What Do the Kids Think of Conferences?
Think about this scenario. You're nine years old. You are well aware of how you are doing in school. You know multiplication is driving you crazy, but you work on it now and then. The last book you read was kind of hard. You're worried. Conference time is almost here, and you have no idea what your teacher is going to tell your parents. Will they be mad? Will you be in trouble. Then the big day arrives, your mom walks into the room to talk to your teacher while you sit outside the room worrying. What is going on?I know that's what goes on in the head of most kids during conference time, because I've asked them how they feel about it. The overall comment is that they are really worried when parents walk into talk to teachers. "They're talking about me!" one child said, "and I don't know what they're saying!"
My next question to students is to ask if they would like to be part of the conference, in the room and taking part in what is going on. To a child they almost yell, "YES!" That's when I knew I had to change how I did conferences. I just didn't know how to go about it. I didn't want a disaster on my hands!
As Luck Would Have it:
Luckily for me, I was in the same study group as a teacher new to my school, named Vicky, who moved from Oregon. She told us that her old school did student-led conferences in every grade level, kindergarten through fifth grade. To prove its effectiveness, Vicky gathered her fourth graders, prepared them for the student-led conference, and let them practice for it by allowing our study group to watch how it was done. One of the teachers stood in for the parent. My jaw dropped. This was exactly what I was looking for!Every teacher in my study group, including the kindergarten teacher, tried student-led conferences that fall. It was amazing! Parents loved it, kids loved it, and best of all, the behavior we wanted to see changed, really changed. It changed not for a day, or a week, but permanently. Why?
To prepare for the conference students look through their own papers and choose the ones they want to share. Then they write why they think this work shows both their strengths, and those things they need to work on. They also comment about how they have improved over time. They fill out forms about each subject, behavior, and goals to work on. Then they practice the conference with their peers. At the conference I take their goal, include input from parents, and write a goal on a contract. Then we include in the goal exactly HOW the student will meet that goal. That's the key! When they sign it (and their parents, and I sign it too) I explain that they are making an important promise, and not to sign it, if they don't think they will actually do it. They all sign!
The successes I have seen with student-led conferences are many, but one child in particular stands out. I'll just call him Sam. Sam was a very, very intelligent learning disabled child who struggled every day to read. Now, in third grade, he was sure he would never learn to read. He didn't think he was smart enough. I watched as he filled out his paperwork for the conference with a lump in my throat. He was negative about everything he did. Since he had just qualified for learning disability classes, I had everything I needed to show him how smart he really was. I told his mom what I would do during the conference, and she was more than on-board.
After Sam shared his work, and described how poorly he did in everything, it was my turn. I explained a bell curve and what would be seen in each quadrant. I asked him where he thought he would fall. He said he would be in the bottom quadrant. I went over again the qualities seen in people who fall in the third quadrant. After each quality, I asked him if that described him in any way. When he said , "no" his mom would remind him of something at home that showed exactly that quality. I showed him his IQ score (this is something I have never done, but he needed to know!). It was 134. It took a while, but when it finally sunk in that he actually fell into the gifted category, well, I wish I had a picture of his face. His mom told me that from that day forward his attitude about everything changed. We made a goal that he would read 20 minutes each night. It would be hard, but it would pay off. He followed his goal without fail, it did pay off. By the end of the year he had grown three grade levels in reading. Attitude is everything!
It was the conference setting, the support of his teacher and his mom, plus the conference format to talk together and set a goal that changed his life. Without seeing what he really thought about his abilities, and the format to address his concerns in an authentic way, I shiver at what would have become of him. By the way, the last I head of Sam, he was in medical school.
Will I ever do conferences any other way? Not on your life!
Responces from parents were overwhelmingly positive! In fact, I found out my parents were singing the praises of student led conferences to other parents. One key is, I always build in a short time for students to wait in the hall while their parents do something really nice for them. they write a short note on how proud of them they are, and the note goes on the student's desk for them to see the next day. BUT the real reason is to give parents the opportunity to talk privately with me about anything they don't want to discuss in front of the child. Parents want (and need) that time.
