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Gakken Classroom CM
What is Gakken Classroom?
Learning at Gakken Classroom
About Gakken Classroom
Gakken Classroom fosters
abilities and skills essential for the coming age
The Gakken Classroom brand was created in 1980 with the ardent desire to help children gain self-confidence and experience the joy of learning. Gakken Classroom currently has over 15,000 learning centers with over 420,000 members learning at them. In the face of the changing demands for education and in response to a wave of requests from abroad, we also expanded overseas in 2014.
Seeking education which suits the coming age, people around the world call for education
which focuses not just on visible skills such as test scores, but which fosters invisible skills which cannot be measured with numbers, such as logical thinking skills, zest for living, learning motivation, learning attitude and morals. Technological development and globalization offer us new opportunities. On the other hand, the fast-paced changes come with uncertainty. In the coming age, we will need invisible skills such as logical thinking skills, problem-solving skills and concentration more than ever.
Background
THE COMING AGE
Toward the New Era
Broaden your horizon
Let's think about the future
The Singularity in 2045
By 2045, AI development will have reached the point where artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence, called the Singularity.
This may sound like something from the movies, but AI and computers already support or surpass humans in some functions. Humans are already no match for AI in terms of memory capacity and calculation speed.
The danger of automatization of 47% of all professions
Society’s demand for human resources in the AI and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) fields is growing exponentially. In contrast, it is predicted that rote labor and jobs centering on information processing will be taken over by computers and robots. There is a report in the US that in 20 years, 47% of jobs will be automatized.
21st CENTURY EDUCATION
Skills to succeed in the digital age
As a result of the changes to society’s demands on the labor force, education is also undergoing changes.
With developed countries at the forefront, the focus of education is undergoing a shift from the visible skills of the 20th century, such as calculation and memorization skills, to non-cognitive skills such as logical thinking, problem solving, creativity, metacognitive strategies, teamwork and empathy.
In the coming age, the demand will be for individuals who can work with people of different cultures and value systems to take on problems no one knows the answer to and create new value and new solutions.
Our Philosophy
Gakken Classroom fosters the ability to succeed in the world as an adult and to have the correct, beautiful, and sincere attitude and mind of an upstanding member of global society.
Joy of Learning
Self-confidence
Zest for Living
In order to assure that the children experience the joy of learning and gain self-confidence, the learning pace is customized according to each child’s ability. This allows solid acquisition of academic abilities. The skills and confidence they acquire through active learning will later become valuable life skills for them.
Guidance Principles
Visible and invisible skills
Aspire for growth of mind and attitude and balanced academic abilities with both visible and invisible skills.
Visible Skills
Establish fundamental academic abilities in Maths at a world-class level.
Invisible Skills
Develop 21st century skills like logical thinking skills, problem-solving skills.
Self-learning skills
Individualize for each child’s ability and character, foster self-learning attitudes and skills.
Tokuiku 徳育
Value communication, have them learn the rules of society, and ensure a well-rounded education covering, “intellect, emotion and volition.”
01 Visible and Invisible Skills
At Gakken Classroom, the children learn much more than just how to get the correct answer.
Through correcting their own mistakes through trial and error, they develop perseverance, concentration and resilience, which leads to mental endurance and the ability to adapt to the situation. They learn self-control and teamwork by strictly adhering to the
Gakken Classroom rules as they conduct their learning activities.
These invisible skills are said to stay with you forever once you have acquired them and contribute directly toward success as an adult.
To foster the skills needed to succeed in our rapidly changing world, Gakken Classroom aims to provide the children with a balance of both visible and invisible skills.
What are the non-cognitive skills getting attention from around the world?
Cognitive skills (Visible skills) are skills that can be measured with numbers;
in a word, they are measured according to outcomes. In contrast, non-cognitive skills (Invisible skills) cannot be captured through numbers and are important not for the outcome itself but for the process of getting there. They are a set of skills which can enrich the future of children.
Included among the non-cognitive skills are concentration, perseverance,
confidence, self-esteem, leadership, self-initiative, social competence, empathy, and the list goes on. To sum them up in a word, you might call them “human qualities” or “living skills.”
It is possible to build non-cognitive skills as an adult, but it is widely believed that they are most subject to growth up to around 10 years of age. Thanks to these new insights, non-cognitive skills are gathering more and more attention from around the world.
