When you need expert individual support with skill, strategy, behavior, or body of knowledge, you'll probably reach out to a tutor or coach. How do those roles differ, and how can you get the most out of them? Amy and Mike invited test prep professional Scott Clyburn to define coaching for academic success.

What are five things you will learn in this episode?

Is there a difference between teaching and coaching?
What are simple conversation habits that keep students in the driver's seat in learning?
What is the best way to benchmark executive function skills?
Why is it valuable to look at habits you want to change as experiments?
What are the most common pitfalls when tutors try to shift to a coaching approach?

MEET OUR GUEST

Scott Clyburn holds degrees from the University of Virginia and Yale University and is the founder and director of North Avenue Education, a premier test-preparation and study-skills firm based in Portland, Oregon.

Originally from Houston, Texas, Scott has taught in both secondary and higher education and has been a professional tutor since 2005. He sees tutoring as an opportunity for any student to become a better learner. Scott specializes in coaching students with LD and is motivated by seeing his students transform their potential into action. Scott is the author of the North Avenue Guide to Study Skills, which will be published this winter and licensable by tutors and orgs in 2026.

Scott previously appeared on the podcast in episode 97 to discuss Test Prep for Students with Accommodations.

Find Scott at scott.clyburn@northaveeducation.com or https://northaveeducation.com.

LINKS

The difference between tutoring and academic coaching

RELATED EPISODES

EFFECTIVE STUDY SKILLS FOR TEST PREPARATION

HOW TO TEACH STUDENTS TO STUDY EFFECTIVELY

THE THREE CORE EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS AND TEST PREP

WHY PROFESSIONALISM IN TUTORS MATTERS

WHY YOU WANT TO WORK WITH A CAREER TUTOR

ABOUT THIS PODCAST

Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our episodes on the show page.

ABOUT YOUR HOSTS

Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright, Roots2Words, and College Eagle. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros and LEAP. If you're interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, get in touch through our contact page.