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Classroom Interruptions and Learning Disruptions: A Descriptive Study on the Need for Differentiated Instruction in the Philippine Public Schools


Chapter I

Background

The diversity of learners in schools has long been a concern and a challenge. Teachers need to be equipped with the skills to provide suitable learning experiences for varied types of learners in adherence to the principle that no student should be left behind (Adeniran et al., 2025). In recent years, this challenge for teachers becomes even more difficult because disruptions on face-to-face classes caused by either extreme weather, natural disasters, and health crises (Department of Education, 2026, June 4). At present, the traditional classroom instruction model is being challenged by a more flexible and student-centered approach (Kariippanon, Cliff, Lancaster, Okely, & Parrish, 2019), and because of this, learning and class instructions might need a paradigm shift (Taga, 2025).
The Philippines educational system is under a dilemma: it must respond to global demand, address the declining quality of education, and adapt to the disruptive environmental conditions that hinder the delivery of instruction (Second Congressional Commission, 2024). With these interwoven factors, there has been a push to consider a pedagogical framework that would accommodate and address learners’ diverse characteristics and learning abilities (Hamilton & Petty, 2023). Among the emerging frameworks is Differentiated Instruction (DI), which has gained significant attention as a viable strategy for promoting equity, engagement, and success in the learning process (Taga, 2025).
It cannot be denied that learners in a single section vary in characteristics and intelligence. Differentiated instruction provides diverse learning activities that fit varied types of learners in a single class (Maphumulo & Biccard, 2025). With differentiated instruction, learners may progress on their own pace with little assistance from teachers. Through this modality, learners can continue their learning progress even when teachers are remotely supervising them. However, the challenge is not unreal, teachers must be equipped with competency and support to learn this teaching-learning method. Teachers need to assess the readiness and capabilities of each learner and to provide specific learning activities that match each learner’s competency, allowing them to progress on their own pace with a target level of improvement or progress. Through this modality, even when there are interruptions due to storms, dangerous heat index, or health concerns, students can continue learning at home with less supervision from their teachers (Maphumulo & Biccard, 2025).
Therefore, this study aims to provide a broader perspective by assessing the feasibility of a gradual shift to differentiated instruction or to provide an alternative learning modality responsive to the changing demands of time. Further, it is being proposed as a response to the loss learning due to class interruptions as experience by the Filipino school children in the recent years.

Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored on Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and scaffolding, Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, and Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, particularly self-efficacy.
Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development explains that learning happens best when a learner is guided by a more knowledgeable person. Through students’ social interaction and scaffolding, they are able to accomplish tasks on their own which highlights the important role of teachers or mentors in the learning process (Kurt, 2020).
Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences emphasizes that intelligence is not limited to one ability but consists of several different forms. Davis, Christodoulou, Seider, and Gardner (2011) explained that individuals have varying intelligence profiles shaped by both biological potential and cultural experiences.
Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, particularly the concept of self-efficacy, suggests that learners’ confidence in their ability to succeed is influenced by mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and emotional states. Mastery experiences build confidence through personal success, while observing the success of others can strengthen a learner’s belief in their own abilities. Likewise, encouragement from others and positive emotional states contribute to stronger self-efficacy (Bandura, 1994).
Applying this framework, in the Philippine public schools setup; learners in a single classroom are varied in terms of personality, competencies, readiness, and motivation. Teachers must consider this characteristics of the country’s public schools. Teachers must understand the no matter how diverse the learners in a single class, learning must take place and the target is to optimize the learning experience towards full development of the students. therefore, teachers must first understand the learning characteristics of the students, prepare the materials and learning experiences that suit each student or subgroup of students applying the principle of multiple intelligence, and must model or teach the lessons to an individual or subgroup of learners having the same learning characteristics. By this, learners will progress, they will progress equitably in accordance with their potentials and needs.

Statement of the Problem

1.What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of age, sex, academic rank, position, and length of service?
2.What is the extent of classes interruptions as assessed by the respondents?
3.What is the extent of learning disruptions as assessed by the respondents?
4.How do teachers perceived differentiated instruction as an alternative or solution to the classroom interruptions and learning disruptions that they experienced?
5.Are there significant differences in the perceived extent of classes interruptions as assessed by the respondents?
6.Are there significant differences in the perceived learning disruptions ass assessed by the respondents?
7.Are there significant differences in the perceived differentiated instruction as an alternative or solution to the classroom interruptions and learning disruptions as assessed by the respondents?


