How often does conversational conferencing occur in your classroom?
We conference every other week. Because it is so energy- and time-consuming, it seemed to work best every other week so that we all could look forward to and engage freshly with it.
How do you have enough time? Do you get to every kid?
My classroom is currently on a block schedule. Thus, with bellwork and other activities set aside, there's ultimately about 60-70 minutes devoted to conferencing. On days where I am spending 4-5 minutes with students, this is obviously not enough time. Typically, I get through about 20 of my 30 students on the Friday we conference.
How do make-up conferences work?
For students that I don't get to on Friday, I typically have to 1. earnestly affirm them so that they don't feel excluded and 2. find a time during the next week to sit down with them one-on-one. Normally this happens when the rest of the class is engaged in an activity (which can sometimes be a rare phenomenon); I pull the student aside and catch up with them. When class feels stressful and I can't give them my attention in such an intentional way, I sometimes keep kids for a couple minutes after class. Both of these systems are not ideal, however, I've found them to be worthwhile and necessary.
Do you work with collaborating teachers? How do you incorporate them into the structure?
For one of my classes, I have the joy of working alongside a collaborating teacher. Because we both value the co in co-teaching, we've found it to be necessary to share the opportunity to build relationships. Depending on the needs of the class on the given day, we will either simultaneously conference with students and finish the list quickly, or one of us will conference while the other supports students and manages behavior. Either way, we always endeavor to share the number of conferences we do equally so that our students see us both as teachers who know and love them.
What are other students doing while you're conferencing?
Conferencing days feature independent work that students complete on their Chromebooks. Websites like Flocabulary, Quizlet, Quizizz, EdPuzzle, and Khan Academy have served my classroom well as engaging but effective means of helping students get a lot out of their own independent work time.
How do you manage behavior?
My typical work day features a lot of behavior management challenges - this is just the nature of where I teach. The most basic answer to this question is that I manage behavior on conferencing days in the same way that I manage behavior on non-conferencing days: with a thorough system of management that ultimately relies on relationship, consistency, and high expectations.
The great news, however, is that my students' behavior is significantly improved on conferencing days. Students that would normally be tempted to act out are appreciative that I am spending time getting to know them. They encourage each other to meet my behavioral expectations ("Don't distract, Ms. Esler! She's conferencing!") because they feel valued - especially on conferencing days.
Note: I imagine that, if you teach in a school with minimal or minor behavioral challenges, then conversational conferencing would be all the easier to implement.
Is this replicable without Chromebooks?
Absolutely! Chromebooks probably make it easier though!
How does this connect to the standards?
As an English teacher, this is an easy answer! Conversational conferencing correlates perfectly with listening and speaking standards!
If I did not teach English, I would emphasize the brief academic component to the self surveys as well as the relational necessity!