Taproot Academic Coaching

One Key, Many Doors

Posted by Anne Connor on 15 November 2008 | 0 Comments

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As an academic coach, and a strong proponent of an integrated skills approach, I have for years watched students work on a discrete academic skill, such as writing or critical thinking, and realized that the basic academic skills of reading, note taking, writing, critical thinking, and time management are all interdependent. If a student is weak in one of these areas it will affect the others. If a student is unable to manage her time, then reading, note taking and writing may suffer. If a student has trouble with critical thinking, it is often related to ineffective reading or note-taking strategies. An academic coaching model can create a dialogue that will help both coach and student to isolate the academic skill areas where student is getting “stuck” in the learning process. This is a key understanding. Then, strategies related to all of the skills involved can be offered to help students to move forward in their overall skill development.