Radyo Turo Guro: LS faculty reimagining teacher training amidst the pandemic

Ateneo’s SALT Institute partners with LS educators to introduce effective teaching practices through an engaging radio talk show.

Radyo Turo Guro, a daily teacher training workshop on the airwaves, endeavors to reimagine teacher training amidst the challenges of the pandemic. Initiated by The Ateneo Science and Art of Learning and Teaching (SALT) Institute, it brings together the best of the best education specialists to offer training dedicated to teachers as well as parents from all over the country.

“The LS faculty are aware of this kind of meaningful teaching, which means going out of the Ateneo community and seeing where teaching makes more sense and has more impact. We want our teaching to have rippling effects in the communities beyond Ateneo.”

Dubbed as Doc Marts and Miss Dev, Dr. Isabel Martin and Ms. Devi Paez host the English segment of Radyo Turo Guro. Effective teaching practices and activities based on language principles are covered in Doc Marts and Miss Dev’s 30-minute media program, which is aired every Monday at 6:00 pm. Aside from English, Radyo Turo Guro also delivers teacher training in Math on Tuesdays (with Teacher Mac [Marc Helton Sua] and Teacher Rita [Rita Atienza]); Filipino on Wednesdays (with Ser Cas [Tyron Casumpang] and SerPao [Paolo Paculan]); and Science on Thursdays (with Teacher Reina [Reinabelle Reyes] and Teacher Sabs [Sabrina Ongkiko]). On Fridays, Kuya Denzel [Denzel DC Domingo] and Ate Solvie [Solvie Nubla-Lee] host what the team fondly calls “At Iba Pa” with the tagline, “Masarap na usapan, hapunan ay karunungan.” 

Launched last August 2020, Radyo Turo Guro aims to provide teacher training in bite-sized pieces within a 30-minute time frame. “The idea is to tune in to our program while our listeners are cooking or having dinner. It’s as if they were listening to a classmate, it’s designed that way,” says Doc Marts.

Both Doc Marts and Miss Dev affirm that education has taken a 180-degree turn during the pandemic, and it is vital for teachers to be able to adapt to the changes in teaching modes and methods that accompany transitioning to online classes. Radyo Turo Guro focuses on “the mindset of the teachers and not the mode of teaching, because it is difficult to identify each one's context,” says Doc Marts.

Doc Marts and Miss Dev hope to expand their reach to grade school teachers and to have guests from different regions in the Philippines, especially from Visayas and Mindanao. They are aware that learning about the different contexts that teachers are in is essential in improving and developing their teaching skills, and ultimately being effective educators. “The LS faculty are aware of this kind of meaningful teaching, which means going out of the Ateneo community and seeing where teaching makes more sense and has more impact. We want our teaching to have rippling effects in the communities beyond Ateneo,” says Miss Dev.

Radyo Turo Guro airs on RJ News PH every weekday at 6:00 pm and is simultaneously streamed through their YouTube channel.