For years parent-teacher conferences have been the primary means of parent-teacher communication. But now, many schools are trying something new -- student-led conferences that communicate not only how a student's doing but also why.
Parent-teacher conferences -- we all know how they go. Parents troop
into classrooms to talk with teachers about their children's progress
in school. Often, the process feels rushed, and parents leave feeling
vaguely dissatisfied, as if they didn't really get what they came for.
For years that process has been the norm, but now it is changing. In
more and more schools, students are leading conferences, and, overall,
the word is that they're doing a fine job.
Many teachers themselves speak enthusiastically of the advantages of
student-led conferences over teacher-led ones. "We found the [student-led]
conferences most beneficial," said Keith Eddinger of the Marcus Whitman
Middle School in Rushville, New York. "From a teacher's perspective, we
were able to get a better picture of each child. It forced us to sit down
with each student and review strengths and weaknesses. This conversation
often told us the students learned more than perhaps we had measured through
conventional assessments."
Eddinger added, "Our post-conference reviews with parents and students
were overwhelmingly positive."
John Osgood, of C. L. Jones Middle School in Minden, Nebraska, found
that "comments [about student-led conferences] from parents and board
members were very positive."
Another staff member, Dick Philips, said, "Most parents listened to
their child. It was interesting listening to [children] explain low grades
to their parents. It did open the lines of communication."
"Several parents really liked it because it gave them an opportunity
to see their child's work," said Sue Yant, another staff member. Yet "some
[parents] said they hoped we [would hold] the traditional conference once
a year."
Have You Seen
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From the
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Student-Led Conferences
Hold Kids Accountable
Would you like to find a way to actively engage students in
their learning process and increase parent attendance at conferences?
Student-led conferences can accomplish those two objectives.
Included: Highlights of research about student-led conferences.
Student-Led Conferences
Successful in Elementary, Middle Grades
As student-led conferences grow in popularity, educators are
finding ways to improve their flow and productivity. Preparing
students and parents for what's involved and practicing before
"going live" can help. Included: Descriptions of student-led
conferences at different grade levels.
"The format is important, but I believe the success of a student-led
conference is most determined by how well students are prepared," wrote
Laura Hayden, a seventh-grade communications teacher at Derby Middle School
in Derby, Kansas, in Letting
Students Lead Parent Conferences, an article published by the National
Association of Elementary School Principals in Middle Matters.
The conference format at Hayden's school had students show parents some
of their work and explain their grades in a student-led conference. Each
team could conduct conferences a bit differently. Hayden's team used an
open house arrangement in which students and parents visited all team
members' classrooms, but other teams held the entire conference in one
classroom.
The significance of format aside, Hayden focused her students on preparation.
At the beginning of the school year, she had students set up a binder
to contain a portfolio as well as graded work. She explained that students
had to keep their binders orderly because they would use them to lead
their conferences.
A week before the conferences, Hayden's team sent home a letter informing
parents of the conference and the fact that their child would lead it.
About three days before conferences, she had students prepare portfolios
of their work to date, including a special project, a quiz, a homework
assignment, and one assignment from which they felt they had learned the
most. Students also wrote a reflection on their grades and study habits.
They set goals for the next semester and organized their graded work section.
The day before conferences, teachers role-played, pretending to be the
student, with the student playing the teacher or the parent. Teachers
modeled, for example, how to explain a poor grade to parents, and they
gave students a checklist of what to cover in the conference.
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY
"The preparatory time is worth it," Hayden wrote, "especially when you
hear a struggling student explaining what he or she learned from an assignment
and taking responsibility for the score he or she achieved."
"[Students] need to understand that they are in control of their own
efforts to learn the material," said Barbara Rommel, superintendent of
the David Douglas School District in Oregon. (Source: "New Method Puts
Student in Charge," an article published in the Oregonian newspaper.)
The Oregon Educational Act for the 21st Century requires students to
meet higher standards. By having students assess how they are progressing
toward those standards, educators say, students will know how far they've
come and how far they have to go to meet the standards.
"It helps them accept responsibility for their learning," said Patti
Kinney, principal of Talent Middle School in Oregon.
"I like being able to tell my side of the story," Josh Whitney-Wise
of Milwaukie, Oregon's, McLoughlin Middle School told the Oregonian.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
Educators acknowledge that there are disadvantages as well as advantages
to student-led conferences. Although parent attendance seems higher
for student-led conferences than for teacher-led ones, a parent's failure
to attend a student-led conference leads to a great deal of disappointment
for a student who has worked hard to prepare.
Another disadvantage is that some parents want to spend more time
with their child's teacher, receiving his or her viewpoint. Nearly all
schools with student-led conferences will let parents make separate
appointments to confer with teachers.
For the most part, parents support the concept of student-led conferences,
though some support them with slight reservations. "My daughter was
in a class that did student-led conferences a couple of years ago,"
said one parent of a child at Jones Middle School. "I think the object
was to make the child feel a part of the whole process, to get them
in tune with their own progress. … As a parent, I felt like I still
needed some info from the teachers and wanted more. … But I do think
the student gets a new perspective on their grades. … Personally, I
don't think it would be good to do this often, but once a year is good.
When you ask if they were 'beneficial,' I can say yes and no. They were
more beneficial to the student than to the parent."
But the advantages, say most teachers who have participated in student-led
conferences, outweigh the downside. Student accountability is mentioned
again and again by educators as a plus for student-led conferences.
Another plus is the way even a struggling student can produce something
positive for a conference, an art project or an essay, perhaps, that
wouldn't show up in a report card grade. Overall, talks with educators
indicate, student-led conferences are a growing trend.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (UPDATED 2008)
Student-Led
Parent Conferences
Tina Bonnett, author of A Guide to Implementing Student-Led Parent
Conferences, provides and outline and guidelines for setting up
conferences in this format.
Student
Led Conferences
These session handouts helped guide the teachers at Talent Middle
School (Talent, Oregon) as they worked with student-led conferences.
Caity's
Conference: Kids Show Their Stuff at Student-Led Parent Conferences
When Robin and Stephen Kiley met with their daughter's second-grade
teacher in February to discuss her progress at Willamette Primary
School, a fourth person was in the room: their daughter Caity. In
fact, Caity did most of the talking. (Northwest Regional Educational
Laboratory)
The
Highs and Lows of Parent-Teacher Conferences
This article from "Changing Schools in Louisville" examines student
participation in conferences. Tips for making conferences effective
for all participants are included. Follow the links to "Parent Conference
TIPS for Teachers."
A School-Wide Approach to Student-Led Conferences: A Practitioner's
Guide
By Patti Kinney, Mary Beth Munroe, Pam Sessions; National Middle School
Association, June 2000 (paperback).
Student-Led Parent Conferences
By Linda Pierce-Picciotto, Scholastic, Inc., November 1996, paperback,
73 pp.
Student-Led Conferencing Using Showcase Portfolios
By Barbara Benson and Susan Barnett, Corwin Press, Inc., December
1998, paperback 160 pp.
For years parent-teacher conferences have been the primary means of parent-teacher communication. But now, many schools are trying something new -- student-led conferences that communicate not only how a student's doing but also why.