How to Use Productivity Journaling for Better Time Management

Productivity Journaling is Time Tracking

As someone who writes, thinks about, and assists people with time management, one of my best tips is for people to track their time usage. This is best accomplished via “time journaling” or “productivity journaling,” which is writing down or recording your time use after tasks are completed.

A productivity journal is not a to-do list, planner, or time blocking method, which are all important tools for a productive life. While agendas, to-do lists, and calendars are essential components of effective time management, making a schedule is not the same as recording whether or not you stuck to that schedule. In fact, time journaling, or time tracking, is the other side of planning. It is the assessment of how that plan went. (Or lack thereof, if you are currently operating in your day-to-day life with minimal planning.)

A productivity journal acts as both a time tracker and a journal in that you also write down any observations about how emotional or environmental circumstances are affecting your use of time.

As I started looking more into productivity journaling for time management, I noticed that there is not a lot of discussion or literature surrounding this topic. There are many companies selling “productivity journals,” but these are just run-of-the-mill planners, repackaged with a different name and with more room for journaling. There is also software for companies to track their employees’ time use, but that is not the same as managing your own time.

What is Productivity Journaling?

Productivity journaling is essentially personal time tracking. This entails recording or writing down how much time we spent on individual tasks throughout the day. Productivity journaling includes recording project completion times, arrival times for meetings and social events, bedtimes, etc. A productivity journal acts as a time log, essentially an honest account of how your time was spent throughout any given day.

Productivity journaling, time tracking, and time journaling are all synonymous terms here, and I will use them interchangeably. This process of maintaining a daily log of how you are spending time can reveal how many tasks we were able to complete in a given time frame, as well as the emotional context for your use of time, and any unconscious behaviors that may be hindering your time management. Recording your time usage can show you if you are taking too long to complete a single task, if you are failing to complete important tasks on time, if you are overstudying, and if you are making progress in time management skills.

Benefits of Using a Productivity Journal

Obtain Data

Productivity journals are like food journals for those who want an honest account of their eating and dietary behavior. Productivity journaling is an honest, quantitative, data driven evaluation of where and how you are spending your time. Writing down the specific amount of time you are spending on various tasks is like maintaining a budget, where you record every expenditure.

Identify Patterns

Keeping track of our time allows us to identify patterns of behavior, as well as the amount of time we are spending on chronic time wasters like scrolling through social media feeds and distracting apps with no goal or benefit. Time journaling also enables us to identify if there are better times of day to accomplish certain tasks, and if there is something causing us to lose focus.

Improve Time Sensitivity

Tracking our own use of time also helps us to improve our time-sensitivity and time-awareness. We can start to identify when we are allowing entire chunks of time, or even entire days, float by without getting done what we want and need to.

Increase Productivity

Once we start to connect the dots between how we want to spend our time and how we are actually spending our time, we can start to more closely align our goals and behaviors. When we better understand what is holding us back from what we are trying to achieve, we can take control of our behaviors and become more productive.

Tap into Motivation

Productivity journaling allows us to take note of any social, emotional, environmental, or psychological factors that may be impacting our ability to prioritize tasks and optimally manage time. Noticing and writing down how our emotional states or life circumstances are affecting our timeliness will increase self-awareness and enable us to implement strategies to counter these effects.

Why Is No One Talking About Productivity Journaling?

Currently, an internet search for “time tracking” yields results exclusively discussing time tracking for employees and/or freelancers. There are recommendations for time-tracking apps but few articles discussing how people can use time tracking as a method to keep track of time in their daily lives. Similarly, a Google search for productivity journaling mostly results in products like weekly and monthly planners and to-do lists in various formats. These tools have great value for planning all the things you want to accomplish and future plans to do so. However, they will not help you figure out if you are spending too much time on certain tasks, whether or not you are staying focused, and if you have had a productive day.

How to Use a Productivity Journal

1. Choose a Recording System

This could be a digital tool such as an app, or an analog system like a paper journal. Many digital tools and apps exist for tracking time and managing productivity. Some are very sophisticated, but you can also use a simple notes app on your phone.

Start with the basics

Some apps, such as Toggl Track, have features that will go well beyond tracking your time. They have alarm settings and features, such as a Pomodoro Method feature, that can help you implement a plan once you have made one. I recommend starting with just tracking before you use these more advanced features. 

2. Record Events

To manually track time, as soon as you finish with a task, block of time, meeting, etc. make a quick log of what you did and how much time it took. You can and may want to do this as soon as you arrive to a social gathering if you tend to run late, and after any professional meeting or time-sensitive situation. 

3. Check Your Log at the End of Every Day

Fill in as much incomplete information as possible

Gaps in logging are normal and will happen. Try writing down as much as you remember, as soon as you can, and taking notes at various points during each day.

4. Repeat for at Least Two Weeks

Longer if possible

Obtaining data for a long enough period of time will help you establish the most thorough and accurate baseline. More data will help you better create a plan for being more productive.

5. Analyze How You Are Doing

Look for patterns- are there certain types of meetings or events you consistently show up late for? Certain types of assignments you procrastinate on? Better or worse times of day? Events that trigger procrastination, lateness, time mismanagement? A certain amount of time you tend to run behind? 

Make a Plan

Once you have gathered enough data over the course of several weeks, you should be able to make a plan to address areas you want to improve. This would include setting a realistic goal, and implementing specific strategies to stay productive and on task, such as the Pomodoro Method.

Productivity Journaling is NOT Bullet Journaling

The New Yorker. Can Bullet Journaling Save You?
The New Yorker. Can Bullet Journaling Save You?

Over the last decade, a new concept called “Bullet Journaling” was introduced into our lives and vernacular. Bullet journaling is an organization system created by designer Ryder Carroll in 2013, and it has grown in popularity over the past several years. This is a complex system which requires a multi-step setup (up to 16 steps to set up this planning system!) and rapid logging of various events. Bullet journals also act as planners, rather than as time trackers, so using this method will not actually help you assess your current time management baseline.

Bullet Journaling is Complex and Unnecessary

Using a bullet journal seems very prescriptive, and the system requires so many different sections that it needs an index. Many people, especially those who already struggle with time and task management, may struggle to keep track of the various sections required to implement the bullet journal method.

A bullet journal also requires its own shorthand, so users have to learn an entire new set of symbols in order to successfully complete the required daily spreads. Every bullet journal I’ve seen is so visually haphazard that I’m unsure of how anyone is effectively using this system. A bullet journal seems to choatic for most people to be a useful tool for staying productive and completing one task, let along all the items on a to do list.

You don’t need to use a bullet journaling system. Simpler systems will also allow you to use time blocks, stay on top of tasks, and write down your amazing ideas. There is no reason that all aspects of our lives need to be kept in a singular notebook (unless this really helps you!). Bullet journaling encourages you to create an overly elaborate system which you may lose motivation to use. While some people may benefit from using a bullet journal, it is an overly complicated system that I would not recommend for most people.

Take Control of Your Time and Tasks

Using a productivity journal to track your use of time is not a magical solution to time-management challenges. Rather, this type of journal is a helpful tool for understanding our baseline behavior. This allows us to implement the most effective strategies for managing our time, tasks, and lives in a more functional and less stressful way. Check out my top tips for time management, or contact me directly to find out about how time management coaching can help you take control of your life!

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10 Simple Tips for Effective Time Management

Time is Finite

What is Time Management?

Time management and productivity are hot topics for good reason. Hustle culture and the general demands of modern life mean that time management is harder yet more important than ever. Time, unlike other resources such as money, is finite and cannot be gained. Moreover, everyone has the same amount in a given day or week. Time is a funny thing- it inevitably passes whether we want it to or not, whether we are ready or not. While some people seem to have more time than others, they do not- they are simply using and managing their time in a more efficient and desirable way.

Time management is a commonly used term and refers to a person’s ability to plan and execute short-and long-term tasks in order to efficiently utilize one’s time. Since success in all domains of life hinges on getting things done and getting where we need to go within given time frames, time management is clearly an important skill set for personal, academic, and professional success.

Does Time Management Work?

A recent meta-analysis found that time management skills are, in fact, correlated with better work performance and greater wellbeing. Successful time management allows us to prioritize daily tasks, execute effective project management, return phone calls in a timely way, leave unimportant tasks by the wayside, experience less stress, and still get enough sleep. Managing your time effectively can have a variety of personal, professional, and social benefits.

Consequences of Time Mismanagement

Some people intrinsically have a better handle on time and know how to prioritize, plan, and execute tasks to meet internal and external deadlines and demands while others struggle every day. Unfortunately, being chronically late and mismanaging one’s time invariably carries various negative consequences such as poor grades, job loss (or lack of promotion and success), and relationship failure. Failure to manage time and complete tasks efficiently also leads to increased stress levels and, ironically, less time for yourself.

Since time management is essentially task-management, those who struggle with these skills also end up suffering by simply never getting to the things they want to get to, despite having the same amount of time as the rest of us. This is a sad state of affairs; we all work hard and deserve to maximize the fruits of our labors, yet time mismanagement frequently prevents people from being able to achieve their goals and fully enjoy their lives.

Manage Your Time, Manage Your Life

Managing one’s time is therefore essential for managing one’s life; I have yet to meet an adult who struggles with time management and timeliness, but doesn’t struggle with other aspects of managing their lives (i.e. money, job/career, friends, family, and romantic relationships, maybe even health).

High achievers generally have good time management skills and have learned to spend an appropriate amount of time on tough tasks and daily to-do’s. Again, a successful life (in whatever way one defines success) requires an ability to realistically plan and execute tasks in an efficient and timely way.

Effective time management strategies rely heavily on metacognition and reflect an entire set of schematics. Becoming a better time manager therefore requires you to be self-aware and potentially change your mindset, in addition to practical strategies. While people who naturally struggle with time management may always have to actively work on these skills to achieve success. However, with purposeful practice via strategies and internal and external reinforcement, they can make vast improvements in their ability to manage time.

Some of the best strategies are the simplest – as they say, you cannot reinvent the wheel! Most people already know that they should make a daily to-do list, take a short walk each day, and answer emails before they start piling up. Sometimes implementing these productivity strategies is easier said than done and requires a mindset shift. As in, just because we know what to do and even how to do it doesn’t mean that we have yet achieved the mental awareness, arrangement, and adaptation for successful follow through.

Time Management Needs To Be Taught

There is broad consensus that time management is an important skill set. Most people acknowledge that good time management skills will benefit many areas of their lives. Recent research revealed that college students widely reported setting goals related to good time management, organization, and productivity. However, the study found that many students did not know effective strategies to implement for better productivity and task management. So even though they had set goals for time management and organization, few were able to follow thorugh. The researchers concluded that these students would benefit from explicit instruction on time management. This includes learning how to use to do lists, avoid wasted time, stick to a schedule, and implement other specific activities for greater control of their time.

Making a To-Do List. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204296804577124742529431640
Making a To Do List as an Important Time Management Strategy.

In addition to practical strategies for time management, the list below contains some metacognitive strategies to help you become more aware of your thinking.

Time Management Tips and Strategies

1. Wear a timepiece

This may seem obvious, but many people no longer wear a watch because it seems we all have our phones out, constantly. Your phone, however, does not count! Your phone can’t always be out and easily glanced at, while a wearable timepiece can.

A timepiece can be a traditional watch, a smartwatch, a pocketwatch or watch fob if you’re old school and dapper. The point is to wear a watch on your body if you are struggling with time management.

2. Set alarms

Set timers and alarms as reminders, to keep you on schedule, and as firm start- and endpoints for various tasks. Any alarm or time tracking tool will work, and use multiple alarms/notifications if needed. Technology makes it easy to sync these with your calendar, such as Google or iCal, reducing the mental energy needed to accomplish this.

3. Make a schedule and stick to it…but know when to be flexible

Create a calendar and block out the time you need to complete a given task. If you tend to run late or behind in finishing, know thyself and build in extra time!

Life throws constant curveballs, so flexibility is a must. If one task or scheduled chunk of time gets interrupted, make sure you realistically look at when you can finish that task and reschedule time right away.

In order to practice effective time management, setting priorities is a must. You must know and heed the most important tasks for you to complete each day and week.

4. Stay focused on the task at hand until it’s complete

One problem I’ve observed with people who are chronically late and mismanage time is that they will “bounce” from task to task, never really finishing one but starting several.

This creates chaos and disorganization because several balls are now in the air, causing you to lose focus and efficiency.

Create time limits for each task and use checklists to physically mark off each as you complete them. Don’t allow yourself to get sidetracked and move on to something else.

5. Use task analysis

Task analysis means breaking down large tasks into smaller tasks or manageable steps that can be done individually.

Task analysis allows us to complete a micro task and move on, rather than get mired down in the larger task or project, which can cause us to lose focus and work inefficiently.

Ex. Instead of “write research paper” as the task, break this large process/action into several smaller ones such as “find one article,” “read and take notes on article,” “write thesis,” etc.

Again, this may seem obvious, but many people don’t break down these large projects into micro tasks, leaving them feeling overwhelmed with the large task and often sending them into avoidance and procrastination.

