Category: parents

being a teacher, conferences, learning, new teacher, parents, students

Let Them Speak – Why Student Led Conferences are the Right Choice

Pernille Ripp
I admit it; yesterday morning even I thought I was crazy.  I was getting ready to unleash my students in their first student led conferences and with no experience to fall back upon, those 24 super nervous students were freaking me out.  And then something magical happened; it worked!  The students took their parents through an eloquent journey of their learning, and more importantly, flaunted their knowledge while setting new goals for themselves.  I am sold.This beauty of the student-led conference was not something invented by me; in fact, many people have blazed the trail on this and I have even heard of kids as young as 1st grade leading their own conference.  Therefore when I decided this year that the classroom was no longer all about me, I was intrigued by the idea of also “allowing” students to run their own conferences.  Every year, I am exhausted and exhilarated after these.  Exhilarated, because it is a thing of beauty to discuss success, progress and goals with parents – exhausted because I talked and talked for 20 minutes a kid two or three nights in a row. Although students have always been required to be at their conference with me (why discuss them if they are not there to hear it) they were never really engaged.  Conferences for them were a way for me to tell their parents how they were doing, and as such, a passive act for them, something they were required to listen to but not be full participants in.  This year,  I knew it had to be different.Always a believer in preparation, I decided that much as I prepare for conferences so must my students.  We therefore discussed the purpose of them until everyone understood that conferences were there to show off their learning, not as a form of punishment or “telling” on them to their parents.  Then came the real work; what would they discuss?  I knew that these kids had never led a conference before and so they needed an agenda.   Students therefore received a 2-sided agenda from me with what I expected them to discuss. (Another valuable life skills happens to be how to lead a successful meeting so this proved practice in that as well).  They were given time in class to take notes for their conference if they felt they needed that to guide them; some did but not all, and they were able to ask any clarifying questions of the agenda and curriculum we had covered.  Students were also asked to self-assess both their writing and grade themselves.  I have to give them letter grades on their report card, even if I would prefer not to, and so they were asked to translate their performances and knowledge into grades.  It was eye-opening to see how harsh they could be when judging themselves.  Once students felt that they had everything prepared, we met to go over their papers.  They were given a folder in which they could place anything they wanted to show at the conference, including their notes.  And then we waited…

Our final question session was yesterday right before the first conference was to be held.  Students all placed their conference folders in a safe spot and took a deep breath.  I showed no nerves, even though inside I was second-guessing this decision with every teacher-bone in my body.  It wasn’t that I thought students couldn’t do it, but more that I wondered whether parents would get it.  Would they see that this wasn’t just a way for me to “get out of” conferences, but rather a much better way for the same information to be delivered?  I am glad I was proven so wrong.

While some students did better than others, 1 never showed up, and 3 parents forgot to bring their kids, it was still incredible to hear and see the kids share their learning.  Parents were given a recommended question sheet but most did not need it.  They knew which questions to ask their children and I became what I should be; an accessory to the conversation.  I jumped in when clarification was needed or if a child judged themselves too harshly.  Otherwise I helped guide a little and then just listened and what I learned was so valuable.  I got a better grip on how secure some of my students were than I could have ever gotten from just observing them in the classroom or let alone given them a worksheet.  I also got to see another side of my students as they spoke to their parents, in essence representing themselves as members of my class to the outside world.  I know what I have to repeat in class and what students get.  I know what has made an impression on them and what I should skip next year.  But the best part of all of this was the pride these kids took.  And not just in their work, or their grades, but in doing the conference themselves.  The parents noticed too and I therefore must declare these my most successful conferences to date. I am thankful for the advice given to me regarding student-led conferences and I hope this will inspire others to try it as well.  If you let your students lead; you will be amazed.  I know I was, and for that I am thankful (and proud!).

I have all of the forms I use available here

acheivement, alfie kohn, assumptions, being a teacher, believe, change, choices, communication, difference, elementary, get out of the way, grades, homework, learning, parents, promise, trust

How Homework Destroys

Pernille Ripp

It finally happened; a parent decided to disagree with my new take on homework. They do not feel that I am providing enough and thus am doing a disservice to the students by lulling them into a fake sense of security in their skills. My response at first was indignation; how dare so and so question my fantastic educational shift in philosophy. Why are they not enlightened or believers as well? And then it dawned on me; I have not shown them the way.

I spend a lot of time speaking to students about what we are doing, why we are doing it, and what the goal is for their learning but not enough explaining that to the parents. And while I hope that parents have faith in me, I cannot take it for granted. I am, after all, messing with a system that has been set in place for many years and that these same parents are products of. So, of course, my system may come as a shock at first, and without the proper explanation it will continue to be so. After all, parents have been trained to think that for every grade level you figure out homework load by multiplying the grade level with 10 minutes. So by 4th grade, students should at the very least be doing 40 minutes of homework a night. And yet, my students don’t. They do most of their work in class, even staying in for recess so that I may help them, and I never willingly send home a piece of homework that I know they will struggle for hours with.

