FROM READING NEEDS TO READING SOLUTIONS: NBSC TEAM DEVELOPS MAGLALANG KUY EXEMPLAR

Northern Bukidnon State College (NBSC), through its Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSEd) English extension team, conducted Maglalang Kuy 1: Contextualized Reading Materials Exemplar Development Writeshop on October 15-16, 2026, at the NBSC Indigenous Cultural and Creative Innovation Hub. Through the collaborative writeshop, teacher educators turned identified learning needs into a draft exemplar for contextualized reading instruction.

Organized under the College’s Sustainable Learning and Linkage to Isolated Places (SuL₂IP) Extension Project, the activity forms part of Maglalang Kuy: Co-Designing Reading Materials for Junior High School Readers in Identified Priority Schools. Guided by the theme “Extending Learning, Co-Creating Possibilities, Empowering Readers,” the initiative seeks to address reading needs among learners in Santiago Integrated School and Guilang-guilang Integrated School.

Led by project leader Mary Ann Charmaine O. Tapulayan-Dumana, MA, the writeshop brought together the project proponents to examine the project rationale, review the findings of the needs-assessment survey, and identify how these could inform reading instruction. The activity was conducted with the support of Noraisah U. Radaza, ITE Program Extension Coordinator, and Alven L. Gomez, Director of the Community Extension Services Division (CESD), as part of the College’s continuing extension efforts.

A key component of the activity was the expert session of Iris L. Bongaos, Reading Coordinator of Dalirig National High School, who guided the proponents in designing contextualized reading comprehension materials for frustration-level readers. Ms. Bongaos emphasized the importance of understanding learners’ actual abilities and difficulties rather than making assumptions about their knowledge and skills. She explained, “𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘥, 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴’ 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴.”

With her guidance, the team worked collaboratively to draft an exemplar that will serve as a model for developing reading materials suited to the identified needs and learning contexts of the partner schools.
The activity reflects the meaning of Maglalang Kuy: “Let’s Talk.” The project emphasizes that responsive reading instruction starts with listening to learners and understanding their experiences. Grounding material development in needs-assessment findings and professional expertise allows the proponents to create resources that better reflect the learners’ needs.

At the end of the writeshop, the draft exemplar was presented and received feedback from the resource speaker. The proponents will continue refining the draft in the coming weeks, with validation by junior high school teachers from the partner schools as the next step before it serves as the basis for developing additional reading materials.

Through Maglalang Kuy, NBSC continues to connect research-informed practice with teacher expertise and collaboration with partner schools. The initiative aims to develop responsive reading resources that help learners strengthen their comprehension skills and become more confident readers.

Written by: Community Extension Services Division- NBSC
Photos by: Community Extension Services Division- NBSC