The Team

Adele J. Pile, PhD

After spending 20 years working in Australian academia, I retired to spend time looking after my family. As my step children entered high school, I discovered that they were having difficulty transitioning to the new types of learning required to be as successful as they wanted to in school.  And this was frustrating them, so they took it out on the world around them.  And we were not alone.  Many of my fellow parents were suffering through the same difficulties with their children. And their families were really struggling because, unlike ours, they did not have an experienced educator and this is key, who was not their parent to guide them with their homework and develop new study skills.

Drawing on my 20 years of experience designing and implementing transition programs in higher education, I began working with these families.  I mentor HSC students and their families to help them understand where their learning tools are no longer effective and to develop new methods. Drawing heavily on Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills, along with a dash of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, I work one on one with students to help them move from simply acquiring knowledge, to developing critical thinking skills and using knowledge.

My accent quickly gives away that I am American by birth, Australian by choice. I have a PhD and M.A. in Marine Science from the College of William and Mary, a B.A. in Biology from Boston University and have held lecturing positions at Flinder’s University and the University of Sydney.  During my numerous academic leadership roles, including Director of First Year Biology at University of Sydney, Coordinator of Honours and Coordinator of Marine Science, I designed and implemented substantial changes to the teaching and learning within these programs. I consult to higher education, teaching teachers how to be better at their job. As an accomplished researcher I have led research teams responsible for scientific discoveries deemed in the top 100 globally for a year, published over 20 peer reviewed publications and have supervised numerous honours and PhD students.  My Working with Children check is current.

Able Bodied Assistants

Please be aware that the office is home to two rescue cats.  Those with cat allergies should take the necessary precautions.

“Dr Who”  Receptionist

Normally you’ll find Dr Who manning the reception desk.  He likes a pat on the head and once he gets to know you, an “Eskimo kiss”, aka nose bump.

“Chewbacca” Homework Supervisor

Chewbacca is our not very ferocious guard cat, he’ll run when you come through the gate and hide. However once the work gets started, he’ll reappear to make sure that everyone stays on task.  He’s a bit of a dobber and likes to chat about all the things going on in his life.  He’s also been known to sleep on school bags.

Fees

Consultations are for 1 hour and range from $110-$200 per hour depending on the needs of the student, payable prior to the session. Fees are structured as a base fee according to the depth of the curriculum and any special needs of the student might result in a surcharge.  The base fees are:

Year in School	Base Consultation Rate for 2019 School Year
Primary through to Year 8	$110
Year 9 and 10	$140
Year 11 and 12	$165
University	$200

Sessions take place at my office. I no longer travel to students’ homes as it takes away time that is better spent helping as many students as possible.

Additional assistance is available during the completion of assessment tasks with the approval of the person financially responsible for the account. These may include, but are not limited to, additional face to face mentoring, review of work and online/phone assistance and responding to parental inquiries. It is billed at 1/10 hour (6 minute) increments at the consultation rate, is billed monthly and payable within 14 days.

I offer discounts for students in the same household:

• 10% off the second student’s fees;
• 20% off the third student’s fees;
• 30% off the forth and any additional students’ fees.

In addition, concessional discounts may be available for those under financial hardship, please discuss your circumstances with me.

Accounts that are not paid prior to each session will be charged a 25% administration fee at the base consultation rate for each unpaid consultation per week. Reluctantly I will use debt collection services for unpaid invoices.

Cancellation Policy

I require a minimum of 48 hours notice should you need to reschedule a consultation. This is to allow the time to offer my time to another client on my waiting list.  I do not provide a reminder for booked appointments.  For non-attendance and appointments cancelled on the day the full session fee will be charged, for appointments cancelled with 24 hours notice a 50% session fee will be charged.