By Mary Grace Padin
NUMBERWORKS n’ Words, a learning center that has perfected the right combination of fun and play and continues to propagate love for math and English among kindergarten to high-school students, is now open for franchising.
Owner and master franchisee of NumberWorks n’ Words in the Philippines Richard Yang said he wants more kids to benefit from the tutorial center’s unique reward-based system in facilitating learning through up-to-date software and computer games.
The tutorial center currently has three branches in Alabang, Serendra and Greenhills. Soon it will be opening its fourth branch in Teacher’s Village in Quezon City through NumberWorks’ sub-franchisee Jo Ann Fernandez.
Fernandez shared that before they have found NumberWorks n’ Words, her daughter was hopping from one center to another.
“She likes her subjects, but after a while, she loses interest. Maybe the methodology doesn’t work for her,” Fernandez said.
Things changed for them when her daughter enrolled at NumberWorks n’ Words in its old branch in Katipunan.
But after a while, the center closed and it was not accessible to Fernandez and her daughter anymore.
Fernandez said she had a hard time looking for another center for her daughter, so she called up the Alabang branch of NumberWorks and asked if they were open for franchising.
Now the new branch is already under construction, according to Fernandez. They are targeting to open the branch in June, in time for the school year.
She shared that she wanted a NumberWorks branch near their home for their child. But it was also more than just that.
“This is more than just a personal goal for my daughter. NumberWorks helped my daughter; I have no doubt that it will help other children, as well,” Fernandez said.
The concept of NumberWorks n’ Words originated in New Zealand in 1984 and was brought here by Yang’s Australian wife in 1997. Yang took over the business in February, and said he already has plans to expand the business through more branches.
“It is, personally, an advocacy. I will make sure kids will benefit from a system where the kids end up liking math,” Yang said. He also said he needs his franchisees to have the same advocacy as him.
“A franchisee should have passion to impart learning in children,” he said.
The franchise fee, including the start-up kits, software and equipment, will cost about P750,000 according to Yang. The contract is valid for five years and is renewable. Yang also said they will provide support to their franchisee, ranging from the technical side—such as hardware, software and Internet support—to the promotion of their brand.
Number works
IT is so rare to see a student ask their teacher for a quiz. But in NumberWorks, it happens, according to Yang.
He said this is because the whole system of NumberWorks is reward-based and that it adopts a technique called “gamification.”
“Even before ‘gamification’ became a word, NumberWorks n’ Words was already doing it. One of the benefits of this method is that kids enjoy the learning,” Yang said.
In NumberWorks, when a student passes a quiz, their reward is that they get to play a game. Kids compete and the highest scores are posted on their bulletin boards.
The lessons and games are facilitated through a computer, and the software used by the students is developed in New Zealand and continues to be updated regularly.
Another advantage of NumberWorks n’ Words’ teaching methodology, as Yang said, is that it makes learning customized and comprehensive for the children.
He said in NumberWorks, when a child comes in, the teachers do an assessment of what level of comprehension a child has in math and English. A Grade 4 student can come in, but he/she might be in Grade 2 level in terms of comprehension, or maybe higher. It is then that they teach the child based on his level, in order to strengthen his foundation on the subjects.
“I want to emphasize that our system is to make children understand the fundamentals, so they can do their own homework and pass their test very well,” Yang added.
Tutorials in NumberWorks come in 12-lesson modules. Learning is progressive, and each time a child passes a level, they get a certificate.
Hourly charges for the services range from P550 to P600, depending on the age of the student. Parents can also choose the time slot convenient for them. The average class size in each session is four students.