Academic Coaching Frequently Asked Questions.
What is an Academic Coach?
An academic coach is an educated professional who works with students to set and achieve short and long term academic goals. This is done through building a strong team of academic partners, including the student, coach, teachers, parents, guidance counselors, academic advisors, subject tutors and others. The coach helps students develop skills and habits, based on their personal learning style, that overcome the obstacles to their long-term academic success.
Are you also a tutor?
Yes! I tutor in a number of subject. These include: writing (all kinds), k-6, Language Arts, Mathematics (K-Algebra), Computer Applications, American History, World History, Art History, Art Appreciation Civics, Basic Sciences and Middle School Sciences. However, Tutoring and Coaching are not the same. Read on to learn more .
What’s the difference between a Tutor and an Academic Coach?
Academic Coaches and Tutors employ many of the same techniques and the activities. However, the main job of a tutor is to teach a particular subject or a set of subjects to a student who is having difficulty learning a concept or has fallen behind for reasons such as absence or different learning styles from peers. Many tutors specialize in one subject or subject area, such as Mathematics or Language Arts. K-5 (sometimes K-8) tutors usually cover all the major subjects taught in elementary and middle school.
Often times, parents seek out a tutor to act as an academic coach, because the concept of “coaching” outside of sports is still new to many folks. There are many “tutors” out there that are actually coaches. And many coaches double as tutors. Those interested in teaching are normally well verse in study skills want to help students succeed in the long term.
While many coach and tutor, the role of a tutor is to teach within their expertise. And some tutors don’t work with study skills. Instead, they have a unique expertise in the content that allows them to help others learn it.
What Types of Activities Do Coaches Do with Students?
Academic coaching sessions vary depending on the needs of each student. The first few sessions are spent determining the obstacles to success, setting learning goals and assessing the student’s personal learning style. Additional learning activities are chosen depending on intial sessions with the student. Below are 2 sample session agendas.
K-12 Session Agenda: 60-90 Minutes
Check In: Review homework assignments, upcoming projects and current lessons from each course. Review information from prior session. Set goals for current session. (10-15 minutes)
Study Skills Activity: Complete “Asking Questions” skills sheet and practice. (25-50 minutes)
Coaching Assignment: Student is to practice asking questions at least once every school day between now and the next session. (5 Minutes)
Homework: Review each homework assignment (as time allows) and ensure student understands concepts. Review and reteach concepts or refer to subject tutor. (20-30) minutes.
Note: Some sessions may favor homework time while integrating study skills learned in previous sessions. Some sessions may only include one or the other (study skills or homework time).
College Session Agenda:
Check In: Review information from last session. Discuss areas of struggle for the student and experiences in classes since last session. Set goal for current session.
Study Skills Activity: Complete Notetaking Skills Lesson. Go through existing student notes. Discuss what the student could do differently the next time they take notes.
Special Projects: Review rough draft of Political Science research paper assignment. Discuss weak arguments and references versus strong ones. Use examples from rough draft.
Assignments:
1. Employ new skills as much as possible during class times and when reading texts, research reports, and articles.
2. Make revisions to Poli Sci rough draft for next session. We’ll discuss APA formatting as well as final edits to the content of the assignment. Refer to your APA manual when editing and write down any questions that come up.
Is Academic Coaching Right for You? If you answer yes to any of the following questions, then an academic coach is your best bet.
· Do you struggle with multiple subjects?
· Do you struggle with all subjects, even the ones you enjoy?
· Do you take notes that turn out not to be relevant to tests, quizzes or assignments?
· Do your notes seem useless, in general, once you get home?
· Are you unsure of what information from lectures is important?
· Do you lose assignments?
· Do you have trouble paying attention in classes?
· Are your grades low across the board?
Should I seek out a single subject tutor instead? If you answer yes to any of the following questions, then a tutor is what you need.
· Are you doing fine in most of your classes, except 1 or 2?
· Are your grades high across the board, except in that one troublesome subject?
· Do you love Math (or Physics, French, Chemistry, etc) but just can’t “get” the current topics and concepts in class?
· Did you fall behind in a class, because you didn’t learn a concept as fast as others, missed a class because of illness or another reason? Are you struggling to catch up?
· Once you catch up in that subject, do you feel confident that the rest of the semester or school year will go well without additional help?
