Conferring
Conferring is used to:
● set and monitor individual learning goals
● provide timely and specific feedback
● provide multiple assessment opportunities
● explicitly teach a concept or skill
● monitor a student's growth and progress
● exchange opinions and build relationships
● encourage student accountability and ownership of their learning
Teacher: Planning Before Conferring with Students
● Plan which students they will be conferring with, depending on the concept, strategy, skill, or product
● Establish independent work time routines and expectations that support the conferencing process in the classroom
What the teacher is doing
● Having targeted discussions based on assessments and/or evidence of learning
● Providing instruction and feedback opportunities to all students
● Making informal assessments of students’ progress
● Suggesting texts to enhance learning
What the students are doing
Those conferring
● Engaging in discussions that are planned, meaningful, and individualized
● Discussing and reflecting relative to the purpose of the conference
● Sharing, demonstrating, and providing insight into their thinking
Those not conferring
● Working independently or collaborating with peers
Teacher: Reflecting after Conferring with Students
● Based upon the information gathered throughout the conferring process, determine the next steps for instruction to move the student's learning forward
According to the research,
Students experience increased achievement when:
● teachers regularly assess their performance and processes — not just their final products.
● there is greater communication between teachers and students as well as increased use of formative assessments as findings suggest that students and teachers vary widely in how they report the level to which their teacher understands their difficulties
● teachers learn about student progress on key learning objectives through their conversations with students and tailor their instruction accordingly
● teachers provide informational feedback during conversations that conveys realistic expectations, links performance to effort, details step by step how to apply a strategy, and explains why and when this strategy is useful and how to modify it to fit different tasks
● conferring is intentional and flexible, depending on the needs of the students
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