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Curriculum & Pedagogy

We serve a wide range of learners, from infants and toddlers, to primary and secondary students, to those studying at the tertiary and post-graduate levels. As an organisation, Knowledge Universe embraces diversity and, operating in different education sectors, in different countries, through different entities, using various modes of delivery, there is a multi-pronged approach to curriculum design and pedagogy.

However, if there is a single common thread that runs throughout all Knowledge Universe early childhood education centres, schools and colleges, it is a commitment to learner-centricity and an interactive, participative pedagogy.

Our early childhood curricula are conceived and developed by highly-qualified educators and curriculum specialists based on best-in-class global standards and practices. Innovative thinking and an unwavering commitment to the development of young learners’ potential means the Knowledge Universe family of preschools are highly sought after wherever we operate.

In keeping with modern constructivist learning theory, the educational philosophy that pervades all our institutions is that deep learning will only occur if students are actively engaged in constructing their own knowledge, as opposed to being passive recipients of information that typically leads to surface learning. In the words of John Seely Brown, it is important to provide opportunities for learners to create, reflect and share. Participation is a vital ingredient for effective learning.

Today, information and communication technologies play crucial roles in our lives, and it is important that these same technologies become an integral part of formal education to ensure the development of 21st century skills.

Knowledge Universe has considerable expertise in the area of educational technology and leverages this to good effect. Technology brings richness to the learning experience and can serve as a conduit for curious, lively, inquiring minds. Information is everywhere – literally and metaphorically at our fingertips – and this is changing the job of the educator. The objective now is to help ‘digital native’ students learn how to learn; to help them make sense of all this information, and convert it into knowledge and understanding.

Meet some of our Academic Team Members

Dr. Elanna S. Yalow
Vice Chair of Knowledge Learning Corporation
Executive Vice President, Knowledge Universe

Dr. Yalow is Executive Vice President, Knowledge Universe (KU), and Vice Chair, Knowledge Learning Corporation (KLC). In her capacity she is responsible for supporting the global expansion of early childhood education programmes, while supervising both government relations and the education departments. Previously Dr. Yalow served as President and Chief Operating Officer of KLC, which operates nearly 1800 early childhood education centres in 39 states, including KinderCare Learning Centers and Knowledge Beginnings centres. As President and COO, Dr. Yalow was responsible for center operations, curriculum development and training, quality assurance, marketing and business development, mergers and acquisitions, and new centre development, supervising a total workforce of approximately 40,000 employees.

Prior to joining KLC, Dr. Yalow served as Project Director for numerous state and national level research and development projects in both educational assessment and health education for agencies including the National Institutes of Health, Office of Disease Prevention/Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control, and State Departments of Education in Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. She also served as a lecturer at California State University, Long Beach and the University of California, Los Angeles, Graduate School of Education, and as a Teaching Fellow at the Stanford University School of Education.

Dr. Yalow has published and presented extensively on issues related to education and health in publications including the Annual Review of Health Promotion and Education, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Educational Researcher, and the Handbook of Human Intelligence. She has served as a speaker on early childhood issues at the Milken Institute Global Conference, the Hechinger Institute Seminars on Education and the Media, the World Forum on Early Care and Education, the ISSA Conference on Early Childhood Education, and the BMO Capital Markets Back to School Conference. She has also made numerous presentations on issues related to assessment and evaluation in the education and health care arena at the American Psychological Association, Psychometric Society, National Council of Measurement in Education, the American Educational Research Association, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children. She is also the author of An Insider's Guide to Education for Parents, a blog for parents. http://education-blog.kindercare.com/

Dr. Yalow holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the Stanford University School of Education, an M.B.A. from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and a B.A. in Psychology from State University of New York at Stony Brook. She currently serves on the Advisory Board of the National Childhood Obesity Foundation, the Board of Trustees for Ellis University, and the Board of Directors of the Bay Area Council and Busy Bees Nurseries.

Dr. Yalow is married and the mother of two sons. She is the daughter of Dr. Rosalyn Yalow, 1977 Nobel Laureate in Physiology and/or Medicine.

Professor Jeremy Williams
Chief Academic Officer
Knowledge Universe

Dr Jeremy Williams has more than 20 years of experience in the higher education sector and, before taking up the position of Chief Academic Officer, he held the positions of Dean of Corporate Programmes and Director of Research at U21Global, and Teaching Fellow and MBA Director at Queensland University of Technology, Australia. A pioneer and specialist in the field of online education, Jeremy has won the recognition of his peers, winning awards for teaching excellence and outstanding academic contribution, and acting as a keynote speaker at numerous international seminars and conferences. Jeremy's main research focus is authentic assessment and the ways in which Web 2.0 technologies might be harnessed to promote greater student engagement and deeper learning. Find out more at Jeremy’s blog. This has been of particular interest to educational institutions in both the secondary and tertiary sectors, and to businesses looking to optimise their expenditure on corporate education.

A member and former executive committee member of the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (Ascilite), he has published three books, and close to 100 articles and reviews in journals such as the British Journal of Educational Technology, Educational Media International, Educational Technology and Society, and Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. Jeremy is an editorial board member of the Journal of Learning Design, and also serves as an advisory board member of the Centre for Educational Development at Republic Polytechnic in Singapore, and the Brisbane Graduate School of Business in Australia.

Other than online education, Jeremy’s main disciplinary expertise is economics, with a focus on ecological sustainability. He is a member of the International Society for Ecological Economics, and the Australia Institute, and serves as Adjunct Professor at QUT and Visiting Professor at Reims Management School in France, where he teaches graduate level courses in sustainable development. An active researcher in this area, he has published in the likes of Ecological Economics and the International Journal of Environment, Workplace and Employment.

Welsh by birth, Jeremy completed his BA and MA degrees in the UK, and spent three years teaching at a high school in Yorkshire before commencing his PhD studies at the University of New England, Australia. Now a dual-national British-Australian, permanent resident of Singapore, and frequent traveller in the Asia-Pacific region, Jeremy feels 'at home' in a number of places, not least of which is India where he has made in excess of 60 business trips in the last ten years. Married with two daughters, Jeremy swims a kilometre every morning, runs in the odd marathon, and plans to learn his own language (Welsh) one day.

Dr. Caprice Young,
President and Chief Executive Officer
KC Distance Learning

Caprice is President and CEO of KC Distance Learning, a subsidiary of Knowledge Universe (KU), where she leads the company’s mission to provide high quality online solutions to students and schools around the country.

Prior to joining Knowledge Universe, she was President and CEO of the California Charter Schools Association. Under Caprice's 5-year leadership, the number of California charter public schools grew by more than 300 and student enrolment grew by more than 100,000. From 1999-2003, Caprice served as a member and president of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education. Her career has included leadership roles in business, higher education and government. She also serves on numerous boards, including the Governor's Advisory Committee on Education Excellence (California), the Chime Institute and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. She is a recipient of the Coro Foundation Crystal Eagle Award for Achievement in Public Service.

Caprice earned her bachelor's degree from Yale University, followed by her Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California, and her Doctorate of Education from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Dr. Elanna S. Yalow
Professor Jeremy Williams
Dr. Caprice Young