Develop Academic Skills for Lifelong Learning

So What Exactly Do We Do?

Step 1: The Initial Meeting

Your Academic Coach will sit down with the student and at least one parent to understand the student’s goals and areas for improvement. While we prefer these meetings to be with both the parent and student together, we understand the demands of work and are happy to meet with the student and discuss potential outcomes with a parent over the phone. Our goal for this meeting is to determine if our offering is a match for your family.

Step 2: The Big Meeting

During our “Big Meeting,” we work with the student to get a full understanding of her academic (and life) story. We will:

• Discuss why she feels she needs academic coaching
• Identify her goals class by class and overall
• Evaluate how she is organizing herself and managing her schedule currently
• Identify the academic and technology resources available to her
• Identify any challenges to her academic success

In general, we want to build trust with your student so we keep the meeting casual and non-critical. Outcomes of the meeting will be an overall picture of her current academic situation and an action plan for the academic year. As part of the plan, we will compile a list of SMART goals and set a schedule for tutoring.

On the approval of the student, we will share individual class goals with parents. Usually, we simply recommend a certain number of hours and discuss how the meeting went. We NEVER promise straight As or 4.0 GPAs. Each student is different: we support skills development, overall improved feelings about education, and generally better grades.

Step 3: Trench Work

We affectionately refer to this phase as “trench work” because we figuratively get in the trenches with your student. This aspect is what differentiates us from other academic coaches. We tutor! The goals have been set so now it’s time to form and reinforce the habits that actually lead to academic success.

We tutor your student online in the subjects we previously agreed on for the number of hours we agreed on. Depending on the student, we may meet 4 days a week for 1 hour per lesson, 2 days a week for 2 hours per lesson, or 1 hour per week for 2 hours. The number of hours depends on the needs of your student.

Each tutoring session begins with a review of the work the student was supposed to complete based on the last session. We DO NOT do work for students. We review and discuss with them how to improve the work they have completed. We also discuss “how to get started,” a key trouble area for many students when they have been assigned a new project.

Throughout the tutoring, we work with students on building the following skills that are essential for academic success:

• Time and project management
• Organization
• Note-taking
• Academic writing (including PEEL)
• Test study skills

While students do learn these skills in school, your academic coach will work with your student to personalize all these techniques. For example, many students like to use their phones to manage their schedules, but perhaps this leads to distractions for your student and a physical planner is better. We reflect (with the student) on strategies while tutoring and discuss how to tailor them to suit her needs.

Step 4: Reflection

Every two weeks or once a month, we will reflect on well we are implementing the action plan and make adjustments if necessary. These check-ins are important because we believe:

• Students need to develop a growth mindset and own the process of getting there
• Academic independence should be one of the goals of the student and coach/tutor
• Metacognition (thinking about your thinking) should be discussed directly
• Part of our accountability for students is actually having a “summary” conversation about what we are doing well as well as not implementing

During our reflection sessions, we also discuss student “wins.” She has to think about the things she has done well or been consistent with to build her confidence. Our hope is that this process will become automatic within her and help motivate her to achieve even more academic success.

Step 5: Academic Independence

We request that students and parents agree to work with their Academic Coach for at least one full academic year (or the remaining portion of the year) to have the best chances at academic success. Forming new study habits takes time and consistency is key.

Typically, we work with students for one to two years. At the end of the second year, we discuss switching to minimal support or just monthly “check-ins” with parents. Students are often ready to take full responsibility for their academic success at this point but unsure of whether they should. We initiate the conversation to give them the final confidence boost that they are ready.

American Instructor

Get guidance from an experienced native English-speaking American who has worked as an academic coach for more than 15 years. 

Affordable Preparation

Our coaching is AED 150 per hour. That’s for every meeting, lesson, and subject. No more separate tutors for math and English.

Individual Attention

Get a tailored plan and individual instruction from the comfort and convenience of your home. We work with your student online!