The following Learning Tour was prepared for contribution to the website library of Harvard’s Institute of Coaching Professional Association (ICPA).  It begins by differentiating instructional from academic coaching followed by thought leaders,

Instructional
According to a 2007 article by Judy Kowal and Lucy Steiner titled Instructional Coaching published by the Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement and Learning Point Associates at http://www.centerforcsri.org/files/CenterIssueBriefSept07Coaching.pdf.

For the purposes of this discussion, an instructional coach is defined as someone whose primary professional responsibility is to bring practices that have been studied using a variety of research methods into classrooms by working with adults rather than students. Instructional coaches, as described here, may spend some time working with groups of teachers and may have other administrative responsibilities, but they set aside a significant portion of their time to offer classroom modeling, supportive feedback, and specific observations of individual teaching practices.

Academic Coaching
According to the Academic Coaching Institute (ACI) the academic coach is similar to the athletic coach who assists with setting goals, building motivation, and fine tuning skills. Academic Coaching puts the focus on the student, providing the training and support necessary to achieve better study habits while increasing the student’s time to pursue other interests.