Kumon Feature
The future is
always uncertain, but students can keep on learning
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced sweeping change to how learning is delivered to students, with the overwhelming majority of students in Australia and New Zealand being required to learn at home throughout first half of 2020. This disruption has prompted the widely asked question, “What is the impact of COVID-19 on children’s learning?” It is a question that not only parents might be asking in relation to their own children, but also teachers and principals; university-based education professors and experts; and education department officials and government ministers. It prompts many hypotheses and theories. It seems there is not yet a clear answer that everyone can agree on. This does not mean we can’t work to minimise disruption to children’s learning. With the right toolkit, both current and future generations can be equipped to be ready to keep learning through uncertainty. In our previous article about Sandhya, we quoted Professor Andrew Martin, an educational psychologist from the University of New South Wales. Professor Martin stated that students will feel empowered to keep learning through uncertainty if educators are able to draw learners’ attention to what is in their control: the effort students apply to their studies, their strategies, and their individual attitudes towards learning. As we also highlighted in the previous article, Kumon draws students’ attention to the impact of their efforts through assigning the right level of practice and repetition. Kumon helps students to develop self-learning strategies for acquiring and applying new knowledge. Advanced study through Kumon boosts confidence, an attribute that is conducive for navigating uncertainty by encouraging students to ‘have a go.’ These are components of a toolkit that Kumon can support students to develop in order to keep learning through uncertainty. And they are not the only tools students can use. Dr Katrina Barker, an education expert from Western Sydney University, says individualised approaches to learning are helpful for supporting students during times of uncertainty. Dr Barker says individualised learning not only allows students to learn at their own pace, it requires students to develop and apply self-regulation, self-discipline and the ability to learn independently. Being an independent learner will help students to keep learning through uncertainty, as they can place trust in their own abilities. Kumon is an individualised method of learning that supports students to become independent learners through their daily study.
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