From the desk of Hope…

When I was teaching, I felt like I never knew enough about my students. I took every opportunity to learn more about them as individuals and as learners. It seemed pretty simple to me — the more we knew about each other, the easier it was going to be to “live” together 180 days of the year for 6 hours a day.

Conferencing was one instructional strategy I utilized to get to know my students. I was able to connect with them personally, informally assess their thinking, teach and give feedback. And many times, my students taught me a thing or two.

There are many opportunities across the day for teachers to conference. For example, during small group reading instruction, a portion of the time students are reading silently and the teacher is conferencing. During a whole group lesson, in any subject, there should be a portion of the time when students are released to work. This is the time for conferencing to take place.

Many times teachers perceive students work time as a time to “monitor”.

“Monitoring” is typically when teachers are walking up and down aisles to make sure students are on task or  answering questions they have about directions. Monitoring is most appropriate with summative assessments.

Monitoring students while they work independently is significantly different from conferencing with students as they work independently.

When teachers are monitoring they are:

• making sure students are on task.

• walking around the room and up and down aisles.

• possibly checking work and giving grades as students work.

• answering questions about directions and/or logistics of the task.

 

When teachers are conferencing they are:

• talking to students about their thinking – “How is it going? Tell me about what you are thinking here….”

• gathering evidence of learning in order to adjust the lesson for future lessons.

• taking the opportunity to do some mini – lessons with students.

• sharing their own thinking with students.

• trying to move students forward with learning by teaching and/or giving feedback.

Consider the following three conferences. Notice that instruction and feedback is happening one on one. The teacher is able to differentiate instruction in a matter of seconds and very importantly, the student is in the act of learning – true formative assessment.

Conference 1

T – How is it going?

S – I am stuck.

T – Tell me more.

S – I don’t know some of these words. (student gives example)

T – Here are two tips for you to use when you come to words you don’t know.

1. See if there are any chunks in the word you know (teacher shows the student a root word as an example)
2. Skip the word you do not know and see if the words around it will help you. Many times the paragraph can be like a dictionary. (teacher shows an example)

Conference 2

T – Are you understanding what you are reading?

S – Some of it.

T – What is going on?

S – I understand this part (student points) but not this part (student points).

T – Tell me how you have tried to help yourself.

S – I haven’t tried anything. I basically just kept on reading.

T – Let’s go through some of the strategies we have worked on to get us through confusion. (Teacher named several strategies)

S – I will try re-reading first.

Conference 3

T – How is it going?

S – Fine.

T – Tell me about what you are thinking.

S – I am thinking about the unnecessary lie that was told that led to something tragic happening.

T -I have been thinking about that too.

T – How do you think this scene is effecting the plot?

S – I think it sets the scene for the next part of the story – kind of like cause and effect.

Facilitating a conversation that allows thinking to be visible is the heart of a conference. What we don’t want to happen during a conference is an interrogative type conversation in which the teacher is asking rapid fire questions and the student is answering. I have found the following type prompts keep students talking and thinking visible.

• How is it going?

• Tell me about what you are learning?…..thinking?

• What is making sense to you? What is not making sense to you?

• What strategies are helping you comprehend and understand as you read?

• How can I help you?

• Can I offer you a tip?

Think about conferencing as a quick meeting for consultation or discussion.  It is also an  exchange of views.  Such a small move to maximize instruction!