6. Keep a “Time Journal”

Even time management professionals rarely discuss this strategy, but time journaling means honestly recording how you have spent your time after the fact. Keeping a time journal is like maintaining a food journal and requires one to honestly track and record their usage of time to maintain accountability and notice patterns (“Oh, I WAS 15 minutes late to that meeting…”).

A time journal, occasionally called a productivity journal, should be used to record your time patterns and expenditures after your time has been spent. It’s not a planner and is not about how we want to spend our time, but is about identifying our patterns so we can find solutions and strategies to overcome time mismanagement and chronic lateness.

For example, time journaling may allow you to see that you’ve consistently been 15 minutes late to meetings or events, so you can start making your leave time 20 minutes earlier. Time journaling can result in insightful reports which help you identify time wasters and other nonproductive behaviors. Honestly assessing how you’re using time will vastly improve your time management skills, ultimately improving the quality of your daily life.

7. Don’t over promise or overreach your ability to be timely

This is more about managing expectations than becoming more timely. When you have some control of a meeting time or project deadline, overestimate how much time it will take you to get there or complete a project. Essentially, you want to set low expectations for those you are meeting or completing work for. Better to be early than late!

8. Consider those around you

This is a metacognitive strategy more than a practical one, and may sound like an odd approach. However, people who are chronically late often seem to focus on themselves and their own concept of time. However, we must consider how social our world is and that our ability to function becomes hindered when we can’t seem to get things done and get where we need to be on time.

By thinking about how our lateness affects family, friends, coworkers, etc…we may feel more responsible for others’ experiences in these social settings. This should add an additional layer of motivation to implement the strategies that will help us become more timely, thereby making those around us feel more valued, respected, and satisfied.

9. Use friends, family, and professionals as accountability

Recognize enablers and ask them to instead keep you accountable.

Set consequences for yourself, and heed natural, external consequences. As in, “Oh, I missed hanging out with my family at the event because I was 45 minutes late, and that’s on me. Next time I need to be more timely and I’ll get what I want out of the situation- to spend time with the people I love.”

This sounds simple and obvious, but many of us don’t make the explicit connection between our actions and outcomes. Metacognitive messages like this can help us repattern our behavior and reinforce positive behaviors.

10. If you realize that you are behind and will run late for a meeting or deadline, be proactive and let people know in advance

Lateness will still happen sometimes, even with the most effective strategies to mitigate time mismanagement.

Everyone knows they are running late or will be unable to meet a deadline before it actually happens, so let people know as soon as you see this happening. On a personal level, this allows people to modify their plans and expectations, alleviating potential upset. In a professional or academic situation, providing advance notice can actually give you some breathing room to get done what you need to, such as receiving an extension on a paper or project due date.

Time Management Skills Come with Practice

Everyone has multiple tasks to accomplish in a day, and time management skills can help us prioritize tasks and be more purposeful with how we are spending time. No one is a perfect time manager, but if you find yourself chronically and consistently misappropriating your time and running late for life, there is hope! Learning how to effectively manage your time and important tasks is a process and takes time and practice. By implementing these simple strategies, and reaching out to The Savvy Tutor for help if needed, we can all achieve more productive and happy lives.

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Savvy Tutoring Explained

Google defines being savvy as possessing “shrewdness and practical knowledge, with the ability to make good judgements.” Any savvy approach to tutoring or coaching will take into account how an adult or child responds to strategies and identify the most engaging learning experiences and skills a student needs to succeed. The Savvy Tutor’s approach is to focus on building skills that will be useful in multiple domains while taking into account long-term outcomes. The Savvy Tutor is process-oriented and can solve student problems in all areas of academia.

What is Savvy Tutoring?

Advising

The Savvy Tutor, and any tutor who is truly savvy in their role, wears multiple hats. This means being an effective content tutor, but also acting as a skilled advisor, advocate, and coach. The Savvy Tutor helps students and families figure out the best courses and school program options for students based on their unique needs, goals, strengths, and preferences. This includes figuring out if and which AP courses are most appropriate, as well as collegiate and vocational options post-high school.

Advocacy

Savvy tutoring also entails communicating with school administrators and attending IEP, 504, and other informal school meetings as needed. High-quality tutors and coaches will be able to articulate students’ needs and goals as well as the most appropriate, evidence-based instructional methods and interventions for students. While not legal specialists, the best tutors will understand how education law impacts their students and how to optimally solve problems that arise, big and small, without going through the court system.  

Study Skills Coaching

Savvy tutoring entails teaching students not just content, but coaching them on effective study skills, time management strategies, and resourcefulness. Essentially, how to be an all-around successful student. Sessions can focus on skills such as note-taking, effective study strategies, scheduling and managing time, and how to use available resources. Building students’ confidence is another hallmark of high-quality coaching as students will learn to implement the strategies that enable them to be successful. High quality coaches will also help students build their metacognitions and senses of self-efficacy for success in all academic settings.

Study Skills. https://library.nua.ac.uk/welcome-to-study-skills/
Savvy Tutoring Teaches Study Skills

Content Instruction

Content instruction, or tutoring, is the most obvious service provided by a tutor. A high-quality content tutor will do just that: provide instruction in their area of expertise, such as reading and writing, or math, or science. Some tutors provide instruction in multiple subjects, while some specialize in a single area or course. The Savvy Tutor can help you or your child improve their reading skills, grades, and confidence levels, among other skills.

Qualities of a Savvy Tutor

Responsive

Being savvy means being responsive to each student’s changing needs. Students need help for different reasons and during different seasons, and being adaptive as students’ needs and goals change is indicative of a high-quality tutor or coach.

Qualified

A savvy and high-quality tutor will be just that: qualified. This entails being a certified teacher with a Master’s degree in Education or a related field.

Engaging

Lessons with a tutor can be fun or boring, and anywhere in between, based on each tutor’s teaching style, lesson plan, and rapport between tutor and student. Sessions with young students should always incorporate fun activities that get learners excited.

Reliable

High quality tutors, like all professionals, will be timely, honest, communicative, and follow-through on stated actions. When you hire a tutor for yourself or your child, you are entrusting them with an important task, and you must therefore trust their character and abilites. It doesn’t matter how technically capable someone may be in regard to teaching a reading class, for example, if they are untrustworthy, frequently late, or otherwise not dependable.

Reflective

The most effective teachers reflect on their experiences, including both successes and areas needing improvement. Tutors who learn from their mistakes as well as their victories and those of their students are generally the savviest and most effective.

Reflective Teaching. University of Manitoba. https://umanitoba.ca/centre-advancement-teaching-learning/support/reflective-teaching
Reflective Teaching Is Savvy, University of Manitoba.

Knowledgable

Knowing Common Core Standards and how to implement them and being interested in professional development are important standards for an awesome tutor. The best tutors stay current with the literature and best practices in behavioral science and education, as well as their subject areas.

Who Can Benefit from Savvy Tutoring?

In a nutshell: everyone. Anyone who is seeking to learn a new skill or hone an existing one. Kids who need reading or math instruction to get to grade level and increase confidence. Tutoring can help students of all ages, including those in college and graduate school, improve their communication, thinking, and self-monitoring skills. Students who struggle with work completion or those who want to excel and go the extra mile.

Most of the skills a student learns during tutoring sessions are ultimately life skills and will serve that student thoughout the course of their life, both in school and out.

Struggling Students

Many students can benefit from tutoring at different times and for various reasons. Students who are struggling in school, especially in the lower grades, will likely benefit from tutoring in fundamental skill areas such as reading and literacy. Students struggling with foundational skills such reading and math will see greater gains if provided small group or individualized instruction. Breaking concepts down for students and allowing them to practice at their own pace will greatly increase their chances of mastering those concepts and skills.

Students on Summer Break

In addition to tutoring during the school year, many parents smartly seek out a tutor to maintain or increase learning over the summer. While it is debated how much learning loss occurs over the summer, it is logical that children will make progress if they are engaging in learning activities when not in a formal class setting. A great tutor can teach your child the skills they need for a confident and successful start to the following school year.

Homeschooled Students

Parents who are homeschooling their children may want to hire a dynamic tutor to keep their child excited about the curriculum. It is easy for students to become bored, and a tutor can provide an outside perspective while filling any gaps in a parent’s knowledge.

Students Completing Research & Special Projects

Hiring a tutor may become necessary, or at least helpful, when embarking on a special project or completing a dissertation or clinical research. Students who are working on long-term research projects such as the Regeneron Science Talent Search or completing doctoral healthcare research may benefit from a tutor who can coach them through the research and writing processes. A writing coach can help you review the literature and your work at every step of the way, and provide proofreading, editing, and revision services.

Students Applying to College & Graduate School

Applying to college and graduate school is overwhelming for many students. Hiring a savvy professional who can guide you through any and all aspects of the admission process can alleviate much of the stress of the application process. An excellent tutor can also help you write an effective essay that will get you noticed and leave admissions counselors impressed.

Savvy Reading vs Savvy Tutoring

Savvy Reading is an online reading program for students in grades K-5, according to their company website. This company provides small group and 1:1 reading support in 25 minute sessions via an online platform. Savvy Reading uses their own proprietary curriculum, which may be a problem for struggling learners. Students who are struggling need more adaptive lessons and differentiated curricula and methodology. The Savvy Tutor provides in-person tutoring services for students in Westchester and Greenwich, as well as online sessions for those who live outside of the Metro New York area.

Unlike a prepackaged program, The Savvy Tutor provides highly individualized lessons based on each student’s unique abilities, goals, and interests. A high quality reading tutor will ensure your child not only knows sight words and can decode, but understands the material. Teaching reading comprehension can be a complex task. However, a great reading tutor will provide your child with the comprehension skills they need for research, summarizing, thesis development, and other key literacy skills throughout their academic careers.

How Frequently Should You Meet with Your Tutor?

Frequency of meetings depends on your goals, needs, schedule, and budget. Most students meet with their tutor once per week for an hour. Students may sometimes choose to schedule an additional session or two per week when working on a large project or studying for exams.

How frequently you schedule a session is up to you. Frequency will ultimately be based on your goals and needs, and how quickly you want to make progress. The more frequently you attend sessions, the more quickly you will likely achieve your goals.

It is worth remembering, though, that your success is ultimately up to you. When you are living your life, it will be your choice to follow through on the strategies and skills you are taught. If you are struggling with the follow-through, it is essential to let your tutor know! A savvy and responsive tutor and coach will approach the problem with empathy and creativity. When you communicate your needs, as well as what is working and what is not, you will maximize this professional relationship and build confidence and skills for life!

Contact The Savvy Tutor to find out if tutoring is right for you or your child

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Attorney for special education IEP meetings

Don’t Hire An Attorney For Special Education IEP Meetings

When you have a child in special education whose needs are not being met, your frustration may lead you to hire a special education lawyer or advocate. Despite laws such as IDEA and Section 504, which guarantee the rights and educational opportunities of students with disabilities, many students and their families remain woefully underserved by the Special Education system. Even when a robust IEP has been written, many school districts are noncompliant with student IEPs and fail to provide adequate supports, instructional accommodations, and services that students need and are entitled to. In many of these instances of IEP non-compliance and failure to meet a child’s needs, frustrated parents often turn to a lawyer or special education advocate.

Why Not to Hire a Lawyer, and Why to Hire a Special Education Advocate Instead

While hiring an attorney may seem like the most obvious or effective option, a lawyer has limited means for dealing with a school district outside of filing a lawsuit, also known as a due process complaint. If you hire a lawyer, your child’s school district will actually refuse to meet with you directly and will only communicate through your respective lawyers.

Instead, hiring a special education non-attorney advocate will be far more effective in getting the school district to acquiesce to your requests and comply with IEPs. Non-attorney advocates are knowledgable about the law, but are also educators and expert communicators who seek to work with the district, instead of fight against it, to arrive at the best outcome for students.

Special Education Law

Federal laws, specifically the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, entitle all students with disabilities to a free, appropriate, public education (FAPE). Students with disabilities are essentially a protected class of students who have guaranteed rights to education services, according to the Federal Government.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is more broad and was designed to allow students with disabilities to have equal access and opportunity to learning as students without disabilities. Special Education law is notoriously vague, so many parents understandably do not know their rights and those of their children, nor how to proceed when their children aren’t receiving adequate special education services.

Special Education Process

The process of obtaining special education services for your child is complex and can take months from start to finish. Children with disabilities are afforded special protections, and parents have unique rights and obligations at various points of the process. However, parents frequently do not understand what they can and should be doing at every step, and when a district is failing to uphold their child’s needs, rights, and best interests. A non-attorney advocate can advise you during any and all parts of the IEP process, ensuring your child recieves the high-quality education they’re entitled to.

IEP Process. CAHelp.org

What Can a Non-Attorney Advocate Do? 

A non-attorney advocate can do everything a special education lawyer can do in terms of filing a due process complaint and representing families at hearings.

