How do student-teacher reading conferences operate in the literacy classroom? Natalie Worthington Dudley What did I want to know? Effective ways to set up classrooms that support reading conferences Effects on student engagement and student achievement The teacher ’ s role in the reading conference Student ’ s role in the reading conference Are conferences useful as an instructional tool to increase student achievement? How can I maximize the reading-conference experience for students in my classroom? Context I set-up my classroom as a workshop and this includes a portion of time when students are reading independently from books they have selected.I am trying to maximize the time I have to confer with students while they are reading independently. Related Research Students need TIME to read in class Students need ACCESS to a variety of reading materials There are essential elements of reading workshops including mini-lessons, read-alouds, guided practice, and independent reading that allow for conferring to happen Conferences combine instruction and assessment What did you collect to find? Two-column field notes Digitally recorded reading conferences with transcription Focus group interview Transcription for Natalie Dudley ’ s Reading Conference Student: Tom Date 4/7/09 Approx 2.19 minutes N: So you started Monster? What do you think it so far? T:-It ’ s pretty good, I like how it tells who is talking. It ’ s not like a regular book, it ’ s like a script. N: It ’ s like a script, but a script is what you would use for a play and a screenplay is what you would use for a movie. T: Uh huh. N: So this could be a movie. So you like that? Does it help you understand or what? T: Yeah, because sometimes I don ’ t know who is talking in regular books. N: Yeah, it can be confusing to figure out who is talking. Interesting, so, do you think you might be interested in reading more books that are written like this? T: Yeah. N: How about what ’ s going on in the story right now? T: Uh, they are like in a trial to see if he is going to get out of jail. N: I really liked this book, I liked it because I kept wanting to read it to see what happened. So if you had to guess right now do you think he is innocent or not, or guilty? T: I don ’ t know, I really haven ’ t gotten that far. N: But do you feel like you are understanding the situation right now? T: Yeah N: You do? T: Yeah N: Is there anything I can help you with today on your reading like any questions you have or anything you are struggling with? T: No, I think I ’ m alright. N: What strategies do you find yourself using to understand what ’ s going on? T: Sometimes I just read it again if I ’ ve forgotten. I just go back and I read it again. N: So, how do you think your reading is going this year overall? Do you think you have been reading more, less, the same as before? T: Yeah, I didn ’ t really read last year because I didn ’ t have to. N: You didn ’ t? So what do you think it is, I mean I have required reading, but have you been able to find any books you really like? T: Umm, yeah, two of them. This one and the last one. N: And the last one? Did you finish that last one? T: Uh-huh. N: Does that help you like reading more when you have a book you like? T: Yeah N: Well that ’ s something I will think about more for next time, some more books that you might like. And, umm, as you read, I will be interested to see what you think about what will happen. How will you make sense of what you find? First pass coding sheet Jot list with major themes Codes What do I know so far? Conferences should have a clear purpose (instructionally) Relationships between student and teachers are critical Reading conferences support and encourage student reader So what? I want my students to improve as readers I want to contribute professionally by possible publishing an article Students and I need to set up clear routines for conferences at the beginning of the year