A Typical Academic Coaching Session
At ACA, we employ our unique student-centered, reactive approach to teach effective function skills. We use the students' own authentic assignments and assessments as a vehicle to teach executive function skills in real time. Students can immediately practice skills increasing processing and working memory abilities.
Although each session is tailored to the individual needs of each student, they follow a similar format:
- Reconnecting - This is the time for coaches to ask students about how their week went, discuss successes and challenges, and talk about expectations for the upcoming week.
- Grade review - Students will screenshare their grading portal with their coach and compare grades this week with the previous week. During this time the coach guides students to reflect on strategies that were used and discuss which were successful and possibly where to recalibrate.
- Accountability - Did the student follow the plan that was created at the last meeting? This time generally centers on homework completion, implementation of strategies, or asking a teacher for extra help.
- Skill Development - Using the student's own authentic assignments, coaches teach the skills and strategies for success. This could be creating a plan to turn in missing homework assignments, reaching out to a teacher for extra help, working on active study strategies for an upcoming test, breaking down tasks to complete a project, etc.
- Creating a Plan - The coach guides the student in creating a very specific plan to tackle the tasks needed to be completed in the coming week while incorporating organization and time management skills.
- Weekly Goals - Using the SMART goal method, students will identify their main objectives for the week and create a plan to accomplish them.
- Continued Support - After each session, the coach sends lesson notes to parents, which is a summary of what was addressed. Coaches will continue to provide support by checking in with students between sessions when necessary.
Many students who come to us have been using maladaptive habits for quite some time. Our job is to help students break those bad habits and replace them with new, productive ones. It is important to remember that breaking bad habits takes time so practicing patience and focusing on progress instead of outcomes is the key to success.