ABSTRACT
The study focused on the perceived challenges encountered by integrated Junior High School Science teachers in the new normal. On the present situation due to the pandemic, a descriptive method of research was used with the utilization of a questionnaire in a google form with the abidance of the IATF Protocol. Out of 33 teacher-respondents, majority of which age ranging from is 23 to 28 years old, most of them females, married, with MA units, with net monthly income of 20,000-24,999, and were General Science major. Majority of them had 1 to 2 subject preparations, had 41 to 50 average class size, served for one to five years in teaching Science, and have attended 3 to 4 trainings related to Science.
There were challenges in instruction, classroom management and assessment as described by integrated Junior High School Science teachers. In area of instruction, the study revealed that teachers often encountered challenges to “Apply a wide variety of teaching strategy” and “Develop critical and creative thinking skills as well as higher order thinking skills.” In terms of classroom management, it indicated that teachers often encountered challenges to “Employ cooperative learning in online/modular instruction”, “Deal with students who experience lack of parental cooperation and guidance” and “Manage online behavior of students once in a while for online-kumustahan and feedbacking/monitoring”. And for assessment, the only item question that was verbally interpreted by the teacher-respondents as “Strongly Agree” is “Grade learners’ outputs due to issues on validity and trustworthiness”. Thus, teachers experienced difficulties on assessing learners output this new normal in education.
Moreover, there was no significant relationship between the profile variable of the teachers and challenges encountered by themselves. On the other hand, there was a significant difference between the perceptions of school heads and teachers on challenges encountered by integrated Junior High School Science teachers in teaching Science in the new normal.
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