IMPLEMENTATION OF

INDIVIDUALIZED INSTRUCTION
IN LA LOMA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
(A CASE STUDY)

Submitted by:
Keira Lopez
BSEd-English III-D

Submitted to:
Mr. Devin Ruiz

Introduction

Countless people mill around the impassable arcs of the circles they create around their heads.
Is it not time to draw a point, let the ink glide through a straight line? -at least somewhere becomes a
destination and destination is anywhere but within the decaying walls of complacency.

All is flux, nothing stays still, Plato declared. Indeed the world is ever growing and ever
changing. The surest way to survive is to keep existing -to keep changing that is. The case of La Loma
School resounds a deep alarm on the subject of complacency and change. For years the school has
comfortably found its haven in the old comfortable ways until Mr. Dormido, the principal, insisted on
an innovation. Innovation being a very brilliant way of attaining the school's progress was therefore
necessary. However, the thrust of the individualization of instruction which addresses the individual
differences and provides the children a deep sense of responsibility for their own growth,was found
gravely challenging. The emergence of the new system created an unforgiving decline of the nature of
the school.
Thus is the dilemma. Hence, this case study seeks to identify and investigate the barriers that
kept the innovation from its success and furthermore propose possible solutions and alternatives.

Background

The school, as it is widely known, is the threshold of widom and guidance for the children.
Parents send their kids along with a relatively enormous load of trust to the school, expecting that their
kids learn and develop sturdy walls to fend for themselves against the blind ignorance and weakness
when faced with the atrocity of the nature of the real world when they grow older. This is no easy and
light issue. The school, like all other social departments must keep its creed to keep the children
constantly in the light and protect them from the dangers of oblivion. Its main duty is to preserve that
light by shedding its resplendence into the receptive and growing tender minds. These young minds,
with proper handling, are substances with potentials that can outshine the splendour of the sun. Hence
the weight of putting the potential into its tangible form rests like heavy anchors upon the shoulders of
the school and the school's leaders.
The principal of the La Loma school recognized the great responsibility and didn't allow the
chance of neglecting his duty. The future of the students remained partly as a consequence of the
decisions he chose. Seeing this matter, he sought to make an innovation and therefore executed several

new changes in order to keep the school going. After seeing the success of the proposed individualized
instruction among the other schools, he decided that this was a good innovation.
Mr. Dormido hoped to provide the best and the latest education program to the students. The
foreshadowed end point was generally a jewel, which was that the students enjoy the learning process.
John Dewey, a famous philosopher who wrote about progressive education, demonstrated his
viewof education that emphasizes the need to learn by doing. Dewey believed that human beings learn
through a 'hands on' approach. In the case of La Loma school, the individualized instruction gives the
students opportunity to hold an active participation in his learning.
Starbuck and Hedberg (2003) suggest that positive outcomes are much more apt to result in a
positive and successful learning experience. They contend, "Pleasant outcomes (successes) reinforce
Stimulus-Response links whereas unpleasant outcomes (failures) break Stimulus-Response links. As a
result, pleasant outcomes are much more effective at teaching new behaviors" (p. 331).
The pressure being put to the children in requiring too many projects and assignments fail to
ignite the students' passion and interest which is partly caused by the inconsiderable amount of time.
This remains inefficient in making the students understand the educational topics that they need to
learn. What they need is a positive atmosphere and a positive reinforcement in order to get a positive
result. Thus, the individualized instruction was launched. This gives the children their measured
freedom to direct and monitor their own learning.
In the early 1900s, Henri Fayol contributed to the organization theory. He is credited with
identifying strategic planning, staff recruitment, employee motivation, and employee guidance (via
policies and procedures) as important management functions in creating and nourishing a successful
organization. This highlights the importance of proper communication among the leader and the staff.
Hagreaves (1995) and Kyriakides (1997) also both emphasized the importance of creating
coordinated efforts that supported a modification of teachers roles in policy revision as it relates to
curriculum review and revision.
Frederick W. Taylor (18561915) is praised for his theories in the book entitled Principles of
Scientific Management which was published in 1911. Taylor explained the roles of training, wage

incentives, employee selection, and work standards in organizational performance. These are factors to
consider in handling an organization.
The Systems Theory which got its term from Bertalanffy's General System Theory elucidated
the function of a system. The proponents of the theory who thoroughly understood the concept of it
recognize how the system tremendously affects the worker and vice-versa. A system consists of a
variety of parts that function together to achieve a goal. It also adheres to the principle that permits
managers to scan patterns and events in the workplace. This helps managers to make the programs
work as a collective entity for the overall achievement or goal of the organization instead for sole
departments.

Alternatives
The launching of the new learner-centered approach created a mayhem in the system of the
school. Not only did it bring a colossal chaos upon the teachers and school staff but it also decreased
the parents' faith in their kids'performance. The present materials needed revisions and modifications.
So much so that teachers were left with no choice but to produce their own materials. This they did
with a doubt shown in their hushed complaints. The teachers were propelled to go to school on a
Saturday despite it being a rest day for an employee who worked straight for five days. This additional
effort
yielded no additional wage despite the additional burden imposed upon them. This frustrated the
teachers.
There was also a running issue concerning the students' parents. They saw the deterioration of
their children's time management ensued by unsatisfactory outcomes. Children had to go to school
during Saturdays in order to work with their lessons in advance. This posed yet another problem for
the parents since weekend is a family day as far as tradition and old practices dictated.
In addition, the parents were troubled about the obtained second-hand books from relatives
and elder siblings. Since the new system did not require the use of such books anymore, they

considered putting them away.

The school janitors as well felt complications in keeping the hallways and corridors clean. They
said that with the children doing their assignments and spilling out into the area all day long, it was
impossible to maintain cleanliness.
These obstacles were faced by the principal, school staff, parents and students.
In the 1991 book "Managing Transitions, William Bridges, the proponent of the Transition Model,
agreed that for all sorts of understandable reasons, people are inherently uncomfortable with change.
And such can lead a person to resist it or oppose it.
In the case of La Loma school, the sudden demand for an enormous change overwhelmed the
people concerned. Although slightly reluctant, they strived hard. However, with lack of enthusiasm
due to poor management and communication, they were severely drawn to chaos. Thus, they seemed
to forget that it was a transition, and not a tragedy.
Recommendation
Mr. Meynardo Lumcad should accept the appointment from Mr. Canonigo. As the leader of the
group who undergoes the process of change, he must formulate strategic planning that encompasses
the individual concerns. He must give the system ample time to fucntion properly and adapt to the
changes. Decisions should not be made in haste.
An established good communication between the faculty and staff must also be implemented
for it is necessary in achieving cooperation. Collaboration and cooperation are vital components in
attaining a healthy and efficient system that reaches their aims and goals. Thus it will be good to call
on a meeting and explain to the teachers and parents the importance of what they are about to do.
After a considerable amount of time, he will check the progress and see which ones are the weak and
strong points of the individual's performance.
They also need to do a thorough research about the individualized instruction so that they may
decide on proper ways in implementing such.

Conclusion
Generally, La Loma school aimed to seek holistic growth and development for the school and
its students. However, they found it complicated to attain such due to poor management and
cooperation. Thus, such problems should be adressed in order to create a vital change.