Non-attorney advocates can actually do more than lawyers, as we can:

  • speak to educational best practices
  • help develop your child’s IEP
  • communicate directly with teachers and administrators
  • attend IEP meetings and annual reviews
  • act as intermediaries between parents and the school
  • assist with critical documentation
  • obtain an alternate school placement

The Special Education process, including the development of an Individualized Education Program (IEP), can be convoluted and confusing. Special Education utilizes its own terminology, acronyms, and procedures in which most parents are not well-versed. A special education advocate can guide you through the IEP process to ensure that your child’s rights are upheld and that they receive the appropriate services at the appropriate intervals, with built in assessments to monitor progress.

A non-attorney advocate can also help you obtain an alternate school placement, whether a private school or another public school in or out of district, at the cost of your home school district without going through a due process hearing. An effective non-attorney advocate will assert your child’s legal rights and articulate their instructional needs. Critically, a non-attorney advocate can speak to not only what is most appropriate for your child, but why and how this should best be implemented via placements, instructional methods, and related services such as speech, occupational, and/or behavioral therapy. 

Why Pay for a Special Education Advocate?

Non-attorney special education advocates bring a variety of skills and experiences to the table, enabling us to effectively obtain necessary services, supports, and accommodations for students with special needs. Special education advocates have strong interdisciplinary backgrounds to advise parents about the best course of action, point them towards appropriate resources, and liaise with schools and teachers to find the most effective solutions for students.

Special Education Advocates Bring Valuable Skills to the Advocacy and IEP Process:

  • Writing
  • Research
  • Communication
  • Problem-Solving
  • Organization & Documentation
  • Knowledge of Child Development
  • Educational Best Practices

What Can an Attorney Do? 

Unlike non-attorney special education advocates who can speak to best practices and deal directly with administrators to make and implement changes to IEPs and placements, lawyers are shut out of working through the school system administratively. The main and only flex by an attorney in a special educational situation is the ability to represent a parent or family during a due process hearing as a lawyer. A due process complaint, also known as a request for an impartial hearing in New York State, is essentially what most people refer to as suing a school district for failing to uphold the rights of a student receiving special education services.

A lawyer can represent you at a due process hearing, but they can’t do much more, and you don’t need a lawyer to file a due process complaint. In fact, hiring a lawyer means that a school district will shut down the administrative process and ONLY work and communicate with you via the court system and lawyers. When you hire an attorney, the district considers itself legally at risk, and will therefore not allow you to speak directly with administrators, teachers, and other relevant professionals to come to an appropriate solution for your child. 

Limitations of Hiring an Attorney

One legal advice article makes the misleading claim that you may want to hire a lawyer “if the school district has an attorney.” While this advice seems well-intended even though is too general to be truly informative, it is deceptive because the school district obviously has a lawyer. However, in a typical special education situation, public schools will never bring their lawyer to an IEP or other meeting. A district will only involve their lawyer in the special education process if you have brought a due process complaint and/or hired a lawyer yourself.

According to New York State’s IEP guidance, lawyers are not included in IEP and other Special Education meetings, and there are no provisions for them to be included. This is because lawyers cannot be part of the IEP development process unless and only if you have already gone through a lawsuit and won, which is a costly and time-consuming process. 

It is not a foregone conclusion that hiring a special education attorney will automatically win your case or guarantee that you achieve your goals. Many people mistakenly hire a lawyer thinking that the lawyer can sue a school for tuition reimbursement or similar claim; legal services are frequently misrepresented as a panacea for all issues within the special education system, which is simply not the case.

New York State Sample Due Process Complaint Form

Can I Represent Myself at a Due Process Hearing or IEP Meeting?

As a parent, you can represent yourself throughout the special education process, including in the case of a due process filing and hearing. While this is allowed and feasible, most parents are not experts in education advocacy or special education law and you should therefore hire or consult a professional if your child’s case is complex or if the school has been noncompliant or combative in the past.

Lawyers Are Not Educators

Lawyers are legal specialists, but are not educators and often have minimal experience with actual special education recipients, practices, and settings. While a lawyer may have the legal expertise to sue and get school districts to put things in writing, non-attorney advocates can accomplish the same goal. The difference is that a lawyer likely doesn’t know which services, supports, or placements are most appropriate for your child, nor do they know when a school is adequately following through with high-quality instruction. 

Non-attorney advocates are education specialists who are not only well-versed in the ins-and-outs of the IEP process, but understand best practices, methods, curricula, and supports in education. Advocates keep up with the literature and evidence-based best practices in all areas of education so as to provide the expertise to most effectively advocate for our clients.

Costs of Hiring a Lawyer vs. Non-Attorney Advocate

Like all legal and other professional services, the cost of hiring an attorney for special education advocacy will vary widely depending on where you live, the quality and reputation of your lawyer, the complexity of the case, and other factors. A good attorney can charge a high hourly rate, and legal fees can climb upwards of $500 and $1000 per hour in major metropolitan areas. In fact, I have seen cases where families pay up to $250/hour to be represented by minimally-trained paralegals who have far less experience than most non-attorney advocates.

Additionally, many special education attorneys have a retention fee or other upfront charges that make hiring one out of reach for many parents. Since many special education cases can take months to work through and resolve, most families cannot afford or justify the high cost of hiring attorneys to support their child’s case.

Non-attorney advocates charge, on average, far less than attorneys. Any high-quality advocate will likely provide a free initial consultation via a phone call or zoom, and will honestly assess your case and chances of achieving your desired outcomes.

Districts often provide free advocates at parents’ request. These free advocates may not be bad, but are unlikely to be experts and don’t have the necessary time to invest in your case. Paying for a non-attorney advocate instead of a special education attorney is not only the most effective choice, but the best value for your money. 

Hire A Non-Attorney Advocate for the Best Outcome

Special education advocates want students and families to win; lawyers want districts to lose. This singular difference in perspective demonstrates each approach, respectively. Lawyers will easily burn through tens of thousands of dollars in billable hours just to “win” against a district, when a more effective non-attorney advocate can spend fewer hours convincing the district that implementing a more mutually agreeable IEP for a student will lead to better outcomes for everyone. 

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Active recall studying

How To Study Using Active Recall

Active recall is one of the best ways to study. It is a learning strategy that encourages active engagement with the material and efficiently imprints that information into long-term memory. Despite a growing body of research demonstrating the efficacy of active recall, college students are rarely taught study skills in school. Without explicitly being taught how to study using active recall, many students are left wondering how to most optimally learn and actively prepare for tests.

The learning process is complicated and nonlinear, so every student must find an effective method to learn and apply complex concepts. While many specific study techniques exist, most studying can be categorized into two basic approaches: active recall or rote memorization.

Why use Active Recall?

When I first start working on study skills with students, I find out how they are currently studying, and rereading notes or the textbook is the most common method. Sometimes students will copy those notes, word for word, onto flashcards or a separate study guide and then reread those notes. While this effort may have some value, reading and rereading is frequently a passive process and doesn’t automatically involve students stopping, thinking, and trying to retrieve and explain this information without looking at it, which constitutes active reading. Active recall involves stopping and testing yourself on the material without referring back to it.

What is Active Recall?

Active recall is a general term to describe learning which involves students reading the material, then using free recall to describe what they learned and remember from the text or notes. It requires students to read the provided information and process it. Then students write down or explain out loud what they remember without looking back.

Active recall forces you to be active during the study process, rather than passively reading and rereading notes or a text. It involves retrieval practice, which is when you practice recalling the correct answers without looking back, and is a more effective method for remembering information. Retrieving information requires individuals to make use of various cognitive processes such as visualization, and active recall therefore results in superior transfer of knowledge over time.

Some educators refer to active recall as the testing effect. A variety of research and psychological science articles point to active recall as one of the most effective methods for most students to improve their academic outcomes. Another study shows that active recall can be even more effective when paired with concept mapping, also known as mind mapping, which is when students create and utilize visual aids such as graphic organizers to assist with learning complex materials.

Concept map

Evidence shows that using concept maps, or mind mapping, is one of the best active recall strategies. It engages multiple modalities and uses linking terms to show relationships between different concepts.

What is Rote Learning and Memorization?

Rote learning is an umbrella term and essentially refers to studying through repetition. Rote learning and memorization are often used synonymously. Learning something via repetition usually involves memorizing something with or without genuinely understanding or being able to apply it.

A student, for example, could memorize their multiplication tables via repeated testing until they are easily recitable. However, a student could accomplish this rote task with or without truly understanding the concept of multiplication, knowing how to apply it in real life scenarios, and being able to multiply numbers beyond the memorized tables.

Rote learning and memorization have their benefits; some concepts, terms, and formulas, such as those learned in medical school, need to be memorized and ready for retrieval at any time for students to be able to learn and apply more complex ideas and skills. Yet, rote learning and memorization are substandard and ineffectual approaches to fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills that enable students to apply their knowledge to identify and solve complex and nuanced problems.  

How to Practice Active Recall

Active recall is relatively simple to implement. I always tell students to read the information- whether notes or a piece of text and then close the book and try to explain the information to someone else or write it down.

Students can even do this with a friend or a group by having a conversation about the topic or can engage in practice testing. Retrieval practice makes us think about the information, try to understand it, and put it into our own words and schematics using analogies, examples, and meaningful vernacular.

Active study strategies are just that – active. They require more effort to implement on the front end. Students who are used to relying on rote memorization tactics may initially feel challenged by active recall strategies.

Instead of just passively copying down information or simply reading and rereading, we now must actively form our own words and thoughts to explain and integrate the knowledge into our schematics and long-term memories.

Active recall strategies will likely take more time and effort to implement, especially initially, but the payoff will be twofold (or more):

  1. Students will gain a better and longer-term understanding of the material.
  2. Students will strengthen their processing and retrieval skills every time they engage with active recall.

When Should Students Use Active Recall Studying?

Studying, or reviewing material you are currently learning, is best done every day that you attend that class or read relevant/assigned texts. Reading the assigned material, taking notes, and attending class, are essential first steps. Still, they alone are not enough to meaningfully process and retrieve the material and commit it to long-term memory.

What are the Best Active Recall Strategies and Techniques?

Many educators and researchers have devised various methods for implementing active recall in learning endeavors. Still, all active recall methods share the same goal of getting students to actively engage with notes, texts, and ideas by practicing retrieval of the information and putting the ideas into their own words.

Some active recall strategies involve learning aids such as flashcards, whiteboards, and spreadsheets. While they all have different names, their fundamental premises are the same.

1. Taking Practice Tests

Taking multiple practice tests, which are low stakes, can be incredibly helpful for a variety of subjects, especially when there is a lot of material to recall. Frequent testing until students commit the material to their long-term memory can be particularly useful for college students who have a lot of science terminology to learn.

Students are more likely to remember what they’ve studied if they commit to practice testing (also known as “retrieval practice”) regularly. Students can either test themselves or have an instructor do it for them. In either case, testing helps to improve long-term memory for the material.

What are some of the benefits of practice testing and retrieval practice?

  • Learning, understanding, and remembering the material faster and thoroughly.
  • Reducing test anxiety since students get more practice taking tests.
  • Identifying strengths and weaknesses, so students can focus on the areas where they need the most help.
  • Becoming better test takers, learning how to pace themselves, and eliminating careless mistakes.

2. The SQ3R Study Method

Many students use a strategy called SQ3R when they approach a text. SQ3R is an acronym that stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review. This strategy is very effective, and it works with any subject.

What are the five steps of the SQ3R study method?

1. Survey

First, briefly survey the text, including looking at the main sections or headings and skimming or previewing it to glean a basic idea of what may be discussed. 

2. Question

Develop a few questions based on what they think they might encounter in the text. These could be generally based on a chapter heading, such as “how will this chapter connect to the last one?”

3. Read

Actively read the text, think about the answers to your questions from the previous step, and look for main ideas, important details, and connections. 

4. Recite

Stop at various points while reading to summarize what you’ve read thus far. This is a crucial step in which you “test” yourself by seeing if you can summarize the main points.

A simple test for this is to answer the who, what, where, when, why/how of the text without looking back. If you can successfully do this, you know that you are actively reading and can continue. If not, go back and reread that section with greater engagement. 

5. Review

Go back and actively recall the material at appropriate intervals, depending on the reading assignment and requirements. This essentially involves repeated testing and can include a variety of methods, such as using digital flashcards or review sheets, having conversations about the text, and answering practice questions.

SQ3R study strategy

Additional Benefits of Active Recall

Active recall strategies are effective for learning and studying, but they are also helpful for students to self-identify gaps in knowledge and questions they have for teachers. When students are trying to recall information via thought, writing, or verbal explanation, they will likely have a moment of being unable to identify a particular detail or aspect of the information. This is a valuable part of the active recall process. It organically identifies a student’s gap in knowledge or understanding, and students can immediately seek help from a teacher or another resource to get their questions answered or clarified. One recent study backs up the claim that active recall enables students to learn more effectively and identify misconceptions about the material they’re learning. 

The Active Learning Process Leads to Better Student Outcomes

Active recall leads to more learning than other study techniques such as rereading, and retrieval practice produces better outcomes than passive methods. Active recall strategy may seem difficult to apply at first. Still, evidence shows that implementing active recall as a study method will lead to more efficient learning, higher grades, and saved time!

If you feel that you can benefit from learning how to apply active recall, contact The Savvy Tutor to find out more about how I can help you optimize your study skills!

