Students enter the class with their parents, pick up a work-sheet and answer the questions regarding their AR, Grades, Work, PA, future goals etc. They work with their parents on this whereafter they show their work. Students get points for turning in the work-sheet before they leave.
One great thing I saw at student led conferences in the fall was that the teacher (way to go, Ms. Huang) set up stations for students to walk their parents through. At one station they had to show their parents how to work through a problem, at another station they had to explain the way ALEKS works, etc. I really like that students had the opportunity to teach their parents and explain things to them. It goes beyond showing student work. It gives students an opportunity to show what they know. And if they don't know, then their parents can have a conversation about that... :)
I agree with you, Alma. Student-led conferences can be more fun and effective if the students teach the parents what they have learned instead of just looking through some portfolio together. Otherwise, make a check list for the students to have them show/tell what they have learned to their parents. This will bring structure and cover everything that needs to be covered.
Introduce teacher to parents. Show classroom and posted work. Share folder with parent and explain assignments/projects pointing out the use of evidence as required by CCSS. Share notebook. AR tour using computer.
The student walks into the classroom with his/her parents and introduce them to the teacher. Then s/he gives them a mini tour of the class and explains how a day is like. The student then grabs his/her portfolio, sits with parents and explains the project to them. S/he discusses what was learned in the lesson and finally student and parent go back to the teacher, who asks the parents about what they learned today from their kids.
An effective Student Led Conference in my classroom SOUNDS like the students playing for their parents/guardians, demonstrating what they have learned to play.
An effective Student Led Conference in my claLooks like they are also showing their parents/guardians their written work front the semester.
I have the students pull up their engrade and discuss missing assignments with their parents. I also have them show their portfolio to their parents. I provide a dialogue for students to follow in case they freeze up.
The student work is out, along with binders. Students have been prepped and have some kind of guided questioning to follow. The students are talking to their parents about their work in the class. Have an activity for parents and students to do together.
Mr. Greene, this sounds like a wonderful combination of things. Guided questions can serve as a sort of outline to make sure students share with their parents the most important aspects of the course and having an activity for parents and students to do together creates an opportunity for students to put into practice and teach their parents what they are learning in class. I love your SLC format. This is great.
My student-led-conferences procedure is similar to Ms. Turner's. In the class before the conference, students write about a piece of work that they have selected from their portfolios. They explain why they picked it, what they would like their guest to notice, and what they would do differently next time. During the conferences, students have access to their portfolios and Reader's/Writer's Notebooks. I have to remember to collect the notebooks before the conferences because otherwise they students won't have them in the room.
Mr. Mitchell, I love that you have students take ownership of their work by allowing them to select a particular piece to showcase. The reflection on that piece is incredibly important and valuable as it encourages students to consider the strengths and areas for improvement (we can alllllllways improve a piece of writing; the revision process can be never ending...). This is what good writers do and having students engage in this practice encourages students to see themselves as writers. Very cool.
I usually give parents a strip of the students' grade as they walk in. Students go inside and check their portfolios, ALEKS topics, and work a problem with their parents, this time their problem will be to explain the math scavenger hunt that is set up in the classroom and walk their parents' through it. In the past I have had parents write a note to me explaining what their student went through with them as well at then end as a reflective piece.
I also have students teach their parents how to do a math problem. A successful student led conference looks like students doing the work and leading discussion with their parents. They get to discuss their current grade and how they have earned that grade.
I have my students log in to the class grading website, and provide parents with a form to note their student's username, password, and grade. This is all done on engrade.com. The students also show the parents the website where they do their projects, so they can see what the child has been working on. A heads up if you're going to have students log in to a website, have them practice log in for a warm up for the day before conferences to make sure they all know their account. -Ms Boyan
I really like your use of technology, Ms. Boyan. I also appreciate the word of caution, with technology you do want to make sure you practice ahead of time so that students are able to successfully guide their parents through the website. I'm sure you could integrate a reflection piece to have parents practice using technology as well. It might be a cool way to improve tech literacy for our families (and promote the computer training class offered by Abisai on Tuesday mornings...) :)
Ms. Huang recommended to use stations and that has been very successful. Parents take a tour with their child and they show their portfolios and composition books. They show their parents how to log on to AR. Then they show them their points on class dojo and answer a writing prompt for extra credit.
An effective Student Led Conference has the students leading their parents through the classroom. They tell their parents their daily procedures and lead them through the stations where they show their parents their notebooks, ALEKS, and student portfolios. I also have students do a reflection/goal setting before the conference, which they go over with their parents.
I have the students follow a checklist that will help them guide their parents through the conference time. I have stations set up that have past assignments they have done. This will give them extra credit if they have their parents complete the assignment, with their help. For this time however, I am also including a NGSS station that highlights the changes and the new periodic assessment.
Active conversation about the content and what they are learning. The experience allows them to have that one on one in-depth conversation with their parents.
Students enter the class with their parents, pick up a work-sheet and answer the questions regarding their AR, Grades, Work, PA, future goals etc. They work with their parents on this whereafter they show their work. Students get points for turning in the work-sheet before they leave.
