Student Led Conferences

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Home : 2006 : July : 2

Student Led Conferences
By FischerTeach

I did student led conferences for the first time this year and absolutely LOVED them! I also got really positive feedback from the parents. However, I did do it a bit differently. I taught 6th grade, so the students were
very capable of running the show.

I will start by saying that I went over the process with the students the day before conferences so that they knew what they would be doing. I then scheduled 3 parents (and students) for each half-hour time slot.

I had 6 centers set up around the classroom, each displaying an activity that we had been working on in our different

subject areas. The parents and students were given an "agenda" for the conference that explained what they were to do at each station. The student then took their parents around and did what was listed on the agenda. The centers did not have to be done in any specific order, so if one was occupied, they could go to another.

For example, we had recently finished a unit on the 5 themes of geography, so at one station the students did a short project with their parents where they used our city to create a graphic organizer based on the 5 themes.

At another station, students were to explain what each of the squares of the story quilts we made after reading the novel Island of the Blue Dolphins represented.

You get the idea. Finally, one of the centers listed on the agenda was "Meet With The Teacher," so I was able to have a quick talk with the parent and student before they left.

I will warn you that it can be a bit tricky if you need to discuss a personal matter or problem with a parent. What I did in those cases was scheduled the parent in a slot by themselves.

Good Luck and Enjoy!!!