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overstudying college student experiencing academic stress

Overstudying: How Much Studying Is Too Much?

Students of all ages know what it’s like to feel stressed before an upcoming exam, and most know that they need to study to achieve a high grade. Instead of cramming or overstudying, we can help students learn to use their time efficiently and implement effective study strategies for review, recall, and time management.

However, many students struggle to develop healthy study habits and know how much studying is too much. Study strategies will vary based on the class, student abilities and preferences, plus many other factors. There is no set number of hours or time frame that a student should study for the best outcome.

Many students default to overstudying when they are unsure of how much or when to study for the best results. Contemporary society and hustle culture stress hard work above most else, and this ethos has imbued academic life just as much as professional life. The prevalence of overstudying is a reflection of these social norms but constitutes a worrying trend nonetheless.

I recently spoke with a 6th grade student’s parent who described how much his child had been studying for tests. He stated that “you can never study too much or be too prepared.” Working harder to get ahead is an obviously well-intentioned sentiment for many students. However, it may be misguided, especially for middle or high school students.

While we can all agree that healthy study habits are a critically important factor for academic success, there is such a thing as too much studying. Overpreparation in the form of overstudying can have a variety of negative consequences for students in school performance, physical and mental health, and relationships with friends and parents.

What is Overstudying?

Many students wonder, “How much studying is too much?” There is no definitive or one-size-fits-all answer to what defines too much studying versus healthy study habits. However, simply observing human nature forces us to acknowledge the limitations of our attention spans. Our shared human experience reinforces how difficult it is to focus on one task or concept for an extended period. Overstudying is any situation in which studying or preparing for an assessment is no longer productive or becomes counterproductive.

Why Does Overstudying Happen?

Overstudying often becomes encouraged, even if implicitly, as the way to score highly on exams and achieve those high grades. While we live in a society where working to excess is frequently viewed as a positive thing, the negative implications of overstudying are myriad.

Our society and education system often emphasize school performance as the most crucial aspect of students’ identity. The achievement of good grades is stressed as the best way to get into an elite college or university and, later, achieve professional success.

In order to avoid even more obstacles to their success, high school and college students need to practice good study habits that help them avoid overstudying. Some examples of good study habits include scheduling study breaks, implementing recall strategies beyond memorization, knowing when to stop, and getting enough sleep.

How much studying is too much studying?

Students must never devote more than 50% of their free time to studying. Students who tend to overstudy need to take breaks every so often. However, it may be difficult to remember that taking breaks is essential for preventing overstudying.

It is helpful to look at taking a break from studying as another scheduled task on their todo list. One method to try is The Pomodoro Technique, which requires taking short breaks throughout a study or work session, can be a valuable method to avoid overstudying.

How To Use The Pomodoro Technique to Improve Study Habits

  1. Pick an assignment or task to work on.
  2. Determine how much time will be required to finish it.
  3. Open any time tracking app and set it for 25 minutes.
  4. Spend the next 25 minutes focused on studying and blocking out all distractions.
  5. When the timer goes off, take a 5 minute break. Get up stretch, get a drink, and relax.
  6. Start another 25 minute session of uninterrupted study.
  7. After completing four 25 minute study blocks, take a 30 minute break before you resume.

What are the negative effects of overstudying?

Self-Doubt

Self doubt has a severe negative effect on both students’ short term and long-term academic success. It can be a vicious circle. Doubting one’s ability to master a subject, pass challenging classes, or impress teachers can lead to a student studying too much. Students may question their ability to monitor and assess when they feel ready for a given task.

Loss of Time for Other Activities

When too much time is spent studying, past the point of efficacy, students lose out on valuable social activities, exercise, and sleep. Work-life balance is vital for students of all ages. When they no longer have adequate time for friends, fun, and hobbies, they are more likely to experience high stress, anxiety, or depression.

Perfectionist Tendencies

Making mistakes is an essential aspect of life and learning, and overstudying may lead students to expect nothing less than a perfect score or grade from themselves. One peer-reviewed study has even linked OCD and overstudying behaviors. The link between OCD and overstudying resembles a chicken-egg situation in that we do not know which comes first. Overstudying seems to exacerbate existing OCD tendencies, at the very least.

Diminished Returns on Academic Performance

The goal of overstudying is to attain high grades. However, overstudying can lead to loss of focus and reduced ability to retain and recall information. Therefore, overstudying may have the opposite of its desired effect and cause students increasing worry but no improvement in their grades.

Relationship and Social Impairment

Recent research shows that overstudying behavior in students may lead to reduced social functioning. Students who overstudy are more likely to withdraw from regular social activity. This lack of social life experience could negatively affect their social and psychological well being down the line.

The effects of overstudying on students

Signs and Symptoms of Overstudying That Are Common Among College Students

Poor sleep

Quality sleep is critical for processing information and is, therefore, an essential component of learning and memory consolidation. Getting a good night’s sleep also assists with many other physiological processes that govern our physical and mental health, such as muscle repair.

Sleep deprivation can lead to an inability to concentrate on important tasks such as studying, leading to mood instability and lethargy. Research has demonstrated that people who fail to get enough sleep will be more prone to adverse consequences. The effects of lack of sleep can include stress, heart disease, and other ailments that can affect the body and mind.

Physical and mental exhaustion

While it’s true that overstudying will not lead to brain damage or insanity, too much studying is bad for physical and mental health. Studying too much is associated with various actual physical signs and symptoms. Overstudying can cause long term physical symptoms similar to what many people experience as burnout, including poor sleep, head aches, stomach aches, and digestive issues.

Exhaustion may be the result of sleep deprivation due to late nights spent studying, but feeling extremely tired may also indicate psychological exhaustion similar to burnout. Burnout results when students feel overly stressed and overwhelmed due to a real or perceived need to study beyond the point of what is healthy or productive. Overstudying without periods of good sleep and socializing with friends can produce real physical signs of exhaustion.

Increased levels of anxiety or depression

Good study habits encourage balance, efficiency, and a healthy lifestyle that is both productive and enjoyable. While some students who overstudy may be predisposed to increased anxiety or depression, studying to excess only exacerbates stress levels and perpetuates preexisting mental health challenges. 

Decreased social engagement

When students, especially those in college, withdraw from typical social activities, it may be a sign of overstudying. Students who are having a hard time balancing work with sleep and social activities with friends may simply become withdrawn and spend more time studying. Overstudying can become part of a vicious cycle in which more time studying causes greater mental health deterioration, which in turn leads to greater social withdrawal, thus beginning the cycle again.

Reduced levels of productivity

Even though it seems counterintuitive, overstudying does not result in better grades and retention, but it actually hinders it. Students need adequate time to process information and enough sleep to manage stress levels to maintain focus and work effort. Students should be taught appropriate and healthy study habits at a young age so that by the time they reach high school, let alone college, they are less prone to overstudying and more likely to succeed with less effort.

4 Simple Tips to Avoid Overstudying

1. Review class notes and material every day.

Spend at least one hour per day reviewing what you’re learning. Avoid cramming the day or night before a test by studying as you go through a course and getting questions answered right away. Make a note of any subjects you’re stressed about or tasks you know will take more time to complete.

2. Take study breaks.

Use a planner or scheduler or a timer on your phone to schedule study sessions with adequate breaks. A quick 5-10 minute stretch, water, or snack break can do wonders to help us refresh and refocus.

3. Prioritize sleep.

All the studying in the world will not matter if you don’t get enough rest and sleep to allow your brain to process information. Likewise, sleep deprivation will hinder recall efforts on test day, rendering your preparation meaningless. Studying is like exercise- it won’t be effective if your sleep habits are inadequate. 

4. Use metacognition and self-talk.

It requires some practice, but creating helpful messages to talk yourself through stressful and challenging situations will alleviate the tendency to study hard or study late. As you review material, remind yourself that you know what you know to boost your sense of self-efficacy and reduce self-doubt. Self doubt is often one factor that leads to overstudying, so practice by flexing this muscle.

Active recall and metacognition study strategies

Better Study Habits Now, Better Grades Forever

It’s hard for many students and parents to escape the social pressure to succeed. The stress can lead to students feeling they need to be “perfect” at almost any cost. The education system continues to push for constant tests and assessments, often sacrificing valuable instruction on how to study the right way. Students feel the need to spend an exhaustive amount of time studying.

Overstudying can occur as early as elementary school and affects students of all ages. College students may be particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of overstudying, as the pressure to achieve high grades may overshadow concerns about living a healthy or balanced life.

Overstudying is unlikely to boost academic performance, but it is more likely to be counterproductive. Prolonged overstudying can become a significant hindrance to student performance and outcomes. Additionally, overstudying can wreak havoc on students’ mental and physical health by causing extreme fatigue and leading to burnout due to increased stress levels and lack of sleep.

Developing healthy and productive study habits is a long game. It will result in better academic performance and a healthy and sustainable work life balance. Contact The Savvy Tutor to discuss how you or your child can benefit from improving work habits and study skills for academic success!

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APA writing style guide

The APA Writing Style Guide: Format For Student Papers

The APA writing style is the official writing style of the American Psychological Association, and it is the standard in many academic disciplines. These subjects include psychology, education, and other social sciences. If you are a student in almost any of those majors, you will certainly need to know how to write an APA paper for college success.

Writing in APA format may appear to be a difficult task at first, especially for college students studying complex subject matter that they are still unfamiliar with. It’s normal for students to need help approaching the APA writing guidelines, at first, and this article will give some great tips when you need to follow the APA format.

Please note: This guide is by no means trying to rewrite the Purdue OWL or the APA’s official Publication Manual. Both provide very detailed directions and a few examples of papers in APA format. However, if you are writing a student paper and need help with APA guidelines, here are some simple rules to follow.

What is the APA Writing Format?

APA stands for the American Psychological Association, and students in college and postgraduate programs use the APA writing format. The APA standards include rules for everything from how to format paper title pages, APA citations, when to use capital letters, quotation marks, page numbers, and everything in between.

What is the APA Publication Manual?

Writing research papers is a complex process, and many students don’t learn the American Psychological Association format for writing in high school. Many students in high school and college receive instruction in Modern Language Association’s Style (MLA), and MLA differs from APA style in many ways. Both APA and MLA styles of papers use in-text citations, but the references page is different in each, and the entire document will have its own style and format. The APA Publication Manual is in its 7th Edition. APA format is an enforced standard for research papers in most social sciences, as well as the fields of nursing, business, and education.

What is the Purdue OWL?

The Purdue APA Online Writing Lab is truly the gold standard for student paper writing resources and instructional material. It is essential for students who need assistance with the APA writing format. The Publication Manual and the OWL both provide easy-to-follow guidance on correct APA formatting, appropriate citation style, and how to format a references list. These guides can be incredibly helpful for students writing various types of research papers. However, many college and graduate students who didn’t previously learn the foundations of APA style writing struggle to use these resources effectively without guidance.

Why is the APA writing format used for academic papers?

The goal of an APA style paper is to communicate information clearly, concisely, and without any confusion about what the author is communicating and from where the information is coming. An APA paper should present information in an organized way so that, in theory, any literate adult could read it and have a very full understanding of the topic- almost like an informational story. Even with the Purdue OWL and other style guides, many students simply don’t know the basics of how to write a paper, proposal, report, or other scholarly text in APA format. Many students feel overwhelmed simply trying to complete an APA format cover page and do an in-text citation.

What are the basic rules of following the APA writing format?

There are certain basic rules that apply to any sort of APA paper, including:

  • Use a standard size 8.5-inch by 11-inch paper for your template.
  • Format the page with a one-inch margin on all sides
  • Each paragraph should begin on a new line with a half-inch indent.
  • Be sure to double space and left align every line of the paper.
  • Avoid all design flourishes, and use a simple and easy-to-read typeface.
  • Include a title page, a byline, and a bibliography in your paper.

What should you include in APA title pages on a student paper?

The title page in APA style writing is a very specific format. It’s not a cover letter or where you put your brief summary of the paper. An APA format title page for an academic paper requires including the paper’s title, the author’s name and the institutional affiliation, the course number and course name, the instructor name, and the deadline for the project. The author’s name should be just under the title and should include first name, middle initial, and last name, in that order. Do not use professional titles like Dr., and degrees such as Ph.D. The institutional affiliation of the author should be below the author’s name to indicate where the research was conducted.

APA writing title page example

10 Tips For Writing A Student Paper That Follows The APA Style

1. Paraphrase quotes instead of directly quoting 

While direct quotations are technically allowed in APA style, they are discouraged. Paraphrasing, or summarizing an author’s ideas in your own words, is the best way to discuss the evidence or outside information in the context of your paper.

An APA style paper is informative, not lyrical or artistic, and therefore the content of an idea is more important than how another author initially phrased it. As such, it is more important to rephrase an author’s ideas as clearly and contextually appropriately as possible than to quote her directly with quotation marks.

Some professors may limit or ban direct quotations, so it is important to learn how to paraphrase. Practice this skill by pretending you are explaining your topic to a fifth grader by using clear and detailed sentences that are chronologically or otherwise appropriately organized. 