Significance of the Study

This study will be significant to the following:

Policy Makers. This study shall serve as baseline for the crafting of policies or laws that shall answer the demand for quality education amidst the changing environmental conditions. Policy makers shall be given the lens to clearly see that short term and long term solutions due to the pressing concerns caused by the global warming or natural phenomenon which directly or indirectly affect the learning process in schools across the country.
School Administration. The school administrators will be guided by the findings of the study on how to properly respond to the needs of the teachers and students so that learning will take place, in the most effective and convenient ways despite the disruptions caused by the calamities or by environmental conditions.
Teachers. The teachers will be guided by the results of the study through making adjustments in the instructions or learning experiences that are responsive to the need of the present time. They will be provided with information on how shift and explore other learning modalities in order to optimize learning among the students.
Students. The students will be informed of the need to practice independence in learning and achieve optimal potentials as a human being.
Parents. The parents will be informed of the need to provide the necessary support for their school children especially in times of disaster or calamities or class interruptions and make learning still meaningful despite limited or remote supervision from the teachers.











Chapter II

Review of Literature

In recent years, the Philippines learning landscape has dramatically changed brought about by systematic interruptions of classes (Albert & Maligalig, 2022). This has been caused by school closures due to COVID-19 pandemic (UNICEF, 2021) and the drastic shift in the academic calendar- moving the school opening from June to August, which inadvertently pushed the school closing in the grueling summer months (Department of Education, 2024). Also, Filipino school children and teachers alike had suffered the cycle of climate related crises, from typhoons to extreme, hazardous heat indexes. Those mentioned conditions further aggravated the conditions of the Philippine educational system; while historical assessments indicate the problems in the academic performance of school children (EDCOM 2, 2023), recovery efforts appear to be very slow (Department of Education, 2023). Providing learners with meaningful and authentic assessment options, they are better positioned to engage deeply with the content, and such opportunities are not only to accommodate diverse learning preferences; such deeper engagements also empower students to demonstrate their understanding in ways that align with their preferences, understanding of individual strengths,and contexts (Appiah-Odame, E. K., 2025).
Resolving this systemic crisis needs to consider or shift to pedagogies that is adaptive or responsive to the needs of time. This paper investigates the utility of the differentiated instruction (DI) model as a flexible alternative or supplementary to traditional or conventional setups. DI model rejects "one-size-fits-all" teaching modality, seeking to provide learning experiences for diverse readiness levels, interests, and innate learning profiles of students (Peralta et al., 2025). Empirical data from Peralta et al. (2025) reveals that while DI is widely recognized by public school teachers, navigating learners through this method is taxing. Peralta et al. (2025) emphasize that while DepEd teachers are literate in DI strategies, the severe lack of a formalized, disruption-resistant model makes these strategies difficult to sustain.
In the study of Suherman, et al. (2026), the findings indicate that teachers conceptual understanding of differentiated instruction is developing but not yet fully internalised. Teacher saw that formal training emerging as a critical enabling factor. Most teachers possess only a basic conceptual grasp, while during the interviews the result confirm that they struggle to apply differentiation due to limited resources, time, and diverse student needs. Teachers with access to structured training, however, are more likely to operationalise differentiated practices.
Differentiated instruction is a way of teaching based on different students’ talents and learning styles. It involves modifying teaching instruction in such a way that all learners can be considered successful (Magableh, I., & Abdullah, A., 2020 citing Morgan, 2014). Differentiated instruction did not only help students’ achievement but reduced classroom diversity (Magableh, I., & Abdullah, A., 2020). DI is both a philosophy and a tool for equity, but sustainability requires stronger policy-practice alignment. There is need to embed DI in teacher education, providing contextualized resources for underserved schools, and fostering administrative and community support (Basiculan, S. M. B., 2026). Learners progress at different rates and are not all successful with the same learning techniques (Zens, A., 2021 citing Ismajli and Imami-Morina, 2018); by forming lessons and activities based on students’ intelligences or learning styles, teachers can increase student engagement and motivation (Zens, A., 2021 citing Winarti et al., 2019).
Appiah-Odame, E. K. (2025) citing several authors discussed that in determining the expected gains, the assumption of teachers relying on standardized systems, and not on meeting set goal systems (SGS) as a shortfall in educating is backward, as it invites the one-size-fits-all practice and does not supplement the standards-based grading (citing Brown, 2022); differentiation is the right approach to extend support to all diverse learners, and to present the concise assessment task frame of report to inform ongoing learning for both educators and learners (citing Noman & Kaur, 2020).
It is important to design curriculum focused on benefiting the strengths of each student and also allowing opportunities to grow in their weaker areas of intelligence (Zens, A., 2021 citing Sener & Cokcaliskan, 2018).
The huge gaps in home set ups and digital access require schools to adopt a highly flexible instructional design capable of adapting to the changing instructional landscape (Dayagbil et al., 2021). DI offers a blueprint on how to manage the heterogeneous students in a class, common in Philippines public schools as Peralta et al. (2025) expressed that there is a necessity to shift toward adaptive and responsive teaching due to unpredictable classes disruptions.
