Parents who are concerned about their children’s performance in Math and English can look for help at Eye Level, a provider of supplemental education in these two subjects for children in Malaysia since 2004. Its educational enrichment programme, which was developed in Korea about 40 years ago, has now over 2.5 million children enrolled worldwide.
Students learn at their own pace at Eye Level. Its educational principle is that teaching becomes most effective when a teacher understands the learning needs of a student, i.e. when things are seen from the student’s eye level. Its systematic, individualised programme allows each child to have a customised starting point that depends on the child’s ability and pace of learning.
Kiddy123 recently interviewed Eye Level to learn more about their programmes. Read on to see how these programmes can help your child.
Kiddy123: We understand that Eye Level, a provider of supplemental education in Math and English for children ages 3 to 16, allows your students to learn at their own pace. How does it work? Does it mean that each child has his/her own customised programme?
Eye Level: We have well-structured curriculum for both Math and English programmes, which are applied across the globe. However, each student’s learning is tailored according to his/her ability, regardless of age or school grade. In general, when a student joins Eye Level, a placement test will be assigned. This is the first step towards understanding our student’s learning needs. After that, the instructor will monitor the student’s learning performance in class and draw an appropriate learning plan that caters specifically to him/her. Fine-tuning may be undertaken according to student’s learning pace and outcome. This is an on-going process to ensure our students are always receiving “eye level” education to grow them towards becoming competent self-directed learners.
K: How is this done? In what ways will the child be assessed?
EL: Students will be assessed using our exclusive Diagnostic Test (DT). The starting level in our program will be set based on the results of the Diagnostic Test and the instructor’s observations during the test. The right starting point is crucial in helping students develop a positive attitude on the subject and in encouraging them to participate more actively in learning. Also, it will be easier for students to achieve their study goals, thereby increasing their motivation.
There will also be short tests to review the student’s learning at each level. Furthermore, before a student progresses to a new level, the student will be given a Level Test to evaluate whether he has achieved mastery, and is ready to move on to the next stage.
K: We see that Eye Level’s tagline is “I am the key”, meaning you are the key to self-directed learning. What do you mean by that?
EL: Eye Level seeks to help students build a solid academic foundation that involves motivation, determination and study habits through an individualised coaching system called “Self-directed Learning (SDL)”. In SDL, students are guided through sequentially organised steps explicated in Eye Level’s booklets and materials. In each step, students are encouraged to work independently, using their basic skills and knowledge about new concepts initially introduced through an explicit instruction. Each student would be able to take charge of his/her own learning by setting goals, working towards achieving them, and bringing an endless source of knowledge when attempting any new activities, thus becoming a proactive learner.
K: How does Eye Level help the child to achieve this?
EL: To realise the SDL concept, three key elements – contents, space and mentor — are used to guide students towards taking the initiative to expand their learning beyond what the teachers have taught them in the classroom. Content wise, students develop independent learning through the use of individualised and holistic small step-based Eye Level learning materials. Space is where learning is done at SDL desks (3-sided library-type desks) that allow full concentration. Students can concentrate better with less distraction. When coaching is needed, our Eye Level instructor is always there to provide one-to-one individualised coaching.
SDL helps to nurture students in adopting problem-solving skills in various aspects — such as finding ways to solve a difficult math question. In short, they will embrace problems as part of their challenges. This will subsequently build their character and help them become more disciplined, motivated and independent than before.
K: Could you tell us more about the different programmes you offer at your centres and the age groups they are suitable for?
EL: Our programmes are as follows:
Eye Level Play Math (ages 3 – 4) is a specialised math programme that introduces learners to mathematical concepts through experiential learning. This is most suitable and efficient for young children. It helps them develop mathematical creativity and logical thinking abilities through hands-on activities with diverse playing applications.
Eye Level Math (ages 4 – 15) takes students through a progression of 32 levels, beginning with foundational skills (Basic Thinking Math: BTM) and culminating with advanced concepts and applications (Critical Thinking Math: CTM). Each level emphasises critical thinking by encouraging students to exercise problem-solving skills that they can apply to everyday activities. The newly added “blended learning” features enable our students to polish their math skills in various channels, let it be online learning using the computer as well as offline coaching using the booklets by our dedicated instructors. Even at home, immediate feedback can be obtained through the instant grading when students practice their online homework. Parents can also review their children’s learning easily through our online site.
Eye Level Happy Talk (ages 5 – 9) is a conversational English program that allows students to acquire practical English naturally through the exposure to situational expressions. This is a blended learning program comprised of both online and offline methods to boost students’ interest in learning English and to raise their confidence in speaking English.
Eye Level Chinese Junior (ages 5 – 10) curriculum takes on a systematic learning approach, which covers listening, speaking, reading and writing. Learning is made fun and easy through role-play, songs, games and other engaging activities.
K: What makes these programmes special where the children are concerned?
EL: Eye Level was instrumental in introducing the critical thinking concept since its inception in Malaysia 12 years ago. Eye Level Math offers a solid mathematical skills mastery by combining both Critical Thinking Math (CTM) and Basic Thinking Math (BTM). Mastery in Critical Thinking Math (CTM) and Basic Thinking Math (BTM) enables the student to acquire comprehensive mathematical thinking and skills. Critical Thinking Math (CTM) incorporates learning methods using the Eye Level teaching tools to aid critical thinking areas like problem solving, reasoning skills, geometry, patterns and relationships, spatial sense and depth perception.
Eye Level then moved into the new education era which led to the introduction of a new educational model known as “blended learning”. Eye Level is the pioneer in introducing the blended learning educational model in Malaysia, specially created to combine the best of both worlds – traditional, face-to-face learning and online learning methods. This concept gives each student a more personalised and interactive learning experience. The blended learning module consists of Eye Level Math and Happy Talk.