Dr. Nona Marlene B. Ferido is currently the Director of the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies Assessment, Curriculum, and Technology Research Centre (ACTRC), where she has served since the Centre’s inception in 2013. Her work at the Centre spans a wide range of studies undertaken in collaboration with various donor agencies and the Department of Education (DepEd). These include research tracking students’ progress through the science curriculum; curriculum reviews of the Philippine K-12 and Senior High School curricula; a feasibility study on micro-certification for the Alternative Learning System (ALS); technical support in reviewing DepEd’s reports on international large-scale assessments such as PISA 2018 and TIMSS 2019; the development and delivery of professional development programs for science, mathematics, and reading teachers on assessment and emerging literacies; an assessment of the pilot implementation of the MATATAG curriculum; the Baseline Study on Satellite Internet for Last-Mile Schools under the COVID-19 Project; and a review of the Board Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers (BLEPT).
She currently serves as a member of DepEd’s International Large-Scale Assessment (ILSA) National Steering Committee, and has also recently served as a Resource Person for DepEd-NEAP at the Workshop on Quality Assurance and Finalization of the Training Resource Package for the Strengthened Senior High School Curriculum.
Dr. Ferido earned her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of the Philippines Diliman, her M.S. in Agricultural Chemistry from UP Los Baños, and her Ph.D. in Science Education, with a specialization in Chemistry, from UP Diliman. Before joining UP NISMED, she was a chemistry instructor at the Department of Chemistry, UP Los Baños, and later an assistant professor at the Institute of Chemistry, UP Diliman.
Dr. Ferido is a retired Science Education Specialist and former Deputy Director of the UP National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (NISMED), where she also chaired the Chemistry Group. There, she coordinated numerous teacher training programs and led research and curriculum development projects with both international and local science educators, producing a number of chemistry teacher resource materials. She also served as an Affiliate Faculty member of the UP Open University from 2015 to 2022.
In recognition of her contributions to chemistry education, Dr. Ferido has received several awards: the Dr. Juanita A. Manalo Memorial Lecture Award from the Philippine Association of Chemistry Teachers (PACT) in 2022; the 2014 UP Diliman Gawad Chancellor sa Natatanging REPS (Research, Extension & Professional Staff); and the 2013 Philippine Federation of Chemistry Societies Award for Chemistry Education.