Would you like to see what a student-led conference looks like? The first video is of a fourth grader, the second video is of a kindergartener. Yup, they can do it too! , and the last video is a look at how a second grader conducts her conference. Click on the videos below:
If you would like to read about the thoughts behind student-led conferences click on the links below:
Student-Led Conferences-A Growing Trend
This link concerns middle school kids, but is so true of every age!
When Students Lead Parent-Teacher Conferences
Would you like LOTS of great ideas and freebies? Check out my Pinterest page at:
Results?
I sent home a form for parents to fill out about their feelings concerning this type of conference. They loved it! I asked my students if they would like to do this kind of conference again in the spring. To a child, they all gave an enthusiastic "Yes!" Why? It was that hated time sitting outside the door wondering what was being said about them. This included my hardest working, best behaved children. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed just plain crazy to keep kids out of the process. After all, if we want them to change, shouldn't they be part of the process? Would I want my principal to talk to my husband about me, and how I was doing, while I waited outside the door. Certainly not! Why should kids be put through that?The successes I have seen with student-led conferences are many, but one child in particular stands out. I'll just call him Sam. Sam was a very, very intelligent learning disabled child who struggled every day to read. Now, in third grade, he was sure he would never learn to read. He didn't think he was smart enough. I watched as he filled out his paperwork for the conference with a lump in my throat. He was negative about everything he did. Since he had just qualified for learning disability classes, I had everything I needed to show him how smart he really was. I told his mom what I would do during the conference, and she was more than on-board.
After Sam shared his work, and described how poorly he did in everything, it was my turn. I explained a bell curve and what would be seen in each quadrant. I asked him where he thought he would fall. He said he would be in the bottom quadrant. I went over again the qualities seen in people who fall in the third quadrant. After each quality, I asked him if that described him in any way. When he said , "no" his mom would remind him of something at home that showed exactly that quality. I showed him his IQ score (this is something I have never done, but he needed to know!). It was 134. It took a while, but when it finally sunk in that he actually fell into the gifted category, well, I wish I had a picture of his face. His mom told me that from that day forward his attitude about everything changed. We made a goal that he would read 20 minutes each night. It would be hard, but it would pay off. He followed his goal without fail, it did pay off. By the end of the year he had grown three grade levels in reading. Attitude is everything!
It was the conference setting, the support of his teacher and his mom, plus the conference format to talk together and set a goal that changed his life. Without seeing what he really thought about his abilities, and the format to address his concerns in an authentic way, I shiver at what would have become of him. By the way, the last I head of Sam, he was in medical school.
Will I ever do conferences any other way? Not on your life!
Responces from parents were overwhelmingly positive! In fact, I found out my parents were singing the praises of student led conferences to other parents. One key is, I always build in a short time for students to wait in the hall while their parents do something really nice for them. they write a short note on how proud of them they are, and the note goes on the student's desk for them to see the next day. BUT the real reason is to give parents the opportunity to talk privately with me about anything they don't want to discuss in front of the child. Parents want (and need) that time.
Would you like to see what a student-led conference looks like? The first video is of a fourth grader, the second video is of a kindergartener. Yup, they can do it too! , and the last video is a look at how a second grader conducts her conference. Click on the videos below:
If you would like to read about the thoughts behind student-led conferences click on the links below:
Student-Led Conferences-A Growing Trend
This link concerns middle school kids, but is so true of every age!
When Students Lead Parent-Teacher Conferences
Would you like LOTS of great ideas and freebies? Check out my Pinterest page at:
https://www.pinterest.com/janbernard10/
If you are looking for a product that includes instructions and worksheets to help kids get ready for this very special kind of conference, check out:
If you are looking for a product that includes instructions and worksheets to help kids get ready for this very special kind of conference, check out:
