Kumon Europe & Africa (President, Mr Masahiro Shimizu) will begin offering KUMON CONNECT, a Kumon Method of Learning service using digital tablets, at Kumon study centres from January 2023.
After more than 60 years of delivering academic success to children internationally using paper-based programmes in local centres via specialist Instructors, Kumon has developed their unique worksheets in a digital format, using technology to make them even more accessible and convenient for students to study using their tablet and stylus via KUMON CONNECT.
The stylus allows the child to hand write their calculations and answers just as they would a pencil. The process of writing by hand and making corrections on the page has always been a key part of the Kumon Method. Kumon believe that handwriting is a more profound cognitive process than keyboarding, as it combines a neurosensory experience with fine motor skills, bringing together both movement and thought, and aiding recall.
For the child, it means they’re able to study with focus and speed, and when their submitted work is marked electronically, they can make any corrections swiftly and neatly. They use KUMON CONNECT in class just as they can with paper worksheets and continue their study at home independently on days in between classes.
Parents have access to their child’s progress and achievements allowing them greater insight into their child’s growth and enabling them to fully support their learning. The digital service means the Kumon Instructor can replay the student’s work, allowing them further insight into their thinking and the methods they used, truly connecting them both in class and when they’re studying at home. They can send a message of praise or encouragement when required and specifically adjust or set new work for them. This individualised approach to a student’s study is at the heart of the Kumon Method, and KUMON CONNECT further facilitates this connection.
Mr Masahiro Shimizu, President of Kumon Europe and Africa, said:
“We believe that the relationship between parents and the Kumon Instructor is important for children’s growth, and we aim to provide a learning service with a human touch that allows students to connect deeply using digital technology. The tried-and-tested worksheets are carefully and individually assigned for each child. Being able to offer the Kumon Maths and English programmes digitally means, with KUMON CONNECT, every student’s Kumon Instructor is always by their side.”
Kumon is the UK and Ireland’s largest supplementary education provider, offering individualised maths and English programmes to help any child of any ability to progress and reach their potential. Their focus is for every child to become an independent, advanced learner with a positive attitude to study.
The Kumon Method of Learning enables children to self-learn with expert Instructor guidance, helping students to take charge of their own learning journey and develop the confidence to strive for their goals and aspirations.
■ Background
- Kumon is the world’s largest supplementary education provider, with over 3.6 million children around the globe currently studying the Kumon Maths and English programmes.
- In the UK and Ireland, more than 600 Kumon Instructors support children in their local communities to establish strong foundations, gradually tackle more challenging work, and grow in confidence to become self-sufficient, successful learners for the future.
- The Kumon Method of Learning does not directly teach students how to solve problems. Rather, it is a method of learning that allows students to solve problems on their own, fostering a sense of self-assurance that they can do it, and cultivating the ability to challenge themself using their existing knowledge.
■ The concept behind the KUMON CONNECT name and logo
- Name
The naming of KUMON CONNECT demonstrates that this service is not just a digital learning system, but that it is a learning service with a human touch that allows Instructors, students, and parents to be more closely involved than ever before and to connect with each other more deeply.
Additionally, KUMON CONNECT relates to the cognitive experience of the stylus or pencil on the Kumon worksheet page, that facilitates the neurosensory connection to the brain.
- Logo
The “O” in the word CONNECT is handwritten as an overlapping double “O” to express the human touch of the connection between the Instructor and the student that is realised by the brand. The combination of blue, the colour of the sky that connects the world, and orange, the colour of the endless earth, expresses our wish that the potential of students will expand widely across the world.
You can access further information about Kumon in the UK and Ireland here.
https://www.kumon.co.uk/kumon-connect/
https://www.kumon.co.uk/about/our-history/
https://www.kumon.co.uk/about/media-room/
- Kumon is the largest supplementary education provider in the UK and Ireland, offering maths and English programmes.
- The Kumon Method of Learning was developed in 1954 by Toru Kumon, both a parent and gifted teacher from Japan.
- There are currently more than 61,000 Kumon students learning at over 600 study centres across the UK and Ireland, with over 3.6 million students worldwide.
- At Kumon, our aim is for each and every child to become an independent, advanced learner, with a positive attitude to study.
- In 2018 the Kumon Group celebrated its 60th Anniversary
