Welcome to Intuition!
This is the first blog from Intuition Academic Coaching, so I just wanted to say a big hello and provide an introduction to what I do here.
Neon sign displaying the word "hello" against a black background.
My name is Laura, and I set up Intuition after many years of being a university lecturer, researcher and private tutor, to help support students and academics with their academic skills.
When I left lecturing and started private tuition, it was simply a way for me to continue doing what I loved – working with and supporting students – whilst balancing my new role as a parent. Over the years, it has become more than that; it is a choice and a job that I love and am passionate about. Of course, I could have continued in my role as a lecturer after becoming a mother, as many women successfully do, but for me the intention was to gain control over my own time and focus on the aspects of the role that were important to me. I love to provide one-to-one support, and to help others to identify, plan and achieve their desired goals. I get a great deal of enjoyment from seeing my clients realise and accomplish their objectives and ambitions, and this is something that academic coaching has enabled me to do.
I have been supporting students and early career academics for nearly twenty years now. I have had the pleasure of working with clients from across the world; of different ages and genders; with diverse needs and abilities and with different, wonderful, exciting stories to share. I am pleased to say that most of my clients work with me for a long time and I am still in contact with many who have now moved on beyond study, into the world of academia or outside of it, providing me with regular updates on their lives and achievements.
Over the years, I have developed and grown with the students and academics that I have worked with, refining my own skills whilst supporting others with theirs. I have learnt the importance of establishing strong relationships, working with student-led agendas, and of developing trust. In short, I have become a coach. More specifically, I have become an academic coach. You may be wondering…
‘What does an academic coach actually do?’
An academic coach is someone who provides support, encouragement and guidance in the achievement of academic goals, but where the client or ‘coachee’ is primarily in control of such goals and how to achieve them. The client therefore has an idea about what their aims are, and the academic coach helps them to work out how to accomplish them.
An academic coach can support clients in various ways, including:
Assisting in analysing performance in academic work
Working collaboratively with clients to develop ideas, plans and solutions
Helping clients to develop their full potential and a positive mindset
Providing encouragement and motivation
Helping to identify the best approach to learning
Facilitating learning, offering instruction and guidance
Supporting clients to determine how to balance academic goals with life responsibilities
Academic coaches work in diverse ways, and if you are thinking of using an academic coach, then it is important to find the right coach for you. It sounds obvious, but it is a good idea to work with a coach who has direct experience of working within academia, as the knowledge gained here is invaluable in providing advice and guidance to clients which cannot be learned elsewhere. Equally important, however, is ensuring that you establish a strong, working relationship with your coach, so before you make your decision, get in touch with several coaches, talk to them, and make sure that the coaching relationship is going to be right for you.
So, how do the sessions work at Intuition Academic Coaching?
No two coaching sessions are the same. I support students and academics in a variety of ways and each session is designed around the client’s goals. But to give you an idea of the ways in which previous and existing clients have chosen to use the sessions, here are some examples:
Working through assignments, such as essays, reports, blogs, research designs or dissertations. This has included developing plans, structure, paragraphs, content and analysis or editing and proof-reading.
Focusing on exam preparation and revision. This has involved planning revision timetables, working through notes and developing revision content, practising exam answers, identifying appropriate exam writing strategies and looking at techniques for addressing anxiety.
Developing approaches for time planning and management and learning how to balance university commitments with personal, work and social obligations and responsibilities.
Working on different types of reviews of the literature (including scoping, systematic and rapid evidence reviews), developing synthesis tables and PRISMA diagrams.
Reading and reviewing secondary sources together, interpreting and discussing content and learning how to evaluate and analyse the material.
Structuring or re-structuring research project documents, such as dissertations or theses.
Preparing and practising for presentations, upgrades and PhD vivas, through development of presentation material, practise questions and mock upgrades and vivas.
Designing research tools and projects for qualitative and quantitative research.
Planning and developing draft articles, using existing research data (such as thesis material) or drawing on data from new research projects.
Proof-reading and editing assignments, dissertations, theses and articles.
Where and when do the coaching sessions take place?
All tuition sessions are conducted online. I use Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet…whatever each client feels most comfortable with. Online sessions are helpful for screen sharing and enabling collaborative working alongside detailed discussion. Some clients, however, prefer to work over email. The choice is yours, as it is important that you communicate in the way that suits you.
Coaching sessions can be intermittent or weekly. I have a lot of clients who book regular, weekly hours for months at a time, but I also have others who book sessions on an ad hoc basis. Coaching can also be long or short-term, depending on your needs, so it can be flexible to suit you.
All coaching sessions are arranged directly with the coach, and at times that work for everybody. Intuition Academic Coaching sessions are available from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm. Evening and weekend hours can be arranged when needed, at a small additional charge (see the Services page at: www.intuitionacademiccoaching.com).
What, or who, is this blog for?
I have been providing resources, handouts and information for my clients for many years. This year, I decided to get up and running with a website and a blog where I could put all of these materials together and provide useful tips and advice to my clients (and anyone else out there who might find them useful). So, this is the very beginning of what I hope will be a blog with many different hints, tips, ideas and little motivational tools which you can use to help you achieve your own goals. I hope you find them useful.
Thanks for reading and I hope to see you again soon!