Why
Coaching?
How
has academic coaching evolved? What's the difference
between ordinary tutoring and professional academic
coaching? When should I hire an academic coach? Is an
expert academic coach worth the extra cost? Isn't tutoring
enough? Which is the best choice in my particular
situation?
Academic Coaching is a rather new specialty in the field of
private practice education, and the term "academic coach"
is still unfamiliar to many people. The purpose of this
article is to clarify the distinction between ordinary
tutoring and academic coaching, and to help answer these
common questions.
How has
academic coaching evolved?
Until
fairly recently in the course of history private tutoring
was the way most education happened, the primary means by
which critical knowledge and skills were passed from one
generation to the next. Whether the subject matter is
hunting mammoths, learning Latin, sewing a dress, playing
piano, passing the bar exam, or mastering basic algebra,
nothing can beat one-on-one private instruction with an
engaging, expert private teacher. Indeed, it's been said
that the best possible educational setting is "you,
Aristotle, and a log."
Since the 1980's, the tremendous expansion in the private
practice education industry in America has been followed by
a stratification of private teachers into two main levels:
average tutors, and "super-tutors" or "coaches." Gradually,
the best private tutors were distinguished for their
greater ability to produce results and for succeeding with
students whose situations were too difficult or complex for
other tutors to handle. Some of these "super-tutors" or
"coaches" began to provide value and benefits extending
well beyond simple help with basic skills and home work,
including thinking, learning, and productivity skills,
assisting with learning differences or disabilities,
personal mentoring, and other support elements critical to
enduring, broad-based academic and personal achievement.
What's
the difference between ordinary tutoring and professional
academic coaching?
In general, a tutor is someone
who answers questions on a particular academic subject or
course with which one is having trouble. Tutors are
qualified to address deficiencies in students’
understanding of course content, concepts, and basic
skills, and to remediate these deficiencies. Tutors are
often part-timer teachers, college students, or others who
maintain a small private teaching practice to "make extra
money" but have another primary source of income to fall
back on.
An academic coach does these things also, but goes well
beyond simply giving direct instruction on basic skills and
course content. Unlike tutors, academic coaches also
address contextual factors that play a key role in
scholastic success and achievement and that may be
critically impacting a given student's academic experience.
Just as an athletic coach directs, instructs, tracks, and
focuses each player's performance on the sports field, an
academic coach provides leadership, specialized training,
accountability, and regular, individualized feedback and
support to make the most of each student's academic
potential and optimize scholastic performance.
In addition to teaching or reviewing specific course
content, an academic coach also works comprehensively with
student, parents, teachers, and other professionals to
address and manage the totality of issues affecting the
student and the problem he or she is having in school. An
academic coach inspires and encourages students to reach
for their own personal best, provides additional
instruction in organization, coursework management, and
study skills, and promotes self-confidence,
self-discipline, integrity, efficiency, and productivity.
Furthermore, academic coaches also prepare students to
manage their time, tasks, and goals, introduce and
reinforce broader learning and thinking skills (e.g.
harnessing the power of questions, information input and
output, etc.), give personal support, and help students to
enjoy the process of learning and take pride in their work.
Whereas a tutor merely teaches, an academic coach is part
teacher, manager, mentor, organizer, cheerleader,
taskmaster, counselor, resource expert, learning
specialist, educational consultant, and motivational
speaker. Academic coaches generally have greater expertise
and better training in their specialty, possess superior
communication skills, and have more private teaching
experience than do ordinary tutors, and are devoted,
full-time private educators who have chosen academic
coaching as their professional career. While tutors focus
on the "little picture," work on short-term issues, and
offer simple fixes, academic coaches focus on the "big
picture," work on both short and long term problems and
solutions, and utilize comprehensive, multidimensional
approaches to provide extensive, long-lasting benefits and
catalyze maximum success for their students.
All coaches are tutors – but not all tutors are
coaches!
When
should I hire an academic coach?
To
clarify the distinction between tutoring and academic
coaching, consider the following analogy. A motor scooter
is fine for short trips around town, when you won't have
much to carry, or anything really demanding or difficult to
accomplish. But when the trip involves carrying cargo or
traveling longer distances, or when greater comfort, speed,
or safety is desired, an automobile is a better choice.
Likewise, the services of a
skilled academic coach are not always required. If
insufficient understanding of course content is the only
difficulty, the problem is not severe or complex, and time
is not an issue, private tutoring may be all that's needed.
But when a student's difficulty is complicated by other
factors such as a lack of organization, discipline,
confidence, or motivation, when learning differences or
disabilities, past history, being extremely behind or ahead
of grade level, or emotional or family issues play a
significant role, or whenever needs or goals are more
extensive or must be addressed or accomplished with greater
speed, it’s best to hire a professional academic
coach.
Is an
expert academic coach worth the extra cost? Isn’t
tutoring enough? Which is the best choice in my particular
situation?
Since academic coaches have better training, more
experience, and greater skills than ordinary tutors do, and
since they offer a broad array of additional educational
support services that the average tutor is not qualified to
provide, fees for academic coaching are normally higher
than those typically charged by ordinary tutors.
The scooter/auto analogy aptly applies here, as well.
Although it may be possible to carry a heavy load over
great distances on a scooter, it isn't advisable.
Similarly, whenever a learning challenge is of sufficient
importance, difficulty, seriousness, or complexity, the
extra cost involved in hiring a professional academic coach
is usually justified.
In fact, considering the very positive effect it can have
on lifetime potential earning power and net worth by
opening doors to a better education at higher quality
schools and colleges, professional academic coaching can be
one of the smartest investments one can make. (For tips on
how to find a good academic coach, click
here.)
---
Why coaching?
In short – because it works!
Copyright © 2006
Christopher R. Borland. All Rights Reserved.