Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

What is student-led conferencing?
Students conduct formal conferences with their parents to display their schoolwork and discuss their own learning, goals, and strategies for meeting those goals. Student-Led Conferences are a powerful alternative to “Traditional” conferences. Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

Benefits for Students Students take ownership of their learning. They demonstrate increased accountability for their progress. There is tremendous power in this. Students have increased motivation to learn, which results in an increase in state assessment scores and a decrease in behavior problems. Students learn to set goals and work towards them. Student work becomes more focused. Students have the opportunity to develop presentation skills. Because students are a part of the process of selecting and evaluating pieces of work that go into their portfolio, students must reflect on the work they’ve done. It shifts the thinking from “you gave me this grade” to “I earned this grade”. When students evaluate their own work, they gain a greater understanding of standards and expectations. Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

Benefits for Students Students take ownership of their learning. They demonstrate increased accountability for their progress. There is tremendous power in this. Students have increased motivation to learn, which results in an increase in state assessment scores and a decrease in behavior problems. Students learn to set goals and work towards them. Student work becomes more focused. Students have the opportunity to develop presentation skills. When students know that they’re going to be talking one on one with their family about their progress, it increases their motivation in ways that may not happen if its just mom and dad talking to the teacher. Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

Benefits for Students Students take ownership of their learning. They demonstrate increased accountability for their progress. There is tremendous power in this. Students have increased motivation to learn, which results in an increase in state assessment scores and a decrease in behavior problems. Students learn to set goals and work towards them. Student work becomes more focused. Students have the opportunity to develop presentation skills. Goal setting is a powerful skill that students learn through Student-Led Conferences. Goal setting gives students a voice in their own education. Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

Benefits for Students Students take ownership of their learning. They demonstrate increased accountability for their progress. There is tremendous power in this. Students have increased motivation to learn which results in an increase in state assessment scores and a decrease in behavior problems. Students learn to set goals and work towards them. Student work becomes more focused. Students have the opportunity to develop presentation skills. Conferences centered around standards and expectations help ensure that all student work is focused on the skills that students should be learning. Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

Benefits for Students Students take ownership of their learning. They demonstrate increased accountability for their progress. There is tremendous power in this. Students have increased motivation to learn, which results in an increase in state assessment scores and a decrease in behavior problems. Students learn to set goals and work towards them. Student work becomes more focused. Students have the opportunity to develop presentation skills. We know our students need to develop 21 Century Skills. Presentation skills are one of those 21st Century Skills that our students need to have in order to be successful outside of school. Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

Benefits for Teachers Because students have the role of explaining and accounting for their learning, teachers experience a less stressful conference. Teachers do not have to “justify” the student’s scores/grades. Teachers report a more meaningful conference overall. More supportive communication throughout the year with parents. Conferences aren’t just stressful for families, teachers get stressed over them, too. Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

Benefits for Teachers Because students have the role of explaining and accounting for their learning, teachers experience a less stressful conference. Teachers do not have to “justify” the student’s scores/grades. Teachers report a more meaningful conference overall. More supportive communication throughout the year with parents. Student-Led Conferences keep the focus on standards while using artifacts to demonstrate a student’s progress. Because the focus is on the student’s actual work and not on grades written on a progress report, its easier for families to see why a certain grade was earned. Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

Benefits for Teachers Because students have the role of explaining and accounting for their learning, teachers experience a less stressful conference. Teachers do not have to “justify” the student’s scores/grades. Teachers report a more meaningful conference overall. More supportive communication throughout the year with parents. Student-Led conferences naturally lend themselves to deeper, more meaningful discussions. It becomes a conversation between a student and their family, something that traditional conferences don’t necessarily produce. Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

Benefits for Teachers Because students have the role of explaining and accounting for their learning, teachers experience a less stressful conference. Teachers do not have to “justify” the student’s scores/grades. Teachers report a more meaningful conference overall. The foundation is laid for more supportive communication throughout the year with parents. Building relationships. When parents attend conferences that make them feel more connected to their child, the school, and the teacher what results is a stronger relationship with more supportive communication occurring between all parties. Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

Benefits for Parents There is higher parent attendance at student-led conferences. Parents experience a greater appreciation of student progress and a greater understanding of how to support. Parents gain an appreciation for their child’s ability to “own” and articulate their own academic goals and progress. All you have to do is look in the gym or auditorium during a music program to know that parents LOVE to see their child “perform”. Student-Led conferences require that students “present” their progress. Parents are more likely to attend when they know that their child isn’t just the subject of the conversation, but rather the facilitator of discussion. Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