ReplyDeleteOne great thing I saw at student led conferences in the fall was that the teacher (way to go, Ms. Huang) set up stations for students to walk their parents through. At one station they had to show their parents how to work through a problem, at another station they had to explain the way ALEKS works, etc. I really like that students had the opportunity to teach their parents and explain things to them. It goes beyond showing student work. It gives students an opportunity to show what they know. And if they don't know, then their parents can have a conversation about that... :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Alma. Student-led conferences can be more fun and effective if the students teach the parents what they have learned instead of just looking through some portfolio together. Otherwise, make a check list for the students to have them show/tell what they have learned to their parents. This will bring structure and cover everything that needs to be covered.
DeleteIntroduce teacher to parents.
ReplyDeleteShow classroom and posted work.
Share folder with parent and explain assignments/projects pointing out the use of evidence as required by CCSS.
Share notebook.
AR tour using computer.
The student walks into the classroom with his/her parents and introduce them to the teacher. Then s/he gives them a mini tour of the class and explains how a day is like. The student then grabs his/her portfolio, sits with parents and explains the project to them. S/he discusses what was learned in the lesson and finally student and parent go back to the teacher, who asks the parents about what they learned today from their kids.
ReplyDeleteAn effective Student Led Conference in my classroom SOUNDS like the students playing for their parents/guardians, demonstrating what they have learned to play.
ReplyDeleteAn effective Student Led Conference in my claLooks like they are also showing their parents/guardians their written work front the semester.
Students come in and talk to their parents about history class...they show their notebooks plus all the work that they have with them...
ReplyDeleteI have the students pull up their engrade and discuss missing assignments with their parents. I also have them show their portfolio to their parents.
ReplyDeleteI provide a dialogue for students to follow in case they freeze up.
The student work is out, along with binders. Students have been prepped and have some kind of guided questioning to follow. The students are talking to their parents about their work in the class. Have an activity for parents and students to do together.
ReplyDeleteMr. Greene, this sounds like a wonderful combination of things. Guided questions can serve as a sort of outline to make sure students share with their parents the most important aspects of the course and having an activity for parents and students to do together creates an opportunity for students to put into practice and teach their parents what they are learning in class. I love your SLC format. This is great.
DeleteMy student-led-conferences procedure is similar to Ms. Turner's. In the class before the conference, students write about a piece of work that they have selected from their portfolios. They explain why they picked it, what they would like their guest to notice, and what they would do differently next time. During the conferences, students have access to their portfolios and Reader's/Writer's Notebooks. I have to remember to collect the notebooks before the conferences because otherwise they students won't have them in the room.
ReplyDeleteMr. Mitchell, I love that you have students take ownership of their work by allowing them to select a particular piece to showcase. The reflection on that piece is incredibly important and valuable as it encourages students to consider the strengths and areas for improvement (we can alllllllways improve a piece of writing; the revision process can be never ending...). This is what good writers do and having students engage in this practice encourages students to see themselves as writers. Very cool.
DeleteI usually give parents a strip of the students' grade as they walk in. Students go inside and check their portfolios, ALEKS topics, and work a problem with their parents, this time their problem will be to explain the math scavenger hunt that is set up in the classroom and walk their parents' through it.
ReplyDeleteIn the past I have had parents write a note to me explaining what their student went through with them as well at then end as a reflective piece.
I love the scavenger hunt idea! That is really great, Ms. Mendez.
DeleteI also have students teach their parents how to do a math problem. A successful student led conference looks like students doing the work and leading discussion with their parents. They get to discuss their current grade and how they have earned that grade.
ReplyDeleteI have my students log in to the class grading website, and provide parents with a form to note their student's username, password, and grade. This is all done on engrade.com. The students also show the parents the website where they do their projects, so they can see what the child has been working on. A heads up if you're going to have students log in to a website, have them practice log in for a warm up for the day before conferences to make sure they all know their account.
ReplyDelete-Ms Boyan
I really like your use of technology, Ms. Boyan. I also appreciate the word of caution, with technology you do want to make sure you practice ahead of time so that students are able to successfully guide their parents through the website. I'm sure you could integrate a reflection piece to have parents practice using technology as well. It might be a cool way to improve tech literacy for our families (and promote the computer training class offered by Abisai on Tuesday mornings...) :)
DeleteMs. Huang recommended to use stations and that has been very successful. Parents take a tour with their child and they show their portfolios and composition books. They show their parents how to log on to AR. Then they show them their points on class dojo and answer a writing prompt for extra credit.
ReplyDeleteAn effective Student Led Conference has the students leading their parents through the classroom. They tell their parents their daily procedures and lead them through the stations where they show their parents their notebooks, ALEKS, and student portfolios. I also have students do a reflection/goal setting before the conference, which they go over with their parents.
ReplyDeleteI have the students follow a checklist that will help them guide their parents through the conference time. I have stations set up that have past assignments they have done. This will give them extra credit if they have their parents complete the assignment, with their help. For this time however, I am also including a NGSS station that highlights the changes and the new periodic assessment.
ReplyDeleteDetailed questions for the parents prepared in English and Spanish. Guiding questions to get students talking. Cover as many topics as possible.
ReplyDeleteActive conversation about the content and what they are learning. The experience allows them to have that one on one in-depth conversation with their parents.
ReplyDelete