Homework should be practice, a showing of skills. It should not be a two hour time consumer where both mom, dad and the encyclopedia gets involved. I explain this to my students and the sense of relief is visible in them. They know that I will challenge them in class but at home they may pursue life instead. So if you work hard at school then the reward is rest, family time, and a pursuit of happiness. And it works. My students are still learning everything they should for the year, albeit in a more hands-on manner. I am shying away from worksheets and instead having conversations about learning. Our favorite tool is our dry-eraseboards that allows me a quick check in for understanding. And the students are noticing the difference. No longer dreading the afternoon because I will continue to haunt their day. No longer dreading school because it means so many extra hours of works. No longer dreading learning because they are realizing that learning is something you do at school and that it doesn’t come form worksheets.

When I recently welcomed 9 new students into my room, one “old” student told me that she was looking forward to seeing how the newbies would react since I “teach a little crazy.” And perhaps that is true. I am loud, obnoxiously so at times, and I have high standards. I push kids to learn, I push kids to understand, and then I back off. I let them think about it, let the learning resonate within them, and then I challenge them to dredge it out again the following day.

By no means, am I the perfect teacher. I have many years of learning to come, but I do know that I am on to something here and I stand at a fork in the road signaling a massive shift in my whole educational philosophy. I believe these students are learning, I believe I am preparing them as well as any other teacher, and most importantly I believe I am letting them be kids at the same time. My students know that if something is homework it is for the benefit of their learning and is important to do, not just another piece of paper that their teacher didn’t get to in class. They know that I only assign it if it is truly valuable, and not just something for me to use for grades. They know that we will meet and discuss their learning, always knowing what is missing, what is accomplished, what the direction should be. They know that if I assign something to them it is because they have the skills needed to do it. Do yours?

assessment, conferences, feedback, new teacher, parents, students

Best Advice for Conferences

Pernille Ripp

Recently I was asked to be guest moderator for the fantastic new teacher chat (#ntchat) hosted by Lisa Dabbs @TeachingwthSoul Wednesday nights.  While the name may be deceiving, this is certainly not just a chat for new teachers, but for all teachers looking to find new ideas and to share their expertise.  I was very happy to be a part of this chat because the topic was preparing for parent/teacher conferences.  The chat was lively as you can see from the archive found here, so I thought I would share some of my best ideas for how to have the best possible parent/teacher/student conferences.

  • My best advice: Don’t make this your first contact with parents!  Whether it be email, phone, letters or whichever method of contact you prefer; make sure you have reached out to all parents before they show up for the conference.
  • Invite the student to the conference.  Many schools are turning to student-led conferences, which is an idea I want to try as well, but if this makes you uncomfortable or does not fit into your school, at least invite the child.  After all, if you are trying to discuss solutions and give feedback then the child is a vital part of that conversation.
  • Plan, prepare, and know exactly why you are giving the feedback you are planning on giving.  If you seem ill-prepared, parents will notice.  This is an important conversation and should be valued as such.  I write notes for myself for each student using this planning sheet.  This way I know what I want to highlight and I also have a paper trail.  We write focus goals together and the next day the parents get a copy of my notes.
  • Dress the part.  Again, this is a big deal to students and can be a great way to share successes and give feedback.  Don’t let your clothing distract from the task at hand.
  • Remind, remind, remind.  Parents are busy so send home a reminder or two or three, or have students remind their parents.  If you have an inkling someone may not show up, call them.  If it is a transportation issue, offer to come to them. 
  • Be flexible!  Not all parents can automatically come to your planned dates.  I have had phone conferences, morning meetings, late night conferences.  Whatever it takes to communicate is worth it to me. 
  • Start and end with something positive.  You want everyone to feel good about this experience but you also want to be honest.  All kids have great qualities and success stories; share them!  Do not be afraid to bring up things that may appear critical, after all, this is a learning dialogue, however, leave the conversation on a positive note as well.  Sometimes it is best to let parents speak first, try to hone n on their social cues to see if that is the case.  That way they will be able to be fully engaged when they have spoken their piece rather than waiting for their turn.
  • Be honest!  If you feel a student needs to work harder, say so, but say it in a constructive manner.  Highlight the effort being made and how you feel you can work together to improve it.  Some parents will need a lighter phrasing than others; trust your instinct and know your relationship with them.
  • Have samples ready.  To illustrate highlights and “normal” work, use actual work from the student showing their progress and what you are basing feedback on.  
  • Do not use teacher language.  We may be fluent in the land of acronyms or reading comprehension but others are probably not.  Don’t assume that they will know what working on fluency means, rather explain it in a direct manner.  
  • Leave room for questions.  Make sure that there is plenty of time for discussion and questions during the conversation at the end.  Sometimes surprising knowledge comes to light or even more successes are found.
  • Be on time and stick to the schedule.  We are all busy so do not leave people waiting; it is unprofessional.  That also means you may want to schedule a short break for yourself to eat or just breathe.  If a conference is going over the time limit, offer to reschedule at another time.  Parents will appreciate your respect and promptness.
  • Do not be afraid to involve others.  If you have a mentor, ask them to sit in on a couple.  I have had my principal sit in on several and have valued his feedback.  Also, if you are worried about a conference make sure someone sits in with you.  If a conference ever turns argumentative or unprofessional do not be afraid to ask to reschedule with someone else present.
  • Embrace them!  I love conferences because it allows me to show off how incredible my job is and what amazing students I have.  Yes, they may be tiring, and a lot of work but let your enthusiasm show; you will be surprised at the response you get.  After all, I have the best job in the world and I am not afraid to say that.
So what did I miss?  Please add your best advice in the comments, we are each others’ best teachers and mentors.