By John Maverick Morales
On Saturday, October 3, 2026, over 8,600 teachers, parents, and learning facilitators gathered online for a Learning Conference (LearnCon) titled “Lessons that Connect: Integrating Social-Emotional Learning through Multimedia-Enhanced Classroom Practices.” Hosted by Knowledge Channel Foundation, Inc. (KCFI), in partnership with ChildFund Philippines and City Savings Bank, the livestream aired on Knowledge Channel and KCFI's official Facebook pages in celebration of National Teachers' Month.
The session centered on the idea that social-emotional learning (SEL) does not have to be an extra lesson. It is already in the stories teachers share with learners every day, and it only needs to be noticed and planned for.
Understanding What SEL Looks Like in the Filipino Classroom
In Module 1, SEL in the Filipino Classroom: Understanding ExSELLEnT, Mr. Jhovin S. Tuyay, SEL Project Coordinator of ChildFund Philippines, explained that social-emotional learning goes beyond teaching “good values.” It is a set of competencies that develop gradually and can be seen in how learners act.
He introduced the ExSELLEnT Competency Framework, which groups six competencies under two domains. Under Pagpapakatao (Being Humane) are Pagkilala sa sarili (Self-Awareness), Pamamahala sa sarili (Self-Management), Pagiging responsable (Responsibility), and Pagsisikap (Perseverance). Under Pakikipagkapwa-tao (Strengthening Shared Humanity) are Pakikiisa (Being One with Others) and Pagmamalasakit (Deep Sense of Care and Concern).
In the activity “Same Competency, Different Learner,” he used Pagsisikap to show how one competency changes with age. In K to Grade 3, it means persisting through simple challenges with support. In Grades 4 to 6, it means identifying what helps or hinders reaching a goal. In Grades 7 to 10, learners take ownership and manage distractions, and in Grades 11 to 12, they show sustained discipline and connect effort to life purpose.
Finding the SEL Moments Already in a Video
Module 2, Seeing SEL in Stories: Reading a Knowledge Channel Video through the ExSELLEnT lens, shifted the focus from the competencies to the classroom materials teachers already use. Tuyay pointed out that SEL opportunities occur naturally in stories with their feelings, decisions, conflicts, mistakes, challenges, relationships, different perspectives, acts of kindness, and consequences.
He introduced three levels: SEE, which surfaces the SEL situation by asking what happened; THINK, which processes it by asking why a character acted as they did and how they might have felt; and DO, which applies the competency by asking what learners would do in the same situation and how they can live it out.
He stressed that the value of multimedia comes not from watching alone, but from the quality of the teacher’s noticing, questioning, and processing before, during, and after viewing.
Designing a Lesson with ILAW
In Module 3, From Video to Learning Experience: Designing an ExSELLEnT-Integrated Lesson, teachers took pen and paper and built their own multimedia-enhanced mini lesson using the ILAW (Intention, Learning Experience, Assessment, and Way Forward) framework.
Intention asks which ExSELLEnT competency learners will build or practice. Learning Experience structures how learners engage with the video: activating prior experience before viewing, noticing the competency during viewing, and processing what they saw afterward. Assessment looks for evidence that learners are beginning to demonstrate the competency, while Way Forward asks what learners will do next, through options such as personal reflection, role play, journal writing, drawing, commitment cards, peer activities, community action, or real-life application.
The central principle of the module is that the video is the learning stimulus, not the lesson itself. It is the teacher’s facilitation that makes it a meaningful experience.
To learn more about upcoming LearnCons and other learning resources, visit knowledgechannel.org and follow both Knowledge Channel Foundation, Inc. and Knowledge Channel on Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and X.