Benefits for Parents There is higher parent attendance at student-led conferences. Parents experience a greater appreciation of student progress and a greater understanding of how to support. Parents gain an appreciation for their child’s ability to “own” and articulate their own academic goals and progress. When you can look at your child’s work, especially artifacts demonstrating progress over time, you get a much better understanding at where your child is at, where they’ve been and where they should be. Visuals are powerful. When parents can see and hear about which areas their child excels and which areas they struggle, they’re better able to understand how they can best support them. Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

Benefits for Parents There is higher parent attendance at student-led conferences. Parents experience a greater appreciation of student progress and a greater understanding of how to support. Parents gain an appreciation for their child’s ability to “own” and articulate their own academic goals and progress. Traditionally, parents had to wait until conferences to learn what grade the teacher had awarded their child. The teacher was perceived as the keeper of the important information. In student led conferences, not only can the child reveal the grade s, but they can how the grades were earned and what they can do to improve. This can be an eye-opening experience for parents! Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

What does it look like? PORTFOLIOS Students collect samples of their work throughout the semester to showcase their learning and progress. Students should play a role in selecting which pieces of work to include in their portfolio. Samples of work should then be evaluated by the students “I do this well; I struggle with….” When you decide that you’re going to hold Student-Led Conferences, you’ll want to get started collecting artifacts. If you create a system for collection, you’ll find that it isn’t any more work than what you do for traditional conferences. A folder system works well for students of any grade, and as soon as a younger student learns to recognize “their” name, they can even be responsible for filing their own work away. Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

What does it look like? PORTFOLIOS Students collect samples of their work throughout the semester to showcase their learning and progress. Students should play a role in selecting which pieces of work to include in their portfolio. Samples of work should then be evaluated by the students “I do this well; I struggle with….” As conferences roll around, students should play a role in deciding which pieces of work they’d like to include in the conference portfolio. Teachers will want to set some guidelines, such as requiring 3 math selections, 3 language art selections, etc., something you feel you do really well, something you struggle with, etc. Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

What does it look like? PORTFOLIOS Students collect samples of their work throughout the semester to showcase their learning and progress. Students should play a role in selecting which pieces of work to include in their portfolio. Samples of work should then be evaluated by the students “I do this well; I struggle with….” One of the most powerful pieces of this process is allowing students the opportunity to truly reflect on and review their collection of work. Tags or even post-it notes can be used to identify important areas that students want to talk about with their families. Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

What does it look like? Practice, Practice, Practice! The first Student-Led Conference can be overwhelming for students. Provide opportunities for students to practice with peers and teachers. A detailed outline will help students stay focused. Plan ahead and schedule time for students to rehearse their portfolio presentation with their peers and teachers. The more times they’re allowed to practice, the more at ease they’ll be! Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

What does it look like? Practice, Practice, Practice! The first Student-Led Conference can be overwhelming for students. Provide opportunities for students to practice with peers and teachers. A detailed outline will help students stay focused. Students are much more likely to be relaxed and stay on task if they have a checklist or outline available for them to refer to during their presentation. Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

What does it look like? ELEMENTARY Consider centers or stations for younger grades. For example, stations could allow a student to demonstrate a skill or standard they are learning. Older students can do a presentation with their portfolio. At the conference, the student is in charge of the conversation and is prepared to discuss their work and to set goals with their family. Centers are a great way to get younger students involved in Student Led Conferences. The centers or stations could each reflect a particular skill or standard that a younger student is learning. Rather than a portfolio to go through, students could go from station to station showing their family the things they are learning. Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

What does it look like? ELEMENTARY Consider centers or stations for younger grades. For example, stations could allow a student to demonstrate a skill or standard they are learning. Older students can do a presentation with their portfolio. At the conference, the student is in charge of the conversation and is prepared to discuss their work and to set goals with their family. Older students can do actual presentations with their portfolios, talking about each piece of work and what standard it reflects. Goal setting is another important part that allows the parents to work together with the student and teacher to set goals for the upcoming months. Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

What does it look like? SECONDARY The basic concept stays the same. Scheduling becomes an important consideration. Who will facilitate the conference… Advocacy teachers? Core subject teachers? Counselors? Student-Led Conferences are particularly powerful at the secondary level. Planning and scheduling may present more of a challenge, but having Student-Led Conferences at this level is absolutely possible, and more impactful than a traditional format. Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

WHAT’S NEXT? Assess your school’s readiness. Determine your timeline. Consider creating a team (or utilizing an existing team) to help with implementing Student-Led Conferences. Set aside time for professional development with staff. Where do we go from here? Resources we have available for your school: Tools to help you assess how ready your school is for Student-Led Conferences Tools and resources to help with portfolios development Professional Development trainings for staff Examples from Elementary and secondary schools Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

Student Led Conferences: A Closer Look

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