MindMap looks at why the student is struggling and teaches strategies that address the underlying problem. If the underlying problem is not understood, Dr. Douglas will work with the tutor and the family to help figure it out. The goal is not simply to get through tonight’s homework. It is to help students become better learners.

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If more data is needed to better understand a student's learning and learning difficulties, Dr. Douglas can conduct brief, office-based assessments to learn about how the student thinks, and better understand the unexplained difficulty. Any MindMap student, if appropriate, can make use of this targeted assessment with Dr. Douglas at no charge. (A longer, comprehensive evaluation is not included in the cost of tutoring.)

It means we think about how a student’s attention, executive functioning, memory, language, processing speed, and learning style affect school performance. We then use that understanding to choose strategies that actually fit the student.

Either, or both. The overlap is where MindMap tends to shine. Academic skills and executive functioning are often closely connected. A student may understand the material but struggle to organize it, start an assignment, manage time, study effectively, or complete work efficiently. MindMap can address those problems within the same tutoring relationship.​

There is no one picture of a MindMap student.

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We work with students who are having academic trouble and want their work to come more easily to them. MindMap can be particularly helpful for students who:

• understand more than their grades show

• have trouble starting or completing work

• procrastinate

• struggle with organization or time management

• have trouble studying effectively

• need support in reading, writing, or math

• have ADHD or learning differences, and need concepts reinforced

• work extremely hard but inefficiently

• want to become more independent learners

We also work with students who are doing well and want to do better. Good grades do not always mean that school is easy or efficient. Some students are achieving at a high level while spending far more time, effort, or stress than they should. MindMap can help students work more efficiently, become more independent, and better understand how to use their strengths, regardless of their grades.

We look for the reasons behind the difficulty. For one student, poor homework completion may be an organization problem. For others, it may be attention, reading comprehension, perfectionism, time management, difficulty knowing how to begin, etc. Understanding the underlying problem allows us to choose a better solution. We work collaboratively to develop a Learning Plan.

The cost of tutoring ranges, but starts at $175. We use a tutor management software to handle billing. Parents or other designated payees will be billed twice monthly for sessions completed during the preceding two week period.

Yes. MindMap is not a one-size-fits-all program. The idea of a Learning Plan is to have structure around the tutoring, accompanied by clear goals we are working to accomplish. Goals and strategies are based on the individual student’s needs, strengths, priorities, and school demands. The goals, and the plan for how to address them, are determined with the parents and the student (who may have different goals); understanding the goals is an important part of the collaborative process.

Sessions are 50 minutes and are tailored to the student. Depending on the student and what their goals are a session might include academic support, homework planning, organization, study strategies, essay-writing, literary analysis, etc. The emphasis is always on teaching the student how to do the work, how to approach the work, and in many cases, both.

Both. Current schoolwork provides an excellent opportunity to teach better ways to read, write, study, organize, plan, and problem-solve. The immediate assignment matters, but the larger goal is to build skills the student can use independently in the future. We use the work students are already assigned, rather than giving them a new set of things to do.

Independence is one of the primary goals. Tutors do not simply tell students what to do. They teach students strategies, systems, and ways of thinking that they can gradually use on their own. Successful tutoring should make the student less dependent on tutoring over time, not more.

We use the student's Learning Plan to help guide progress-monitoring. Our work is based on data and the idea of data-based decision-making. 

Yes. This is exactly the kind of discrepancy MindMap was founded to address. Knowing how to do something and being able to do it consistently, efficiently, and independently are very different things. We help students close that gap.

Yes. Students can learn how to plan their studying, decide what to study, organize information, use active study strategies, and prepare over time rather than relying on last-minute review. Please note, though, MindMap is not a standardized test prep company. If that support is needed, we can provide referrals to trusted colleagues who do this work thoughtfully, but that is not our niche.

This is an important part of the MindMap model. A recommendation such as “support executive functioning” is only useful if someone translates it into what the student should actually do on Monday afternoon. MindMap helps turn information about attention, memory, language, executive functioning, and learning into practical strategies the student can use.

It depends. We offer both in-person and virtual-based sessions, depending on your preference. Depending on where a family lives, sessions can either occur in their home, in the MindMap office (w. 35th Street), or sometimes, at or near a child's school.