2. Use bias-free language

Bias-free language is when authors use descriptors that are objective and free from any judgment or negative connotation. Bias-free language, like all language, is dynamic and reflects changing social norms and understandings, but should always aim to reflect tolerance for all people and avoid discriminatory language or terminology.

Any research paper in APA format should use language that is respectful and neutral when discussing demographics such as age, sex, gender, race and ethnicity, as well as socioeconomic status. These are all important aspects of a person’s identity, and authors should always seek to avoid any prejudicial undertones.

3. Use active voice instead of passive voice

APA allows authors to use both active and passive voice. However, APA encourages the use of active voice and notes that authors tend to overuse passive voice when writing APA papers. 

Active voice is when the subject performs the action on an object:

The students took a survey. 

Passive voice is when the object (in this case, a survey) is followed by the verb, and the subject is the thing acted upon:

A survey was taken by the students.

Unless you are discussing something like a study design or method, it is generally best and most concise to write in the active voice.

4. Be mindful of verb tenses

APA guidelines require students to switch between verb tenses, depending on what they are discussing. Use past tense to discuss previous research, findings, and events, but use present tense to discuss implications for current and future understanding and practice, as well as ongoing events or phenomena. 

5. Write clearly and unambiguously

Journal articles can be notoriously unclearly written and redundant, so an effective and concise explanation of your research will go a long way towards achieving a high grade. Avoid using pronouns unless it’s very clear about who or what you are speaking. The APA manual recommends that writers consider word choice and sentence structure, and make logical analogies in order to avoid ambiguities or sentences with multiple meanings. 

How do you write clearly and concisely?

  • Remove nonessential language and any repetitions.
  • Use simple, concise language.
  • Use active voice for the majority of sentences.
  • Eliminate or condense verbose language.

6. Be detailed but avoid wordiness

Effective writers are detailed and specific but avoid redundancies and wordiness. Many students will write multiple sentences that repeat the same exact information that has already been written in another section or paragraph, and this can be avoided with careful re-reading and editing. You want to be clear, accurate, and specific, but in as few words as possible. Always look for redundancies within individual sentences as well as within or among entire paper sections. There is no quick fix for this- practice re-reading, revising, and coming back to your work with fresh eyes. Ask someone else to read your paper, as others will often catch redundancies and wordiness that we may not see ourselves. 

7. Define unknown words and terms

Many professional and student papers in APA format are discussing technical concepts with specific terminology that may not be common knowledge. It is important to provide operational definitions in any research paper, especially when introducing a new term or describing a group of participants in a study. You want to make sure that readers understand exactly who or what you are speaking about! 

8. Use APA format citations and reference correctly

Correctly formatted APA in-text citations and references are critical components of APA format and expository writing in general. Rule #1 of any kind of writing is to avoid plagiarism and make sure to cite all unique ideas. College students following the APA format should not use EasyBib or other APA format citation generators as they are apt to miss data and make multiple errors. Write reference entries manually by going to the Purdue OWL, finding the type of source that most closely fits the source you are using, and simply copy and paste your text’s information into their sample.

APA citations

The format of a reference book varies from the formatting guidelines for a journal article. Making mistakes in your references will likely cost you points with your professor, but more importantly, plagerism will undermine your credibility altogether. Being detail-oriented here is everything.

9. Check your formatting

American Psychological Association requirements specify all aspects of the APA paper format, including the abstract page, numerical data, citing books and web pages, font style, spacing, indenting the first line of each paragraph, paper formatting, headings, paper title, and the references page.

The formatting differs slightly between student and professional papers as well, so it is critical for APA writers to double check the APA guide or Purdue OWL for exact formatting requirements. There is no shortcut. Simply taking the time and paying attention to all the details, such as whether or not you need to include a running head on the title page (you do if it’s a professional paper!) is the only way to ensure you get it right. 

10. Be detail oriented

Once you have done a solid job with your actual research project and writing, it is essential to pay attention to stylistic and formatting elements. College students should check their work several times, at least one of which should be with “fresh eyes” after a break from working on it. Google Docs is the best place to make revisions and edits, either by yourself or with the help of a skilled editor or teacher. Pay close attention to details like the paper’s title page, page header, and in-text citations, and make sure the text is double spaced.

Knowing The Basics Can Help You Master The APA Writing Format

APA style may seem overwhelming at first, but it’s truly formulaic. If you are studying psychology, education, nursing, or any of the social sciences, learning correct APA formatting and style will make completing professional or student papers and literature reviews a relative breeze.

Many students complete excellent research and may be able to write about their findings informally, but lose points or even professional credibility by making APA formatting mistakes, most commonly regarding parenthetical citations and an incorrectly done reference page. This APA guide covers all the basics, but for more personalized writing assistance, reach out to The Savvy Tutor today!

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Savvy tutor learning pods alternative to home schooling

The Pros and Cons of Learning Pods

As the coronavirus pandemic drags on and changes the way students are educated, many parents are exploring ways to get their children and teens back into some manner of in-person learning. One idea that has gained traction among many parents is creating “pods” of students who stick together and attend class, homeschool, and/or tutoring sessions as a sort of closed-circuit study group. Before we get into the pros and cons of learning pods, we will go over what they are and why they are such a hot topic right now.

What is a Learning Pod? 

There are two primary conceptions of a learning pod. The first has the same group of students rotating between their various family homes for home/remote learning, so that parents in the pod can take turns acting as teacher and child care provider, thereby giving them some days off to go to a workplace and alleviating some of  the stress of providing home instruction. The second idea of a pod is similar, but instead of parents acting as the sole education providers, the group hires a teacher or tutor to come and provide home instruction, homework help, and/or subject-area tutoring to the students one or more days a week. 

Why the Push for Learning Pods? 

The idea behind learning pods is that families can limit the amount of people their students come into contact with, thereby allowing for some in-person teaching and learning while mitigating the risks of getting or spreading the virus. Both styles of pods have some benefits as well as several drawbacks. Since we’re all navigating this new reality, without much consensus from government, health, and education officials as to how to best proceed, it’s worth exploring the pros and cons of learning pods. All families will ultimately have to weigh both the health and educational benefits and drawbacks and make the most appropriate and feasible decision for their children and families. 

Pros of Learning Pods

  • Learning pods allow for students to engage with their peers for both educational and social purposes, including participating in cooperative learning and group projects
  • Creating pods of students seems safer than students attending school together en mass, thereby reducing worry and stress among students and families
  • Rotating groups of students between a few households allows parents with specific subject area knowledge to teach specific subjects each day
  • Small group learning with an educational professional is an effective method of instruction and allows for individualized learning within a group interaction

Cons of Learning Pods 

  • Pods may seem safer than some alternatives, but no pod can be a closed system and even if everyone trusts their fellow members, students and parents may still unwittingly get exposed and pass on the virus 
  • Pods consisting of just students and their parents are easier to manage and keep “closed”, but it is difficult, if not impossible, to guarantee that teachers, who will travel from pod to pod in addition to living their own independent lives, will not become infected from nor spread the virus to various pods
  • Students in a single pod may be working at different levels and have varying degrees of mastery in various subjects, meaning that some of the instruction may be more or less effective for different students

Other factors to consider about Learning Pods

  • Anyone considering hiring a teacher or tutor to teach their “pod” of students must understand that that person is likely going to other homes to teach other individual students and pods, thereby increasing the risk of infection for all parties
  • For high school and college students, most teachers and tutors are not equipped to teach every subject, so a single pod may require 2 or more tutors
  • Taking the pod outside, especially given the data suggesting that virus transmission is much less likely in open air, would be the safest in-person option when the weather permits
  • Members of the pod must develop common protocols for the pod and address issues including mask wearing during lessons, expectations for behavior outside of the pod, etc…

Takeaway

Parents are understandably desperate to return to some sense of normalcy and for their children to receive appropriate and effective instruction after a dismal spring semester when most districts and teachers were figuring out how to teach remotely for the first time and without much time for planning.

Learning Pods offer an enticing potential solution by allowing students to gather as a small group on a consistent basis to receive instruction and do schoolwork. The obvious benefits of this may outweigh any potential risks for some families, while others may not see the educational, social, and mental health benefits as worth the risk of potentially getting a family member sick.

These are tough times, and families and older students are facing difficult decisions regarding if and how to attend in-person classes, and more generally, how best to approach learning, testing, and educational planning. There is no perfect choice; the best solution seems to be to get educated about your options, weigh the pros and cons of Learning Pods, and go with what is best for your family. 

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Quarantine

Pass/Fail Grading and Its Future Impact

We are living in an unprecedented and stressful time for a variety of reasons. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to uproot our lives in myriad ways, many high school and college students are left wondering how virtual learning and pass/fail grading will impact their future prospects for college and graduate school. As any admissions expert can tell you, grades are one of the most critical determinants for entrance into a college or graduate school. As such, the pass/fail grading option which most schools and universities have implemented due to coronavirus is causing confusion and stress for many students. Unfortunately, due to the unprecedented nature of this time, we don’t know exactly how this will play out and how colleges and universities will choose to handle applicants’ pass/fail grades. That said, some common sense ideas, advice, and perspective may help students and parents who are understandably anxious about what this means for their and their children’s futures. 

  1. Continue to work hard and do your best- don’t act as if grading no longer exists simply because pass/fail is now a widely available option. 
    • If you can still take a letter grade, you should strive to do so and should only accept a pass/fail option if you are really struggling and have few resources to help yourself. Continuing to work to the best of your abilities can yield excellent letters of recommendation from teachers and professors, as well as exemplary projects and papers that can later become part of your portfolio. 
  2. Remember that everyone is in the same boat. 
    • A quarantine pass is not the same as a pre-quarantine pass. As in, all students in almost every school in the nation are facing the same situation of digital (and often subpar) instruction, and colleges and graduate programs will have to be understanding and will likely modify some of their admissions standards and requirements in regards to grades, because they have to.
  3. Beef up other areas of your resume. 
    • Now is a great time to look at any holes in your resume and extracurriculars and step up your game where possible. While the coronavirus pandemic has rendered certain activities unfeasible, others continue to meet, and new opportunities, especially for volunteerism, mentoring, and community activism have arisen. Students who were overly reliant on good grades (as well as those who were not!) have an opportunity to step up their extracurricular game, which will serve to complement grades and other achievements. 
  4. Work on your skill sets. 
    • Just because classroom learning has turned into online learning for students across the country (and globe) doesn’t mean that students of all ages can’t continue to develop their skills. Whether it’s reading comprehension, research, organization, essay writing, math, or any other relevant skill, students have many opportunities to continue learning during the quarantine and now over the summer. Between online tutoring, workbooks, webinars, videos, podcasts, and many other media and delivery methods, there is so much content on the internet and off (paper books still exist and are wonderful resources!) for students to continue to develop skills which they will need for future schooling. As students return to traditional classroom settings and grading structures, these skills will serve to make their work easier and their grades better, thereby improving their chances for future admission into college or graduate school. 

Other words of wisdom to keep in mind:

No one knows how this will pan out; not a single human alive, in or out of academia, has experienced a pandemic that caused a global shutdown of physical schooling and a near universal pass/fail grading option. As such, we must maintain some perspective and move forward on the assumption that programs will simply have to modify some requirements and standards, as virtually all members of their applicant pools will be in the same boat. 

My best guess is that colleges and universities will rely on trends in students’ grades over time to make admissions decisions while also taking into larger account students’ letters of recommendation, extracurriculars, and test scores (especially pre-and post-pandemic). I also believe that schools may start to rely more heavily on portfolio submissions, especially in programs where they are typically not required, such as health sciences. 

The last thought I’ll leave you with is this: we can only control what we can control. So, if taking a pass was your only viable option this past semester, take it and move on. Do something actionable and within your control, such as boosting your skills and/or finding relevant extracurriculars, so that when normalcy does resume (whatever that means and looks like), you will be set up for greatest success in the field or program of your choosing. Now is an ideal time to reach out to a professional tutor or coach who can help you build critical skills that will enable future success! 

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New Year, Same Old You: A Message of Empowerment (Really!)

It’s that time – mid- January- which means you’ve likely already given up on your New Year’s resolutions and lost your will to become a New You. While it’s easy to get dejected in such a situation, if we change our schematics around the New Year and resolution-making altogether, we can feel empowered to make meaningful changes any day of the year. 

We all want to live our best lives. In fact, “live your best life” is an annoyingly ubiquitous phrase that captures the zeitgeist pretty well, with our society’s current focus on wellness, emotional and spiritual fulfillment, “doing you”, and achieving personal growth and success on our own terms. New Year’s resolutions seem pretty in-line with this idea of “living your best life” because they seem to give people the opportunity to define what they want and resolve to go get it. However, if New Year’s resolutions were such powerful catalysts for personal change, we wouldn’t feel the collective need to make New Year’s resolutions every year because we already would have accomplished our goals in previous years, right? 

While I strongly believe in peoples’ abilities to grow, change, manifest their wills, and achieve their goals through hard work, I can’t stand New Year’s resolutions. The phrase “New Year, New You” is one of the most irritating phrases in our language, because it is extremely trite and simply not true. Just because the clock strikes midnight does not mean that we can change long-standing behaviors and achieve important life goals that we have yet to accomplish. 