An academic coach is an educated professional who works with students to set and achieve short and long term academic goals. This is done through building a strong team of academic partners, including the student, coach, teachers, parents, guidance counselors, academic advisors, subject tutors and others. The coach helps students develop skills and habits, based on their personal learning style, that overcome the obstacles to their long-term academic success.
Are you also a tutor?
Yes! I tutor in a number of subject. These include: writing (all kinds), k-6, Language Arts, Mathematics (K-Algebra), Computer Applications, American History, World History, Art History, Art Appreciation Civics, Basic Sciences and Middle School Sciences. However, Tutoring and Coaching are not the same. Read on to learn more .
What’s the difference between a Tutor and an Academic Coach?
Academic Coaches and Tutors employ many of the same techniques and the activities. However, the main job of a tutor is to teach a particular subject or a set of subjects to a student who is having difficulty learning a concept or has fallen behind for reasons such as absence or different learning styles from peers. Many tutors specialize in one subject or subject area, such as Mathematics or Language Arts. K-5 (sometimes K-8) tutors usually cover all the major subjects taught in elementary and middle school.
Often times, parents seek out a tutor to act as an academic coach, because the concept of “coaching” outside of sports is still new to many folks. There are many “tutors” out there that are actually coaches. And many coaches double as tutors. Those interested in teaching are normally well verse in study skills want to help students succeed in the long term.
While many coach and tutor, the role of a tutor is to teach within their expertise. And some tutors don’t work with study skills. Instead, they have a unique expertise in the content that allows them to help others learn it.
What Types of Activities Do Coaches Do with Students?
Academic coaching sessions vary depending on the needs of each student. The first few sessions are spent determining the obstacles to success, setting learning goals and assessing the student’s personal learning style. Additional learning activities are chosen depending on intial sessions with the student. Below are 2 sample session agendas.
K-12 Session Agenda: 60-90 Minutes
Check In: Review homework assignments, upcoming projects and current lessons from each course. Review information from prior session. Set goals for current session. (10-15 minutes)
Study Skills Activity: Complete “Asking Questions” skills sheet and practice. (25-50 minutes)
Coaching Assignment: Student is to practice asking questions at least once every school day between now and the next session. (5 Minutes)
Homework: Review each homework assignment (as time allows) and ensure student understands concepts. Review and reteach concepts or refer to subject tutor. (20-30) minutes.
Note: Some sessions may favor homework time while integrating study skills learned in previous sessions. Some sessions may only include one or the other (study skills or homework time).
College Session Agenda:
Check In: Review information from last session. Discuss areas of struggle for the student and experiences in classes since last session. Set goal for current session.
Study Skills Activity: Complete Notetaking Skills Lesson. Go through existing student notes. Discuss what the student could do differently the next time they take notes.
Special Projects: Review rough draft of Political Science research paper assignment. Discuss weak arguments and references versus strong ones. Use examples from rough draft.
Assignments:
1. Employ new skills as much as possible during class times and when reading texts, research reports, and articles.
2. Make revisions to Poli Sci rough draft for next session. We’ll discuss APA formatting as well as final edits to the content of the assignment. Refer to your APA manual when editing and write down any questions that come up.
Is Academic Coaching Right for You? If you answer yes to any of the following questions, then an academic coach is your best bet.
· Do you struggle with multiple subjects?
· Do you struggle with all subjects, even the ones you enjoy?
· Do you take notes that turn out not to be relevant to tests, quizzes or assignments?
· Do your notes seem useless, in general, once you get home?
· Are you unsure of what information from lectures is important?
· Do you lose assignments?
· Do you have trouble paying attention in classes?
· Are your grades low across the board?
Should I seek out a single subject tutor instead? If you answer yes to any of the following questions, then a tutor is what you need.
· Are you doing fine in most of your classes, except 1 or 2?
· Are your grades high across the board, except in that one troublesome subject?
· Do you love Math (or Physics, French, Chemistry, etc) but just can’t “get” the current topics and concepts in class?
· Did you fall behind in a class, because you didn’t learn a concept as fast as others, missed a class because of illness or another reason? Are you struggling to catch up?
· Once you catch up in that subject, do you feel confident that the rest of the semester or school year will go well without additional help?