DARLEEN VAN TONDER, Owner
Author, Speaker, Trainer, Consultant
Darleen Van Tonder is a Certified Master LearningSuccess™ Coach & Trainer in South Africa. She studied and worked with Mariaemma Willis & Victoria Hodson, since 2003, when she first began using their book, Discover Your Child’s Learning Style, and their Self-Portrait™ assessment with her own family. She became the new owner of LearningSuccess™ Institute in September, 2022. She continues to work closely with the founders, Mariaemma and Victoria (see founders below).
Darleen is an Art Teacher as well as a Registered Education, Training and Development Practitioner and Coach in S. Africa. She also writes curriculum for specific and various contexts in the S. African education and business sector.
Darleen homeschooled her son whilst her daughter went to private school – both different learning styles recognized. She has a passion for bringing freedom, hope, and success in the learning and work process to all ages – children and adults.
She founded Retrain (Pty) Ltd. and Kutitiva Foundation (Non-Profit Organization and Public Benefit Organization) in S. Africa to further her work of empowering children and adults to discover their true gifts and potential. She is passionate about bringing this work into underprivileged communities in S. Africa and throughout the worl
As a teacher, curriculum and materials designer and consultant, Victoria Kindle Hodson has worked for 40 years to bring the best brain-based practices in education and psychology to students, teachers, and parents. She is a pioneer of many of current trends, including personalized learning, student-centered learning, project-based learning, and blended learning.
In 1988 she co-created with Mariaemma Willis a breakthrough model to facilitate an individual’s transition from a fixed to a growth mindset that has been used with great success by tens of thousands of parents, teachers, and students. This student-centered learning model provides the foundation for an alternative to the “one-size-fits-all” classroom and is based on the latest research as well as her insights based on her studies and teaching experience.
Victoria has degrees in education and counseling psychology and has trained extensively in special education, parenting, communication skills development, Montessori education, and organization development. She has worked with and spoken to thousands of children and parents throughout the world, as well as to homeschooling families and classroom teachers, assessing personal learning needs, diagnosing school problems, designing customized curriculum plans, and teaching techniques and strategies that help children learn and teachers teach more effectively.
MARIAEMMA PELULLO-WILLIS, M.S., Founder
Author, Speaker, Trainer, Consultant
Why are the really smart kids getting Ds and Fs? This is a question Mariaemma began asking in elementary school when as a “straight A student” she noticed that certain classmates knew so much more than she did in various subjects, yet were getting very poor grades. In pursuit of the answer to this question, she became a pioneer in the area of student-centered and personalized learning solutions, and has been committed to success for every child since 1988.
Mariaemma has worked with thousands of children, parents, and teachers, assessing different ways of learning, diagnosing school problems, designing customized curriculum plans, and sharing teaching techniques and strategies that enable all students to learn.
Mariaemma is an expert in tailoring instruction to the unique needs of individual students:
- building on their strengths
- mitigating their challenges
- creating environments that are engaging and that spark their desire to learn
Mariaemma’s approach to student-centered learning enables:
- students to take ownership of their learning
- educators to turn information into action in the classroom
- parents to be informed and participate in the process
Mariaemma has also conducted training programs for literacy volunteers throughout Southern California, taught learning success strategies in correctional facilities, developed assessment and teaching procedures for adult students, and written books for parents and teachers. Credentials include: B.A. Psychology, M.S. Education, California Life Teaching Credentials for regular and special education.
With Victoria Kindle Hodson she co-founded Reflective Educational Perspectives, LLC and co-authored Discover Your Child’s Learning Style, Midlife Crisis Begins in Kindergarten and the Self-Portrait™ Power Traits Assessment.
Their personalized learning approach has been used by teachers and parents; public, private, and charter schools; and classroom and independent study programs, throughout the U.S. as well as internationally: Japan, Canada, Philippines, South Africa, and Taiwan.
Mariaemma lives in Ventura, California with her husband, Ron. In her “spare” time she loves to read and garden. Hobbies include nutrition, holistic health, interior design, and personal development. m@learningsuccesscoach.com, 805-648-1739
VICTORIA KINDLE HODSON, M.A., Founder
Author, Speaker, Trainer, Consultant
As a teacher, curriculum and materials designer and consultant, Victoria Kindle Hodson has worked for 40 years to bring the best brain-based practices in education and psychology to students, teachers, and parents. She is a pioneer of many of current trends, including personalized learning, student-centered learning, project-based learning, and blended learning.
In 1988 she co-created with Mariaemma Willis a breakthrough model to facilitate an individual’s transition from a fixed to a growth mindset that has been used with great success by tens of thousands of parents, teachers, and students. This student-centered learning model provides the foundation for an alternative to the “one-size-fits-all” classroom and is based on the latest research as well as her insights based on her studies and teaching experience.
Victoria has degrees in education and counseling psychology and has trained extensively in special education, parenting, communication skills development, Montessori education, and organization development. She has worked with and spoken to thousands of children and parents throughout the world, as well as to homeschooling families and classroom teachers, assessing personal learning needs, diagnosing school problems, designing customized curriculum plans, and teaching techniques and strategies that help children learn and teachers teach more effectively.