Eat healthier. Exercise more. Lose weight. Quit smoking. Try a new activity. Save money. Stress less. Travel more. All of these are common resolutions, and they generally represent deep-seated desires that people have had for some time. The problem with choosing the new calendar year as a time to resolve to make a major life change is that it is arbitrary: simply a meaningless date on a calendar which society has decided is “the day” to become better, whatever that means. If we stop to actually think about the practice of New Year’s resolutions, it starts to feel absurd to believe that a random date is going to propel us, collectively as humans, to break unhealthy habits and addictions while proactively setting out to achieve our goals. Making New Year’s resolutions therefore sets us up for failure because we attribute some magical power to the “new year” and its ability to make us change.

The reality is that accomplishing a major personal goal or taking meaningful steps to do so requires the special sauce that drives all human action- and that is motivation. We fail at New Year’s resolutions because we are lacking, in that given time and space, the genuine motivation, will, and grit that it takes to change. What we need to start doing, then, is deciding that every day is a new year, a new opportunity to make consistent and long-term changes in any area of our lives- if we are motivated to do so. Whether related to our health, careers, or relationships, we should only make resolutions when we’re truly motivated and ready. Ditching the New Year’s resolutions shouldn’t make us feel powerless and hopeless, but rather empowered to make changes in our lives when we are actually ready while not feeling the social pressure to make resolutions we’re not ready for. As we all know, making resolutions simply because “it’s that time” frequently leads to failure and giving up on that goal for the rest of the year or maybe even forever. 

So save your money and don’t join a gym, don’t sign up for a new activity you’ve always wanted to do, don’t quit your job, and don’t join a dating app- until you’re truly ready! That readiness, the fire under the ass, so to speak, may happen next week, next month, next year, or in the next decade- it could happen anytime. And when you find and feel your motivation, you will resolve, in a real way, to make the changes to achieve what you desire. But for now, you’re still the same old you, and that’s ok. Because you are ok and worthwhile just as you are, so be gentle with yourself. And because you get every day for the rest of your life to decide if you do want to change something that you have control over, and that’s a lot more empowering and practical than having just one day, one opportunity. Let’s stop reveling in the new year as the opportunity for some “new you”, and start celebrating our amazing ability to make positive choices and achieve our goals any day of the year.

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Tips for College Success

College success starts early, but the Freshman year of college is already an overwhelming time for even the most prepared of young students. The demands and workload are greater, and the accountability systems and oversight are fewer than in high school, so many new students are understandably overwhelmed. Add in the pressure of a new social life with far greater temptations, advanced courses and majors, APA writing and college life can seem unmanageable and trying to navigate for new students.

However, with some simple tips (and then putting them into practice!), all students who want to achieve success can. Here is Part 1 of my tips for a successful college career:

1. Get acquainted with your school, program, and dorm

Every school is quite different in terms of how offices are set up, how and what services are provided, how information is disseminated, etc. The more you know, the more you can tap into all of those resources and maximize your experience and tuition dollars. Here’s how:

  • Attend all orientations.
  • Walk around campus until you feel like you know it well (use a campus map!).
  • Spend time on the school’s website and platforms (e.g. BlackBoard) that you’ll be using and will be required to navigate effectively.
  • Find out about services (career, tutoring/writing, accommodations/disability services, health center, counseling/psych, etc…) and locations of those services.
  • Go right away to any offices or services that you need immediately (or know you will need in the future).

Many schools have different tutoring centers for different subject areas. Some will have a science specific tutoring center that is separate from writing help, for example. Find out what these services are and where on campus they are located and don’t wait to go if you need help as appointments are generally required and are usually booked on a first come, first served basis.

If you have a documented disability, go to your disability services office immediately AND tell your professors right away.

2.  Be proactive with academic planning

As I said recently to a college student (who wanted to not make a plan and instead see how things would “pan out”): Panning is not planning! As in, don’t just go through the motions with a wait and see attitude. I’m not suggesting that plans will not change or that all will go according to your plans, but making plans that are real but flexible is a necessary task for academic success.

How to become a proactive student

  • Meet your advisor and get to know her or him right away.
  • If your advisor in nonresponsive, follow up via email, phone calls, and then showing up to their office to follow-up.
  • Some academic advisors are very active and participatory and helpful, others frankly are not.
  • Go to the head of an office or department (or loop them in).
  • Take your school’s core requirements ASAP.
  • Don’t put off required courses beyond a semester.
  • But DO wait to take a specific class if you’re waiting for a specific professor to teach it.
  • BUT…Don’t rush to declare a major.
  • Take different classes and explore your options. This is the time to do that!

Plan smart: Don’t overload your schedule with too many challenging classes in one semester. And if you are not hearing back or receiving the help you need from an advisor, CC them on emails and show up at the office to speak with someone in person about it.

3. Manage your time

I know, this one’s easily said, but not so easily done for many. However, it’s a worthwhile endeavor as scheduling, planning, and prioritizing are critical for success and a less stressful experience in college and beyond. College is much less structured than high school and there are no parents or teachers to hold you accountable in that way. College assignments are not broken up and checked the way high school assignments and readings are, so it can be easy to fall behind. Find pragmatic, day-to-day strategies such as setting a timer, that work for you. And utilize metacognition and goals to guide you towards intentional, realistic behavior.

The best time management strategies for college students

  • Create your own pacing schedule with reading, break up large assignments into smaller ones, and set due dates for yourself
  • Use a planner/calendar religiously
  • Find a system that works for you: get a weekly/monthly planner from the store, use the calendar or an app in your phone or tablet, etc…
  • Always have that calendar with you and check and update it daily
  • If you need more structure to your daily schedule, use an hourly calendar to block out your day
  • Have a long-term and a daily to-do list that you constantly update in the morning and evening

Be realistic with your time goals and expectations for what you can accomplish. If you notice that you have a tendency to underestimate how long projects or tasks will take, take that into account! Add on an extra hour or day (whatever) to your initial estimate

Deadlines are real, even if you pretend otherwise! Don’t stick your head in the sand if you find yourself getting behind. It happens, it’s almost expected during freshman year.

Reach out for help- talk to your professor ASAP, reach out to your advisor if needed, and seek help from a tutor or the writing center.

I’ve seen students be afraid or ashamed to speak with a professor if an assignment is late, missing, etc. Remember: This happens to most students at some point, so you are not unique or special because of this and no one will remember (or care).

4. Stay organized

Again, easier said than done. But I firmly believe that anyone can stay organized if they’re willing to put aside time each day or week to do so.

  • Go through your school bag 1X each week- file away papers in proper binders/folders, recycle garbage papers, make sure things are neat, clean, and follow an order that makes sense.
  • Don’t throw away old work or tests. File them away – just label each file or notebook with the class and semester.
  • The syllabus is your main set of guidelines, due dates, and schedule for each class. Use it religiously, bring it with you to every class, and write down ALL changes to the syllabus on the syllabus- because it WILL change.
  • Keep your desk/workspace neat. A few times a week, go through all papers and books and again, put them in the correct binder, folder, or recycling bin. Sell back (or donate, if you’re feeling giving) old books that you’re certain you will not need again (I suggest holding on to books relevant for your major).

Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ve gleaned some practical strategies for college success- comments are welcome! Stay tuned for Part 2, in which I’ll address procrastination, self-advocacy, how to navigate group projects, and more!

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Common Core Testing: Should You Opt-Out?

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the Common Core Standards as they have been widely implemented over the last few years. Parents and educators are gravely concerned about the over-standardization of learning and the overemphasis on testing at the expense of learning, and rightly so. This week in New York and elsewhere across the country begins a days-long process of ELA and math testing for students in grades 3-8.

The Common Core Conundrum

Generally speaking, standards in education are necessary but must be flexible and take into account the individual nature of students and their needs. The Common Core Standards were developed largely by politicians and educational publishers, whose interests may not be aligned with those of students and parents. (Read more about the history and development of the Common Core: http://www.usnews.com/news/special-reports/articles/2014/02/27/the-history-of-common-core-state-standards)

The Common Core test questions are often confusing and frankly take tasks that are already slightly complex in nature (such as reading and answering questions, and solving multi-step word problems), and make them more complex to the point of confusion. To be perfectly honest, I’ve been befuddled by some of the questions I’ve seen on the ELA practice exams for NYS, so you can imagine a 7th grader being completely stumped on how to answer questions that are so badly worded that English teachers are having difficulty. I have honestly grappled with the opt-out issue as I so strongly believe in providing students with a high quality, individualized education that’s not rooted in “sameness” or standardization.

The Opt-Out Option

All of this said, I think that the opt-out movement has taken on a life of its own and parents who choose to go this route may be a little misguided and influenced by other interests. Read more about the national opt-out movement: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/03/10/as-students-opt-out-of-common-core-exams-some-say-movement-is-not-about-testing

The Opt-Out Movement in New York and Special Interests

In states such as New York, where proposed teacher evaluations would be based heavily on these test scores, the teachers unions are understandably going after the Common Core and testing, and are widely encouraging parents and students to opt out of the state tests. While I do not support teachers being evaluated and paid based on standardized test scores, I also do not support parents keeping children from taking the tests simply because they are blindly following advice that’s been disseminated by teachers’ unions or other special or political interests (or their neighbors). Check out this piece that discussed in-depth the issues surrounding Common Core and the opt-out movement in New York State: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2015/04/07/opt-movement/25433719/

When to Opt-Out

There are exigent circumstances under which I think it is completely appropriate for a parent to opt-out of their child being tested. I understand and support opting-out in situations where a child may have special needs that are very different from the generalized population. A good example of such a case would be a child with a disability or a language barrier that would markedly impact their ability to take or perform reasonably on such a test or who is not yet receiving accommodations that include alternate assessments. Or, for instance, the case of a child with such extreme testing anxiety that making the test mandatory would actually cause them undue harm or distress.

Testing is a Reality

Beyond these more extreme situations, testing is a reality of life that almost every person in every generation has had to go through at different points in their education, and will continue to have to, even if the Common Core standards do not survive long-term. If students want to go to private school, college, graduate school, or the military, or get certified to be a professional in any number of industries, they will undoubtedly be required to undergo a variety of tests in order to achieve that goal. And on another note, to parents who are opting out simply because they think that their child will not perform well, I say that every child is being held to the same standard here and when a question is badly worded or even incorrect, most students will not do well. It’s not so much about the grades and scores in younger grades; it’s about the experience of taking a test and practicing the many skills (focus, reading, following directions, writing, problem-solving, self-monitoring, time-management, and many more) that students must learn if they are going to consistently perform well on tests.

And as we all know, it is harder to acquire new skills and to feel comfortable in new situations as we age, so by not exposing students to these tests while they are young and the pressure is less, we may be setting them up for disaster in testing situations later on- when it actually counts towards their future. What is the student who opted out now going to do when she must take Regents, APs, and ACTs/SATs in order to gain admission to college? Testing anxiety is an unfortunate reality that many students of all ages face, but it can be greatly mitigated through practice, instruction, and good use of study, testing, and metacognitive strategies. In fact, subjecting students to a barrage of unnecessary tests now may have the unintended but desirable consequence of desensitizing students to these high-pressure testing situations later, so that they can perform better when it truly matters. This is not a defense of the Common Core, rather a practical choice to turn what is a negative aspect of our education system into an opportunity to help students acquire life skills.

Lessons to be Learned from Common Core Testing

The most important point of not opting out is this: Teaching students that “opting-out” of a task or assessment which virtually all of their peers are taking, just because it may be difficult or even a little “unfair”, is a questionable lesson to be teaching our youngsters. Is this going to be a generation of children who, when the going gets tough in life, simply “opt-out”? There is something to be said for teaching lessons of social justice via education and protest, which perhaps many parents think they are doing by opting their children out of testing. And maybe parents who opt-out are accomplishing just that: the beginning of the end of standardized testing. But sadly, I don’t think that’s going to happen at all, as we are heading further into an era of standardization of everything and data-driven everything. So in fact, this opting-out movement may accomplish very little at all, while the children who are not participating in the testing may be missing out on an invaluable experience.

Taking a test is not necessarily the most “academic” of experiences or even one that should be so valuable; but it is a worthwhile and necessary experience because we are pragmatists living in the real world, and assessments of all kinds are real. As we all know, tests are necessary to have options in life and in one’s career. Opting-out in the adult world is generally impossible or will result in negative consequences or missed opportunities; doing one’s best, even when the task at hand is not easy or straightforward, is a life lesson that we can always be learning and reinforcing. That’s the teachable moment here: We live in a world that is not set up just for us, so acquiring a certain amount of mental fortitude and perseverance, (in addition to some actual test-taking experience), is invaluable.

