Technical Panel for Teacher Education Chair Purita Bilbao of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) urged NORSU-College of Education (CEd) and Graduate School administrators and faculty to reinvigorate the Philippine teacher education program by aligning it with the 21st Century teacher education standards.

Invited to a forum that setoff the university's three-day World Teachers' Day last October 4, Dr. Bilbao presented eight key points for the 21st Century teacher education. These are learner-centered classroom management, making content relevant, enhanced critical thinking and innovation, technology for teaching and learning, glocalization, collaboration, differentiated teaching delivery, and professional development.

She emphasized that faculty members must equip themselves with these strategies so they can pass them on to their students who shall constitute the country's teaching workforce in the future. “You need to continue assessing yourselves in terms of what you can contribute to better prepare pre-service teachers for the world of teaching,” said Dr. Bilbao addressingthe CEd faculty.

The CHED executive also imparted to the audience updates and new directions of the higher education body in strengthening professional education. Dr. Bilbao encouraged the Graduate School faculty to push research and publication to new heights.

Aside from facilitating Dr. Bilbao's talk, the CEd organizers also lined up trainings aimed at capacitating the teacher participants from the Department of Education in the province. School first aid, dance festival management, writing action research, business letter writing, integrating educational technology in the classroom, drum and bugle corps management, and choir conducting were among the multidisciplinary sessions held .

The students, on the other hand, had their first ever exposition presentation displaying their outputs from professional education and specialization classes. This activity showcased their creative, unique and innovative work, a testament to how the CEd recognizes that assessment of students' learning is not limited to paper-pencil exams but has expanded to embrace authentic, performance-based assessments.

A showcase of interactive teaching demonstrations and presentation of students' researches capped the celebration as part of CEd's trajectory in capacitating its pre-service students.