baseline

An "Independent Education & Career Planning Advisor", or a "Professional Learning Coach" is much more than just a tutor!

While tutoring is something that a "Professional Learning Coach" offers to his students, the fact is that anyone can be a "tutor". However, not every tutor is capable of being an effective "Learning Coach".

A tutor simply helps another person understand specific elements of a particular curriculum in order to pass a course or complete an assignment in one subject area.

A Professional Learning Coach takes the practice of "tutoring" to a much higher level.

In order to help you understand the difference between the services provided by a person who is simply a "tutor" and the services provided by a "Professional Learning Coach", consider the following fishing story.

One day a fisherman was on his way home when he came upon a man sitting by the side of the road with his family. The man explained that he had no money to buy food and that his family was hungry. He asked the fisherman if he had any fish to give him so that he could feed his family.

The fisherman reached into his sack and gave the man a few of the fish that he had caught that afternoon. The man was grateful for the food. He then lit a fire and fed his family a meal of freshly caught fish.

The next afternoon a different fisherman was on his way home when he came upon the same family sitting by the side of the road. The man once again explained that he had no money to buy food and that his family was hungry. He then asked the second fisherman if he had any fish to give him so that he could feed his family.

The second fisherman reached into his sack and gave the man a few of the fish he had caught that afternoon.

Instead of leaving, however, while the man's wife was preparing and cooking the fish for dinner, the second fisherman took the man to the nearby stream that was running by the side of the road. The second fisherman then showed the man how to break off a branch to turn it into a fishing pole. The fisherman then gave the man a piece of fishing line and a hook. He showed the man how to attach a berry to the hook and then showed the man how to hold the fishing pole in the water with the hook and berry floating on the surface. The second fisherman stayed with the man until they caught a few fish from the stream. Once the second fisherman was satisfied that the man was able to catch fish on his own, the second fisherman continued on his way down the road, satisfied that the man and his family would never again be hungry.

The first fisherman provided the man with the means of satisfying the immediate hunger of the man and his family. However, the next day the man and his family were hungry again. That is what most tutoring is all about. Tutoring provides short-term solutions to learning problems, but soon those problems come back again.

The second fisherman not only satisfied the immediate hunger of the man and his family, he then showed the man how to catch his own fish and left the man with suitable knowledge and skills to make sure that he would never again go hungry. In fact, the man now had the ability to catch fish for sale to make money to purchase other things for his family. The second fisherman gave the man hope and the ability to make a good life for himself. That is what a "Learning Coach" does.

A "Professional Learning Coach" recognizes the need to solve immediate problems, but also realizes that it is even more important to develop skills which will ensure that those problems never again present the same challenges as they did in the first place.

Anyone can be a "tutor". Anyone can help out with an immediate problem, but it takes a person with special skills and experience to be an effective "Professional Learning Coach".

BASELINE METHOD

Each Professional Learning Coach has his own preferred style when it comes to working with students.

In my case, I have found the "Baseline Method" to be most effective.

First of all, it is important that we establish and agree upon the "Big Goals" for the student. In other words, what changes are desired and over what period of time do we wish to accomplish those changes? To do this I ask the parents and the student what changes they would like to see over the next twelve months in order to establish a specific target which is achievable over a reasonable period of time. We may still discuss "long-term" education or career goals, but I find it is always best to work within "short-term" chunks of about one year in length.
Once we know our destination, or our "desired outcome", it is then critical for us to establish the current status of the student. In other words, once we are clear about where we would like to end up we have to establish from where we are starting. I call this starting point the "baseline position" of the student.
When we have a crystal clear idea of our "baseline position" as well as our "desired outcome", we are ready to determine the "gap" which must be closed and hence develop strategies that will begin to close the gap.
The "gap analysis" may force us to make adjustments to our desired outcomes and/or to our time frame. We may find that there is too big a spread between our "baseline" and our "desired outcome" to reasonably expect to close the gap in the allotted time frame. On the other hand, we may discover that we can set our targets higher if the gap is closer than expected. Our "desired outcome" must challenge the student, but it must not be so far out of reach that the student feels discouraged before he/she starts.
The next step is to develop a strategic plan of action that will work in conjunction with the current learning environment in which the student finds him/herself. I do not try to create an artificial environment, nor do I wish to have a program of instruction that is completely separate from that in which the student is currently enrolled. For example, regardless of what we are doing at The Learning Clinic, the student must still meet the responsibilities of his/her current school program. The Learning Clinic program must not "add" to the student's workload, but must rather "complement" the current school curriculum, all the time aiming to close the gap and work towards our desired outcomes within the allotted time frame.
This is why I find it so very important to spend a great deal of time working with my students as they are doing their homework and current assignments. By incorporating the Learning Clinic strategic plan of action with the school curriculum, the student is better able to make a connection between the two and experience positive results immediately. These positive results will provide some of the motivation and inspiration needed to develop effective learning skills which will be used to achieve the "desired outcomes".
Therefore, when we begin with the "baseline position", and develop a strategic plan of action which will close the "gap" between the baseline position and the "desired outcomes", the student experiences continuous growth and personal satisfaction. Each time we review the progress of our program, the baseline will have moved and the gap will be less and less as we move towards our fixed outcome. As the "destination" gets closer and closer, the student becomes more and more motivated and inspired.

The "Baseline Method" provides a seamless merger of the Learning Clinic program, thereby helping the student incorporate these effective real-life learning skills into virtually all areas of his/her life. This is my ultimate goal as a Professional Learning Coach.

Robert Kirwan
Education & Career Planning Agent
Professional Learning Coach

The Learning Clinic is The Private Practice of
Robert Kirwan, B.A. (Math), M.A. (Education), OCT
4456 Noel Crescent, Val Therese, ON P3P 1S8
Phone: (705) 969-7215 Email: rkirwan@thelearningclinic.ca