NEWS

On Thursday, August 8th, 2013, a presentation was delivered at the Kumon Institute of Education head office in Osaka by nine APU students who completed an internship-style workshop series held jointly by APU and Kumon.Begun in autumn 2010, APU has offered a series of learning support workshops (FIX training courses) which make use of Kumon learning materials.

These workshops have been managed by APU faculty and students as well as teaching staff from Kumon. Through getting involved in the management of these workshops, APU students are offered an internship-style learning experience in the education field which involves teaching and classroom management, interaction with students, implementing the "Kumon Way" teaching method, and classroom and practical training.

During the presentations, students offered a range of proposals, based on the knowledge they gained through this experience, for how to better publicize the project and provide better support to students taking the classes. Approximately forty Kumon employees attended the presentation and offered the students practical advice and feedback.

Participating student IWAO Ryota (College of Asia Pacific Studies year 3, Japan) commented that “Participating in teaching and classroom management gave us the opportunity to learn a lot from people we don’t usually have the chance to interact with, like students attending the classes and Kumon staff. In particular, I really feel like we were able to improve our communication and observation skills and increase our sense of responsibility to others. Thanks to this program, I gained a new sense of self-confidence, and hope to put this experience to use in the job hunting process and beyond in my future career”.

Associate Professor TATEYAMA Hirokuni of the Education Development and Learning Support Center, who was in attendance at the final presentation, commented on the students' development and encouraged more students to participate: “The unique internship-style classes we have developed at APU in collaboration with business partners allow students to immediately put into practice what they have learnt, and offer a career support component as well. Students who took these classes learnt of the challenges involved in working in a team and responding to the needs of their students. This has taught them to have a sense of responsibility and was a great opportunity for them to grow and start thinking seriously about their future careers. I hope that more people will take advantage of the opportunities these classes provide”.