Everyday is different in my work with students as an Academic Life Coach & Executive Function Coach and hence why I thought it might be interesting to share!
I can honestly say that I really enjoy what I do and seeing the difference that I can have to the lives of my students and their families makes it all worthwhile. The variety that comes along with everyday means life is never dull and I am always kept on my toes so to speak!
Let me share with you a sample of the type of work I have been doing over the past few weeks:
Assisting several Year 12 students to prepare for Trial Exams in NSW – this has included working closely with quite a few of them to equip them with the tools and strategies they need in relation to their preparation with study/revision. Along with this, we have actually spent time preparing their timetables outside of school to ensure they are spending their time equally across their subjects and determining the key areas to focus on in early Term 3. This support will continue right up to their last exams as will it do so for students in Victoria and other states in the coming weeks.- Working with a Year 7 student weekly who has learning challenges – the work I do with this student in particular focuses on working as part of a team, along with the school and her other supports ie Psychologist, to ensure we are all supporting the student and her family. One of the key aspects around this has been working hard to engage the school to put together an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) to support the student with her various challenges. One of the key benefits to this family was the fact I was already working online with the student weekly so she was familiar with the platform before having to start learning @ home due to Covid19.
- Being involved in a Radio/YouTube Program for students – ‘She Doesn’t Even Go Here‘ put together by Greg Blake, from Gettin’ Ready, giving a voice to students, and to support them, parents and teachers as a result of the challenges being faced with Covid19 and school closures.
- Working with several young students to ensure they are organised in their home spaces – I worked as an organising expert for a number of years before I started primarily focusing on working with students, and have the expertise to continue to assist students, and others, to ensure they develop responsibility and independence for managing their own spaces in their homes.
- Speaking to my organising peers/colleagues – earlier this month I had the opportunity to address my fellow professional organising colleagues on ‘Student Organising – The What and the Why’ and how I came to work in this particular niche after being a bit of a jack of all trades working with businesses and families in a variety of organising and productivity areas.
- Conducting assessments for many new students – when meeting a student & their family for a first time, I undertake a thorough assessment of all aspects of their life as a student. This is an assessment that I am proud to have developed and it allows me to assess the key areas that need focus and attention. A detailed report follows that outlines the key issues and recommendations and then we start work to address together through my Student Success Program.
- Meetings with parents – from time to time I have meetings 1:1 with parents to discuss in more detail the strategies that I am assisting their child with so they too can be supporting them in the most effective way. On other occasions I meet with parents of younger children (often primary school age and those with learning challenges) to discuss tools and strategies they can use to assist their children and ensure they are learning effectively and putting good habits into place early. At times parents need to alter their approach and behaviours towards their children, which I address as required, in order to see changes in the right places and good habits being formed.
Regular 1:1 nightly sessions with students (usually Year 7-12) – this is the area that takes up the bulk of my time and in any given week I would usually work with between 10-15 students online after school and in the evenings. Each student is usually at a different stage and whilst I have a general program that I follow, the sessions with each student usually address their current challenges at that particular point in time.- Attending Individual Learning Plan meetings with schools – another key area I spend a bit of time on is advocating for my students and working closely with their families and then their schools to ensure they are being supported on all levels. Sometimes it is about getting Individual Learning Plans put in place and at other times regularly being involved in check in meetings to see that the tools and strategies are working both at school and at home to ensure a child is learning & meeting their potential.
- Working with a family of a primary school aged child on the spectrum – for this family I am working closely, to support the mother as well as the child, to ensure the necessary supports are in place and everyone including the school and other health professionals are working together.
- Supporting a client who has disabilities – regular life coaching and support to my client as well as her family and in particular her two children who are in the early stages of their education and one who has some learning challenges. In particular we will be working closely together to support the elder of her children as he transitions to secondary school at the end of this year. This is the first area of my business that I established in working with students. To learn more, you can read about that here.
- Conducting 1 off 1:1 sessions with students – The bulk of my students usually work with me 1:1 through my Student Success Program however I have also started to offer a few more 1 off 1:1 sessions to assist students – so far these include ‘how to become an independent learner’ and ‘how to be effective with exam preparation’.
Conducting school workshops – I enjoy working closely with schools to conduct workshops for both students, parents and teachers throughout the school year. Naturally at this time this has moved to being online rather than in person due to Covid19 and is likely to continue this way for some time. I am currently liaising with many primary schools to discuss my transition program and how we will run this to support students going from Year 6 to Year 7. This is going to be such an important program supporting students even more so this year due to the fact that many of them, particularly in Victoria, are continuing their learning @ home. Likewise, I am discussing with many secondary schools how we can run the workshops around exams for senior students too.- Developing content for my student 1:1 program and others as well as for workshops – for those that know me well I am always in the process of developing new content and programs in support of my student community and this is something I strive to keep doing to support everyone the best I can!
- Submission to the state government on what worked with Learning @ Home and what didn’t 1st time round – Due to the fact that I currently work with over 70+ students across the country on a regular basis I was able to collect a lot of data on what they found worked and what didn’t in relation to their learning @ home in early 2020. Therefore I am in the process of putting in a submission to the Victorian State Government to assist them to assess what components from this that might be viable to adopt into our education system going forward and those that shouldn’t. There have certainly been some useful aspects of learning @ home that should be considered!
As you can see there is a raft of ways I work with students, parents, schools and others to support students with their learning & the skills/tools they need to succeed both at school and in life.
Everyday is different working with students and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
To learn more about how I might be able to assist you or your family or school please do get in touch.