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Does This Make Sense? A Thinking and Reasoning Strategy

Some of the best strategies to help students get motivated and become more focused are the simplest. As they say, you can’t reinvent the wheel! I strongly believe that metacognitive strategies are very effective as they get students thinking about their way of thinking. Research shows that being able to define objectives helps individuals improve in key areas such as decision making, planning, and any action that has a purpose (which is, or should be, most of them). One simple strategy that gets students to focus directly and deliberately on the intentions behind their actions is AGO: Aims, Goals, Objectives; this strategy was developed by Edward de Bono, the father of lateral thinking and one of the most celebrated intellectuals of our time. AGO is a simple strategy that “makes sense” while teaching students to think about what they’re doing and if it “makes sense” (and of course if it does not, we teach them how to make decisions that are in line with their AGO). This is one of life’s most basic yet underutilized lessons and one of the reasons, I imagine, why de Bono is a major proponent of teaching thinking skills in school.

For a quick semantic clarification: Since aims, goals, and objectives are closely related and often used synonymously, this strategy defines Aim as one’s general direction, Goal as an ultimate destination, and Objective as a recognizable point of achievement along the way.

One critical role of a coach or parent is to help students concentrate on the general idea of “purpose”, since without a sense of purpose, all actions are either reactions to a situation or matters of habit or imitation. When I reflect on all of my students, past and present, the ones who have been most aware of their AGO (even if we have not explicitly engaged with this specific strategy) are the most motivated and vice-versa, and therefore are generally the most successful. The intention of this type of strategy is to directly instruct students on how purpose is distinct from reaction and habit and how by acting with intent, we can create our own success. Our educational system is unfortunately structured so that students are often looking to adults, or the “authority”, for the “correct” answers or ways of doing things without doing any thinking of their own, regardless of whether there is a single solution or correct answer. Teaching and modeling metacognitive and other thinking skills promotes just that: thinking. Developing thinking skills enables us to become rational, resourceful, purpose-driven, problem-solving human beings. Students will not only be able to correct their own thinking and behavior through this type of strategy, but they will be able to develop stronger interpersonal connections as they begin to understand what guides people’s actions in general. People who engage in metacognition are more able to identify what is guiding others’ actions (are they behaving rationally and with AGO in mind?) and choose their actions accordingly.

I once believed that due to the complex metacognitive nature of this strategy, it was best applied with students in older grades – when they can understand what it means to let purpose direct their actions. I have since changed my own line of thinking as I’ve implemented this strategy with children as young as seven and eight years old. I obviously modify my language to be age-appropriate and relatable for a younger audience, but I’ve found that children are very receptive to being empowered to think in these ways. While it takes some time to develop these thinking and self-monitoring skills, the younger we start students on purposeful behavior and decision-making, the more successful they can be. This strategy teaches students of all ages how to literally develop and maintain a rationale for their behaviors, which leads to rational behavior and goal-oriented decision-making.

DeBono’s Six Thinking Hats (1985) recommends the AGO strategy be taught via a series of simple steps:

Step 1: Introduce the idea of metacognition.

•   Discuss with students that as individuals, we must always be thinking about how we’re thinking, making decisions, and taking action.

Step 2: Define and discuss Aims, Goals, and Objectives with students.

•   Discuss the general idea of “purpose” and that aims, goals, and objectives are all benchmarks and indicators of purpose. Don’t let students get hung up on the semantics of each word.

Step 3: Whenever we go to make a decision or take action in some way, we must be doing so for a reason and with AGO. Direct students to always think: What is the purpose of their action/decision? What is the aim, the goal, and objective?

•   Discuss with students that decisions without a purpose or without thought to AGO often end up being detrimental to both the decision-maker and others (in small and/or big ways).

•   Hasty decisions often haven’t been reasoned through. Teach students to think about AGO even when they feel pressed for time because time is saved and efficiency is gained when we behave in ways that make sense because they are in-line with our goals.

•   If someone does not have or can’t state the reasoning/purpose behind their action or decision, they shouldn’t do it! Tell students to go back to the “drawing boards” in their head and re-thing the purpose of their action or get rid of it all together because it is a habit or reaction to something else.

•   The ONE QUESTION that I always have students ask themselves is, “Does this make sense?” They always know the answer and often can correct their behavior or thinking with little support once they have become stronger thinkers.

Step 4: Reinforce and keep practicing and modeling this effective strategy!

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Negotiate and how to ask for what you want

If You Ask, You May Receive: Learning to be Proactive

If You Ask, You May Receive: Learning to be Proactive

There’s an old adage that goes: “If you ask, you will receive.” This is an oversimplified statement that will frequently prove to be false! Yet if we modify this basic idea, we end up with commonsense advice that we can all understand and get behind.

Learning to be proactive can be a lifelong task

Being proactive means one anticipates negative situations prior to them happening and prepares in advance for such occurrences by taking specific and explicit action(s). Being proactive might entail asking for accommodations well in advance of a test date. Another example of proactive behavior would be seeking out a teacher, tutor, or parent for extra help before one is urgently needed and the situation is desperate. I often get requests from older students and parents alike that reflect a reactive pattern of behavior, such as, “My child has been failing English all year” when it’s already February!  Such a (frequently occurring) situation brings to mind the saying, “Better late than never.” Which is true! But better to be early than to be late. In the case of a student who is seeking help perhaps months after he/she should have, they can still make progress and improve upon whatever they need to at that time. But it is always harder to play catch up than to get in front of the ball. (See my previous blog post Don’t Wait or Procrastinate – Motivate)

Here’s a Story for You…

While acting as an advocate on behalf of a high school student, I participated in a meeting with my student and her principal in order to receive testing accommodations retroactively due to my student’s months-long illness the prior semester. My student had been out sick for dozens of days and classes due to a debilitating and excused illness, yet she was not granted certain testing accommodations and as she is a hardworking, overachieving student, she did not think it necessary to ask at the time.  Well, she ended up being made to take the very same final as all other students, with no accommodations, and fared well below her average performance. The final grade she received thus ruined her otherwise stellar average and in retrospect, her being made to take the regular final with no additional instruction or accommodation seemed like a punitive measure by the school. So, we engaged in a summer-long chain of emails to teachers, department heads, assistant principals, and the principal in an effort to modify that grade and assignment, despite the fact that it was now completed. While we ended up successful (this student was finally granted additional instruction time AND a slightly altered version of the test to retake), going about the process retroactively was costly, time-consuming, and difficult. Had this student asked for accommodations (she would have had a compelling case for temporary accommodations under Section 504) proactively during the spring, before the final, she and her family would have saved time, energy, and money and received an outcome that was the same or better.  (On a side note, this particular student is very bright, put together, and an excellent self-advocate, so this lesson has been learned!)

Why is it so difficult to be proactive?

Why do we have such a hard time reaching out for help before the ship reaches the iceberg and why can’t we prevent ourselves from crashing into it, capsizing, and then having to do damage control much of the time? Well, we can avoid this fate. But being proactive requires us to be honest with ourselves and to face the reality of the situation that we are in.  Many of us fear the potential repercussions of a situation before it has even come to fruition and act on those fears as if they are reality. The “repercussions” may be a material consequence such as a lower grade or loss of a job or income, so we anticipate the loss of those things prior to them happening; by fearing and anticipating the worst, we create fertile ground for our inactivity which then leads to the realization of those fears. I, like most humans, have found myself NOT asking for something out of fear of what may happen. But what do we really have to lose by asking? When you don’t yet have something, you have nothing to lose by asking for it. But by not asking, we may lose the opportunity to achieve our goal altogether. And on a practical note, I have also found that many people respect it when someone speaks up and asks for something they want or need (within reason and done in a respectful manner, of course). I try to remember that the world is not set up for ME and my reality, needs, and success. But we can create our own success in the world by seeking out help or what seems like “extra”, when it may in fact be readily available, but will likely not be offered. Let the world work for you by getting to work yourself right now!

So, whether you are asking for a raise from your boss, an extension on a paper, an instructional accommodation, or a special order, go get it!

Simple Strategies for Proactivity

Figure out your specific goals

  •  Envision yourself achieving those goals
  • Do a task analysis: Break down each goal into small, achievable steps to make it more manageable

Know your Rights

  • When you understand your legal, consumer, and human rights in a given situation, you are:
    1. More able to effectively ask for support
    2. In a better position to get what you want out of that situation and in a more efficient manner

Plan Ahead

  • This includes anticipating and planning for less-than-ideal scenarios
    • This does not mean we expect or assume these things will happen, just that we should be practical by being prepared if they do

Visualize Success

  • Imagine yourself asking for what you want in a confident and clear manner
  • Visualize accomplishing your goal(s): what it looks and feels like

Self-Talk

  • Remind yourself of what you have to lose by asking (nothing) and what you have to gain by asking (everything you want!)

Create a script or talking points in advance of taking specific action

Practice being proactive in small, everyday ways

  • Make specific or special requests at restaurants and stores
  • When you get what you want by asking for it, take a moment to fully realize and process that success, which reinforces said behavior

Most of us fall into traps of fear and inactivity that lead us to have to retroactively work that much harder to achieve success or whatever we set out to accomplish. We can free ourselves from this counterproductive behavior by acknowledging the truth of where we are and where we want to go, and can actively create success by asking for what we want and need (and are sometimes entitled to by law)!

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How to be a parent advocate

How to be a Parent Advocate

Parental involvement in their children’s education is a critical factor for success, yet many don’t know how to best accomplish this. Most parents are invested in their child’s academic career, but don’t necessarily know the most effective strategies to advocate for their child when it becomes necessary. Some level of advocacy will almost always become necessary during a child’s academic career, whether or not they receive special education services. The topic of parent advocacy has long been a passion of mine, as effective parent advocates raise students who are more successful learners. The education system can be complicated and confusing, so many parents get frustrated and don’t know the best course of action. Understanding the barriers to parental participation and advocacy can help parents harness their full power and get the most out of their school district.

What is Parental Advocacy?

Parental advocacy is a simple concept, and occurs when parents speak up for their children in various settings including schools, camps, or special education programs. Many people associate parent advocacy with special education, but all children need a parent advocate at some point. Students with and without disabilities all deserve to receive a high quality education in (or funded by) their home school district. Many students will need additional assistance in a certain skill, class, or subject area, and they may not receive the help they need without a parent speaking up on their behalf. Anytime a parent has a conversation with a teacher, school, or department head, they have an opportunity to advocate for the child if and as needed.

Why Advocate?

Research of the last several decades has shown that parents who advocate for their children and participate in their children’s education raise students who perform better in school. (I authored Research Summary that goes into greater detail re: Special Education.) It is therefore only appropriate that parents, especially of struggling learners, know what is going on in the classroom and what their child is doing in school. Too many parents are “shut out” of the learning process by being inadequately informed of what is being learned, how it is being taught and assessed, how your child is performing, and what you and the school can do to increase student learning.

If your child’s academic, physical, or emotional needs are not adequately being met in school, or worse, if something inappropriate is occurring, you will need to act as an advocate or hire someone to advocate on behalf of your child and family. Many parents feel held back by fear of asking too many questions or of “bothering” schools, administrators, and teachers.

Parents frequently don’t want to bother teachers, many of whom are already overworked and underpaid, which is compassionate and understandable. However, good teachers figure out a way to communicate regularly with parents, whether through an e-board or classroom newsletter, blog, or other media, between in-person conferences.

You Are Not the School’s Keeper

As a parent, your first obligation is to your child and family. Parents are not responsible for the wellbeing of the school; rather, schools are responsible for the wellbeing of students. Your child’s education is your top priority, and you are entitled to ask as many relevant questions as you need. It is your right to know what is going on in your child’s classroom and how they are spending their time in school. As a taxpayer, you are essentially a consumer of public education, and it is therefore only appropriate and lawful that parents should be able to know what they are paying for.

“The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Oil”

Not only is it “ok” to speak up, but it is essential for being an effective advocate! If there are specific teachers whose class you want your child to be in the following school year, request them. Many parents are hesitant to “bother” schools by asserting what they want for their child, be it a specific teacher/classroom, services, or simple answers to questions. This creates a situation in which there are a limited number of vocal parents, with districts generally more willing to acquiesce to those outspoken parents. In my personal and professional experience, parents who ask more questions and are more insistent get better results for their children.

Questions to Ask Teachers and Administrators

Parents, especially those with struggling or underperforming students, should have answers to the following questions.

What is the student’s reading level? Specific areas of weakness?

What content is being taught in all subject areas?

What curriculum(s) are being used for each subject?

How often is student assessed and how? Do assessments vary? (i.e. not just tests)

Is work being returned in a timely manner with feedback?

How are any learning challenges addressed? What strategies are being taught in those situations?

How often is student getting small group time with a teacher for a specific subject (i.e. reading)

What is/are the classroom routines, rules, and expectations? Systems of management and discipline? I.e. Individual reward chart, whole-class system, etc…

How is the day structured? How much time spent on each subject and in “specials”?

What is the literacy model and how much time is spent on independent reading? Guided reading? Shared Reading? Read-alouds?

How and how often is reading progress monitored and assessed? How often do students confer with their teacher?

What leveling system for books does the school use? (i.e. Fountas and Pinnell, Lexile, Reading Recovery, etc…)

How do students learn to check out/pick“ just right” books for themselves?

How often do students get to go to the library and check out books?

What does the mathematics curriculum consist of?

Are games incorporated into the learning? Technology?

