Show students a video of students participating in a student-led conference.As a bonus, students are incorporating reading and writing standards throughout the process! Template for Student-Led Conferences Perhaps the biggest incentive for teachers is the reduction of conference prep time, but ironically enough, parent discussions become more robust with student input. Students also get a chance to provide their perspective of what is going on at school. Since their child is the facilitator of the conference, there is less fear of the unknown for parents to worry about. Interestingly enough, this format tends to reduce “conference anxiety” in parents. Not only did students feel more accountable for the event, but they even ENCOURAGED their parents to attend! With all of the class preparation put into the student-led conferences, both students and parents were more likely to attend the conference as scheduled. The majority of work involved with these conferences is done during class. Student Accountability Improves Conferences We wanted to make students the focal point of the conferences and give them the chance to share their successes, struggles, and goals to open discussions about their learning. In an effort to improve relationships with our families and find an approach that was less intimidating for everyone, our principle approved a test of the new format. While it can be easy to blame one side, clearly there was a disconnect between home and school that we wanted to repair. Teachers were frustrated as a large percentage of parents would schedule a time to come in but never show up. At the time, my school building was having challenges getting parents to attend conferences. I first utilized student-led conferences several years ago with my 6th grade students. Are you looking for a new way to host parent teacher conferences? One option to consider is switching to student-led conferences as a way to boost both parent participation and student engagement.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |