THIS is one opportunity to gauge students’ skills, knowledge, and attitudes thus providing unique experience of meeting, interacting, and learning from different people and situation through a competition. I am referring to the “Tagisan ng Talino” (TNT), an annual institutional competition for STI students.
Caesar Pacalioga, coordinator for host school (STI West Negros University) regional cluster level competition, invited me to be one of the judges for Think Quest. At first, I thought it was just like Quiz Bee or Tourism Quiz. It was more complicated than any of those.
Think Quest covers Arts and Literature (art appreciation, 21st century literature, and Philippine and world literature); Mathematics (basic math concepts, basic statistics and algebra); Science and Technology (basic concepts in earth science, biology, physics, and chemistry); and General Information (information on common events taking place in the recent past).
A team is composed of three entrants (STI senior high school or those enrolled in any STI regular program). The organizer used the Think Quest Automated Systems (TQAS). Questions were in multiple choice or identification formats flashed on the teams’ monitors. The members of the Board of Judges are there in front to verify the answer.
I was one of the judges together with Roger Marapo, chairperson of the Department of Mathematics of the University of St. La Salle; and Jessica Pacalioga, faculty member of the Department of Natural Sciences, and Graduate School of the University of St. La Salle. The judges are chosen based on track record, strong community reputation, and integrity.
The competition is divided into three rounds: Once and For All (10 questions; 1 point each); Double The Fun (10 questions; 2 points each); and Triple Treat (10 questions; 3 points). The level of difficulty increases as it moves for the next round. In each round, all the teams are given an equal chance to answer all the questions.
Set of questions in each round is a combination of any or all of the following: Knowledge Test (determines the teams’ knowledge about significant information on specific subject area); Mental Task (necessitates open-minded analysis, logical reasoning, and skillful synthesizing); and Performance Task (yields tangible evidence as a result of the demonstration of knowledge, understanding, and proficiency).
I would like to congratulate the “brains” and the STI WNU officials who made possible this brilliant Think Quest: Caesar Pacalioga, Student Services Director; Ryan Mark Molina, Executive Vice President; Melissa Ferrer, OIC Scholarship; Wilfredo Hermosura, AVP-Academic Affairs; Ophelia Duayan, SHS Principal; and Stanley Dimain, Operations Manager.
Think Quest paves the way for an innovative quiz for the future. STI spearheads through Tagisan Ng Talino, the essence of an Outcome-Based Education. Congratulations!