The LaRuS (Laboratory in Rural School) Model: Basis for Teaching Science Laboratory Skills in the Last Mile Schools

Science education is a critical component of DepEd's last-mile program because scientific literacy should be developed among learners at an early age. Correspondingly, teachers' laboratory experiences and basic scientific skills should not be neglected. With this, the study aimed to develop and validate the LaRuS (Laboratory in Rural School) Model. Participatory action research design with the incorporation of the theory of pakasaritaan was used as a research method where interviews through validated semi-structured questionnaires, document analyses, observations, phone calls, and online focus group discussions were used to gather data. The key findings of the themes that emerged in the interview helped produce the superordinate themes which are self-directed learning, knowledge acquisition, science process skills, and community collaboration. This superordinate themes crafted the model. The model focused on assisting the facilitators to acquire and possess knowledge assimilated through scientific evidence and readings and contextualized and localized materials, science process skills through hands-on scientific laboratory activities, collaboration and coordination with the community, and self-directed learning in flexible learning mode. These dynamics are necessary to be able to produce a functional school literacy, critical pedagogy, and lifelong learning science environment. The proposed model was validated internally through focus group discussion by the participants and externally by science experts. Therefore, the proposed LaRuS model provides a meaningful impact on the body of knowledge that helps the facilitators of learning in last-mile schools. It is recommended that the facilitators should have capacity building workshop to utilize the LaRus model.