Human Relationships
With school teachers, classmates at school, Gakken Classroom’s Sensei, guardians, family, people in community
02 Self-learning Skills
The importance of some things does not change with time
For the "lifetime driving force" of the children
Gakken Classroom's secret to imparting "self-learning skills" is learning worksheets and learning methods designed so the children can learn persistently and by their own will, along with “Sensei” to watch over their learning efforts.
Learning Worksheets
By learning the thinking process behind problem solving and based on the core academic abilities, children will acquire logical thinking skills along
with the abilities to adapt and apply their knowledge to real problems.
The “Guide Boxes” allow the children to get the points of the content because of their easy-to-understand explanations.
The exercise problems connect with the Guide Boxes to solidify the children’s understanding of the content.
Learning Methods
A system for engaged learning where children read through the text, think about it, and solve each problem all on their own, at their own pace.
Learning worksheets which are matched to each individual’s learning progress and which focus not on “getting the correct answers” but on “understanding.”
By coming to Gakken Classroom twice a week and working through learning worksheets at home on other days, the children acquire good learning habits. Furthermore, by repeating learning worksheets they finished in Gakken Classroom as homework, they solidify their understanding.
By underlining sentences and reading the text in the Guide Boxes aloud, they develop their reading skills and their reading comprehension skills. Reading comprehension skills are the base of all subjects and form the foundation of thought.
Gakken Classroom's Sensei
The role of the “Sensei” is not limited to helping the children improve their academic abilities (visible skills), but is also to help them acquire a balanced skill set including invisible skills such as concentration, grit and motivation.
Gakken Classroom’s “Sensei” are masters of giving hints, not answers.
Gakken Classroom’s Sensei don’t just teach maths, but the processes behind problem solving. With our individualized guidance, customized according to their learning progress, children learn at their own pace. This is hard to achieve with group-oriented teaching. Children learn to find solutions on their own.
03 Tokuiku
Gakken Classroom helps children become responsible members of society who are conscientious of and can empathize with others
Gakken Classroom nurtures not just academic abilities but also the morals which are the basis for independent individuals who can live cooperative and full lives. We believe that being able to do the common sense things we tend to neglect, working little by little each day towards a goal and manners and conscientiousness toward others will be useful in a variety of situations in the children’s future. Our focus is not merely on being able to get a 100 (i.e. to get the correct answers), but on the invisible skills needed to work at a task persistently and deliberately until its completion.
What is Tokuiku?
Tokuiku refers to the “character formation aimed at the development of qualities which satisfy the ideals held by society in individuals.”
It serves as the foundation for any education which aims to raise individuals who possess a balance of knowledge, morals, and body.
Examples of Tokuiku
Tidy up your own shoes
Tokuiku refers to the “character formation aimed at the development of qualities which satisfy the ideals held by society in individuals.” It serves as the foundation for any education which aims to raise individuals who possess a balance of knowledge, morals, and body.
Learn with correct posture
Keeping a correct posture when learning helps to keep your mind clear and maintain concentration.
Line up in order
Staying in order means regulating your own wants and leads to greater self-control.
Clean up your desk after you finish
Cleaning up leads to consideration for the next person to use the desk and for those around you.
About Gakken
Since 1946
Under the strong belief of our founder, Hideto Furuoka that, “There is no path to Japan’s post-war revival except through education.”, Gakken has served as a leading company in education supporting Japan’s education since its founding more than 70 years ago in 1946, just after WWII.
In addition to classroom and cram school business, it is also involved in textbooks, reference books, and child-oriented publications along with educational toys and business for the elderly, among other things.
Furthermore, using the knowledge it has accumulated over the years, Gakken is currently pushing forward with a customer-centered value creation approach, principally in the domains of education and medical welfare.
Founder's Message
Gakken is a publishing company, so its role only goes so far as creating books and putting them on display in stores. It has no way of knowing what happens when the customers read them. However, a classroom doesn’t end with the creation of learning materials, it begins with the use of the materials. Wherever that is becomes a site of education, contributes to the children’s learning, and becomes an integral place in their everyday lives, just like their home and their school.
Gakken Classroom joins local communities and serves as a place where Sensei＊ and child, where child and child, where Sensei and parental guardian, where people meet and learn about one another.
The passion and spirit for education of our founder Hideto Furuoka lives on at Gakken Classroom.
＊ In Japan, a teacher is called “Sensei.” Sensei teaches not only subjects, but also rules and manners.