Document Everything

Documentation can become critical to successful advocacy, especially when students have disabilities and may need evaluations, additional services, and an IEP. Insist on getting everything in writing, as you have no way to hold districts accountable for verbal statements.

Parent Training Programs

Organizations such as the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) provide parent training programs that provide concrete and actionable methods for parents and other advocates to use when engaging with a school district. The COPAA website offers helpful tips and tools, as well as listings for other organizations,

When to Seek Outside Help

Many people can be effective parent advocates once they know their goals, the right questions to ask, and their legal rights.  However, families dealing with school districts that are attempting to circumvent the law may need the help of a professional to get the school to adequately serve their children now and in the future. In those cases, it is a good idea to contact a non-attorney advocate, such as The Savvy Tutor, to act on your behalf or in concert with you.

Hopefully this information will provide you with the knowledge and resources to effectively advocate for your child. If you need assistance with a more complex case, reach out to find out how we can work together to obtain the high quality education your child deserves!

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Don’t Procrastinate: Prepare for a Successful School Year

Summer is quickly coming to a close and schools in the area will be starting classes in just over a week. So, what are you doing to be prepared for not just the first day of school, but also the whole year? While it’s a bit of a bummer to be thinking about school while trying to enjoy the last days of summer, it can also be an invigorating time in which students get a fresh start on a new year.

I’ve always loved the back-to-school time of year despite the accompanying nostalgia of an ending and fleeting summer because it allows for endless possibilities and a renewed focus on learning with new goals and motivations. This is the time of year when many students are feeling the greatest levels of optimism regarding their future success and their highest levels of motivation, so tap into these feelings and use them to build a framework for success!

Here are a few quick tips for getting a jump on the school year and setting yourself up for a successful year:

  • Set achievable and specific goals for the semester or quarter and year.
    •  Write them down (even on a bulletin or white board) so you can read them when work gets challenging and you need motivation.
  • Buy materials now. Anticipate needing extra supplies of frequently used items such as post-its, appropriate writing paper, etc…
  •  Pre-read or prepare in content.
    • Prepare for any challenging, upcoming classes by reading or skimming recommended texts, watching relevant videos or media, working with a teacher, tutor, or parent, etc…
    •  If assigned summer reading or work was very difficult or problematic, consult the teacher prior to the first day of school if possible. Otherwise talk to the teacher during the first week- this is essential as summer work is an assessment of student’s abilities.
  • Get a planner that works for you, whether a paper planner or electronic. Have it all the time. Use it. Be consistent.
  • Make a study plan and schedule now.
    • Block out chunks of time for studying, schoolwork, and similar commitments. Prioritize most important work and activities.
  • Visualize Success. This goes along with setting those goals. Create a picture(s) in your mind of what it looks like once you have worked hard and have accomplished those goals.
    • This will help keep you motivated because you have a specific visual of what it is that you’re working for.
  •  Preemptively strike against the mid-semester slump
    • Always be proactive. Make a plan now! Battle complacency. Have strategies for motivation, relaxation, etc… as well as strategies for what to do IF you feel yourself starting to struggle or fall behind.

My good friend Simone, who is also an amazing student and one of the smartest people I know, is back in school doing postgraduate work in nursing and is currently preparing for a difficult semester of rigorous work. We had a rich conversation on this very topic and she left me with the wise adage: “Start strong, finish strong.” She is absolutely right: if one starts the school year in a disorganized and unprepared manner, it’s already a bit of a losing game and it’s possible to spend an entire semester or even year trying to “catch up”.

But by implementing these simple strategies, all students can start the academic year as their best selves and with high chances for success, however “success” is defined to them and their families. Many parents can assist their children or teenagers in effectively getting set up for success, but many need a professional to help create this structure and keep students on track. In those cases, don’t hesitate to reach out to a tutor or coach who can work with your child to help them be the best student they can be.

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“Patient, understanding and very supportive …”

Having Alex as a tutor was amazing. She is patient, understanding and very supportive in many ways. Alex not only helped our son with his writing and vocabulary, she helped him organize his thoughts and strengthen his study skills. I highly recommend Alex as a tutor.

–Celina M., Greenburgh, NY
“Personalized teaching style, depth of knowledge, attentive manner”

When there are so many great things that can be said about a person, it is hard to find the right words that truly satisfy that person’s character. I first began working with Alex when I was a freshman in high school. Not having success with previous tutors, I concluded that tutors simply are not for me. However, Alex showed me otherwise; her personalized teaching style, depth of knowledge, attentive manner, and even sense of humor is above any tutor I’ve ever encountered. Beyond the skills that make Alex an effective yet enjoyable tutor, she also provides insight and guidance to those who are struggling in certain areas of their life. I have sought Alex’s help with challenges both big and small, and she always steers me in the right direction while teaching me important life skills in the process. As I am now approaching my senior year, I am overwhelmed with feelings of confidence and excitement because I know that I will have Alex by my side.

–Victoria L., Armonk, NY
“Effective, Articulate Advocate”

I hired Alex to help me obtain a private school placement at the district’s expense for my 3rd grader, who is nonverbal and autistic. After hiring an ineffective attorney for the same purpose when my son was in first grade, Alex was able to accomplish this goal and got my son a placement in a specialized, private school program. While this endeavor took months of work, meetings, emails, and school visits to accomplish, my son is now in an appropriate program where he is able to learn and thrive. Additionally, Alex was able to get the school district to provide every single service, accommodation, and technology that I was requesting for my son. Alex is assertive, articulate, and knows the law and best educational practices. As such, she effectively and vociferously advocated on my son’s behalf and accomplished all of my goals. I highly recommend her to anyone in need of an advocate!

-Angela F., New Rochelle, NY
“High Quality Tutor”

Alex is a highly skilled and knowledgeable writing teacher. Warm and nurturing. Reliable. Made learning meaningful, engaging and fun. Definitely recommend and will use again.

-Wendy D., Tarrytown, NY
“Knowledgable and Dedicated”

I must admit that I was absolutely fortunate when I stumbled upon Alex’s website during my internet search a year and a half ago. I was desperately looking for someone to proof read my papers and assist in guiding me throughout the pursuit of my doctorate degree. With the guidance, support, and constructive criticism from this very knowledgeable, insightful, and patient individual I received As in all my courses. I truly enjoyed working with Alex.

-Jessie M., White Plains, NY
“The Best Tutor”

Alex is very well-versed and knowledgeable about many subjects. I have not been in school in over 20 years and now I am back to obtain my doctorate degree. Alex has helped me get organized and has assisted me with my APA citations, grammar, and word choice. My writing skills have improved significantly and every one of my papers has received an A. Alex has provided me with the skills I need to continue my studies. I am so lucky to have met Alex.

– Renee C., Yonkers, NY
“Awesome Teacher and Person”

Amanda: I am a student of Alex’s. I would recommend Alex to other students because she pushes you, gives you confidence, and she has a great sense of humor. She turns around any of your negative feelings into positive ones so you can believe in yourself to succeed.

Doretta: I am Amanda’s mom. Alex has a tremendous amount of patience. She is creative, funny, and very knowledgeable of her material. Alex tutored my daughter to obtain a driving permit. This was a major challenge for Amanda. Aside from needing help to learn the material, Amanda also has severe test anxiety. Amanda also has had many many tutors throughout her life. Alex not only helped Amanda learn the material and prepare for the test, but also made her believe in herself and decreased her anxiety. She is truly an awesome teacher and person. I highly recommend her to any struggling student.

– Amanda and Doretta Tarangioli, Eastchester, NY
“Hardworking and dedicated”

Alex is a hard working and extremely dedicated person. Not only is she able to help me better understand what I am studying but she also has a way of inspiring me to learn more. I have had many tutors and I know for a fact that Alex is by far the best. She pushes me to better myself and helps me become increasingly more interested in school. Alex helps me with whatever I need to improve on and is always the first and most excited to congratulate me on my accomplishments. After studying with Alex my grades have dramatically improved. This made it possible for me to get into a high honors English class after years of special Ed. Also with her help she made looking and applying for colleges an enjoyable experience. She is an amazing tutor and person and I can go on forever stating how much she has helped me become a confident student.

– Nicole L., Armonk, NY
“Extremely knowledgable about the admissions process”

My daughter struggled with writing her college application essay. We were fortunate to meet Alex who not only helped our daughter select the appropriate subject matter and prepare a well-written essay, but minimized the stress and drama that comes with this process. Alex has great writing skills and she is very creative and extremely knowledgable about the admissions process. Alex is a pleasure to work with.

–John S., White Plains, NY
“Knowledgeable and Helpful”

Alex helped me with my personal statements for graduate school. It was helpful to brainstorm ahead of time because it made our sessions more productive. However, we brainstormed more throughout our sessions. She made me feel confident in my writing and the writing process less stressful. She took notes as we talked and cares about making a connection with her students. I definitely recommend her assistance! It was such a pleasure to work with her and I will be sure to keep in contact with her for future assignments!

– Desiree, R., Homer Glen, IL
“Far exceeded expectations”

Alex has worked with my son for three months and the improvement we have seen has been tremendous. My son went from failing in math to exceeding his peers in class. He enjoys his sessions with Alex and as a matter of fact, looks forward to her coming to tutor him, he refers to it as “so much fun and interesting”. Alex provided our son with the necessary strategies to apply to solve math problems and we can see him applying those strategies in his homework assignments.  Our son went from 60’s and 70’s to 95 in scores for his math tests.  We are incredibly lucky and grateful to have found Alex. She has done wonders for our son and has been able to teach him in a manner where he understands and retains the information.  She has far exceeded our expectations in so little time.

–Nadira B., Scarsdale, NY
“Insightful, inspirational, and enthusiastic professional”

Alex has been working with our 2nd grade daughter for over a few months now, and she has had an amazing, positive impact on her. Alex is knowledgeable, hardworking, and extremely patient with our daughter who has been having some challenges reading. Alex was able to identify our daughter’s weaknesses and help provide the necessary strategies and techniques to help her improve her reading skills. Alex is an excellent tutor who my daughter says “makes reading fun”! She eagerly awaits and looks forward to her sessions with Alex as Alex never fails to have a clever game and fun worksheets for them to work on together. With Alex’s help, our daughter’s confidence has really grown, and her reading has significantly improved –she will actually read aloud now! We are so grateful to have found Alex – she has truly been able to teach our daughter in ways that she can understand and learn. We can’t thank Alex enough for all her hard work, and would highly recommend her. If you’re looking for an intelligent, dedicated and incredibly responsive tutor, look no further!

–Eileen B., Tuckahoe, NY
“Dedicated, professional, reliable”

Alex is an inspiring tutor, full of enthusiasm and knowledge. Her lessons are always personalized and tailored specifically to my daughter’s needs.  My 5th grade daughter always looks forward to meeting with Alex, as Alex always includes activities and games that make learning fun for her. I noticed her increase in confidence and it showed through her improvement in grades. Dedicated, professional, reliable – what more could you ask for! I would highly recommend Alex without any hesitation. Thank you, Alex!

–Jen A., White Plains, NY
“Excellent tutor, very helpful”

Alex worked with me very diligently and helped me with several college supplemental essays. Alex knew exactly what college admissions officers were looking for which helped me include critical information in my essays. Also, I was able to engage in conversation with Alex about how to go about revising my essays. She approaches the essay sentence by sentence and makes sure that the essential question: “so what?” is always answered within the writing. I recommend Alex as a tutor for anyone in need of help for any piece of writing.

–Brian W., Greenwich, CT
“Professional, effective tutor and advocate”

I hired Alex as a tutor and an advocate to help me prepare and receive accommodations for an NASM personal training exam. Alex was critical in helping me successfully study and prepare for the test by teaching me effective study skills and test-taking strategies. Alex was able to get NASM to provide me the full extent of accommodations that I was legally entitled to. She also made sure that the reader for my test was competent and prepared by personally escorting me to the testing center to make sure that they were following the appropriate procedures. I am extremely thankful to Alex for her dedication to my success and for helping me pass the exam.

–AJ Sauer, Tarrytown, NY
“Terrific tutor”

Alex is well prepared and detail-oriented and works hard during the sessions to make sure my son understands what she is working on with him.

–Bonnie Y., Scarsdale, NY
“Professional problem-solver”

My adult brother has been working with Alex for the past few months. She is amazing! I have never known someone in this profession to be so patient, insightful and so good at breaking down challenges into pieces of a puzzle in order to find the best possible solution.

–Andrea Weinberg, New York, NY
“Competent, knowledgeable, and committed”

Alex was able to help me improve my study and test-taking skills and I’m so glad I hired her! I am a nursing student in a competitive program and I felt lost given the vast amount of material that I had to study. Alex helped me use recall strategies like mnemonics to remember difficult terminology for exams. She was also helpful in teaching me metacognitive strategies for focus and self-monitoring during testing. I am especially grateful to Alex for helping me navigate through the difficult “red tape” of my program. She taught me effective self-advocacy techniques so that I was able to attain the outcome I was seeking by being assertive about my rights. I am now much more confident about going into my next semester of school and feel like I have the necessary skills to succeed.

–Sam Kudelka, Pleasantville, NY

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