSEALD Dean, expressed his gratitude to us for our enthusiasm and highlighted what he considered were the school’s strategic priorities, especially for the coming academic year.

Written by Darren Cabildo, Project Assistant at the Ateneo SALT Institute

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