OUR VISION
To unlock the potential of motivated young students and connect the world through the act of learning.
OUR GOAL
To provide a personal and flexible platform for students and tutors to meet, learn, and thrive in a global context.
Learning is inherently personal. Through our experiences, emotions, and connections, each of us learns and grows in our own unique way.
Our dedication to personal, flexible, and relationship-driven one-on-one tutoring comes from our desire to achieve sustainable learning. Sustainable learning is realized when the learner gains the initiative, ability, and drive to build on their knowledge continuously. We believe that the foremost goal of a teacher is to instill within their students this instinctive will to learn. Our approach is rooted in the three core assumptions of social constructivist educational theory:
- Knowledge is constructed through language, storytelling, and consensus.
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Learning is an active and social process, not to be absorbed in a top-down manner.
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Knowledge is personal and is understood and felt differently by each student; we must be conscious of emotion and preexisting knowledge related to what is being learned.
Because of the importance of emotion in learning, it is crucial for each student to not just have a good tutor, but have the right tutor. The right tutor is somebody who can stand in their student’s shoes, relate to their experiences and challenges, and recognize that they have just as much to learn from their student as they have to teach them. To our students, our tutors are more than just knowledgeable instructors - they are also devoted mentors and role models. That is the essence of our motto.
Learn from an expert.
Learn with a friend.
Our tutors use our one-on-one tutoring approach to complement their students’ learning in the classroom by using their unique connection to personalize and enrich class content. This helps students understand not only what they are learning, but also how it relates to their lives and why it is important.
Our tutoring method is based on the following Kokusaba Learning Partnership model that outlines a cycle of sustainable learning and the roles of both learning partners.
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What do I know?
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What does my student need to know?
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How can I get to know my student?
TUTOR
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What conversations can we have?
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How can I convey knowledge to my student?
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How can I check my student's understanding?
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How can my student practice effectively?
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How can I acknowledge my student's performance?
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What conversations can we have?
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What did I learn from my student?
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How can I convey my knowledge better next time?
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What more does the student need?
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What do I know?
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What do I need to know from my tutor?
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How do I feel about it?
STUDENT
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How do I process knowledge?
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What more do I need to understand?
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How do I feel about this topic?
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How can I practice effectively?
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How well do I feel I'm performing?
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What other resources do I need?
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What is my takeaway?
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What did my tutor do that worked for me?
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How do I feel about this topic?
ASK
PRACTICE
LEARN
REFLECT
Our students learn from our tutors, and our tutors learn from our students too.
At the beginning of every child’s academic life is a boundless desire to understand how the world works and bright-eyed absorption of all forms of knowledge. New knowledge gets added to existing knowledge like puzzle pieces fitting together. There is only excitement and growth, with no external pressure or barriers that set them back. We want to help all students continue to learn with the curiosity and open-mindedness that they started with.
The Kokusaba Learning Partnership method allows both the student and the tutor to grow through mutual learning. We seek to empower students of all ages, and that includes our tutors who themselves are university-level learners.
We firmly believe that collaborative lifelong learning is the key to unlock our human potential.