Calabazaron-Ocampo (2023) investigated the teacher perception and students satisfaction on DI implementation. While educators are well aware of the DI, their students report only moderate satisfaction with its actual implementation. Data confirms that unexpected institutional and environmental disruptions trigger a decline in student interest, and when this interest drops, classroom instruction must be adjusted to capture and restore learner engagement (Asian Development Bank, 2024). Differentiated Instruction is regularly practiced with minor limitations, effectively supporting learner diversity in most classroom settings; the implementation of differentiated instruction is significantly related to teaching effectiveness, affirming that purposeful instructional adaptation contributes to improved classroom outcomes (Tiñas, W. J. R., & Germina, L. P., Jr., 2026).
While teachers demonstrate an emerging awareness of differentiated instruction, its implementation remains partial, uneven, and context-dependent. The predominance of moderate and low categories reflects systemic challenges, including limited resources, large class sizes, insufficient professional development, and constrained instructional time (Suherman, et al., 2026). Significant differences in the extent of implementation of differentiated instruction were found when classified according to age and position. Teachers aged 41 and above recorded a higher mean rank (72.59) than those aged 40 and below (60.76) (Tiñas, W. J. R., & Germina, L. P., Jr., 2026). In Heng, T. T. (2024), teachers attributed their challenges of tailoring instruction to students’ variance to technological issues like professional development, flexibility of curriculum, planning time, and availability of resources.
In today’s dynamic educational environment, the Department of Education (DepEd) continues to champion inclusive, learner-centered approaches such as Differentiated Instruction (DI)- a teaching strategy that adapts instructional content, methods, activities, and assessments to address students’ diverse readiness levels, interests, and learning profiles (Tiñas, W. J. R., & Germina, L. P., Jr., 2026). Students come to classrooms from different backgrounds, cultures, interests, readiness, preferences, and needs; teachers need to reach all these types of learners at the same time in one classroom period thus, differentiated instruction is a possible way to enhance learning and to raise achievement for all (Magableh, I., & Abdullah, A., 2020 citing Watts-Taffe et. al, 2012). Providing learners with meaningful and authentic assessment options, they are better positioned to engage deeply with the content, and such opportunities are not only to accommodate diverse learning preferences. Such deeper engagements also empower students to demonstrate their understanding in ways that align with their preferences, understanding of individual strengths,and contexts (Appiah-Odame, E. K., 2025).
The teachers’ responsibilities are changing, and it's more important than ever to use pedagogies that effectively meet the requirements of all students by fostering an inclusive learning environment (Padmore, E. A., & Ali, C. A. 2024 citing Fountas & Pinnell, 2018).
Teachers saw differentiated instruction very positively but difficult to implement due to so many factors and they have low perception in terms of the amoung of support they get from management (Padmore, E. A., & Ali, C. A. 2024 citing Fountas & Pinnell, 2018). In the study of Suherman, et al. (2026), on the analysis of the teachers' understanding of differentiated instruction, the results indicates that most teachers fall within the moderate (41%) and low (31%) categories, while fewer demonstrate high (17%) and very high (8%) levels. A small proportion (3%) remains at a very low level. These findings suggest that teachers possess a basic conceptual awareness, but lack deeper pedagogical understanding. This pattern may be attributed to limited exposure to formal training and insufficient theoretical grounding in differentiated instruction. To further elucidate most teachers interpret differentiation primarily as adjusting teaching methods to accommodate students' abilities and physical conditions. 
The study of Heng, T. T. (2024) revealed that the study participants (teachers) displayed weak to moderate evidence (1.5) in creating environments that are catalysts for learning while they showed moderate to strong evidence of building a safe and inclusive environment (2.2), they showed weak to moderate evidence of building a community of learning (1.7), and weak evidence of appreciating each child as an individual and encouraging learning independence (0.7). Moreover, participants felt inhibited by existing cultural expectations where teachers are seen as authority figures. The current role of teachers being information disseminators through deductive teaching contrasts with DI’s, where teachers are seen as facilitators of inductive learning. When asked why there was weak evidence of encouraging learning independence.

















Chapter III


Research Design

This study shall utilize the descriptive methodology with the ultimate purpose of providing a wider perspective of the teachers perception on the effect of classes disruptions and the possibility of shifting to or utilizing differentiated instruction as an alternative learning modality. The descriptive design shall utilize descriptive statistics such as the measures of central tendencies and measures of variations to explain the views of the respondents in the pressing issue of quality education and the detrimental effect to learning due to limited engagement of teachers to their students caused by significant disruptions of classes. Moreover, the views of the respondents shall be compared across different cohorts to make valid presumptions that respondents have common or different point of views.
This research design is most appropriate for the proposed study considering that the ultimate goal is to clearly understand how teaching-learning is affected and how teachers cope with the issues or problems restricting the learning process.





















References

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Tiñas, W. J. R., & Germina, L. P., Jr. (2026). Implementation and effectiveness of differentiated instruction in teaching Araling Panlipunan. International Journal of Science and Management Studies, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.51386/25815946/ijsms-v9i1p103

Appiah-Odame, E. K. (2025). Differentiated assessment strategies: Best practices in a multi-level learning Manitoban classroom. European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Educational Research, 6(3). https://www.ejmse.com/articles/EJMSE_6_3_179.pdf

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