Conferring PD

8/6/2019 Conferring PD

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ConferringYarra Valley NetworkProf. Learning


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Learning Intentions

To understand the importance of conferrring one on one with studentsTo see where conferring fits in to the Writer's Workshop andReader's WorkshopTo develop tools to assist in conducting conferences withstudents


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What is Conferring?

It is a conversation between the student and teacher, orstudent and student, about how the student is going as a writer, and then how they can move on and become a better writer.

Just addressing your students as writers is very powerful!o Remember: "We are teaching writers not writing"

(Ralph Fletcher)


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Conferences Are:y short, supportive, friendly, positive, and open;

y conversations;

y an opportunity for us to learn what we need to teach;

y an opportunity to demonstrate something that is very achievable for the student;

y an opportunity to empower the student;

y an opportunity to show that we care.


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Why fer it h st e ts?

ferri g is: "T he heart f r teac hi g" ( alki s)"In the classrooms of some teachers, children grow inleaps and bounds, while in the classrooms of other teachers, children make only modest gains. I am utterly convinced that the difference haseverything to do with the two teachers' abilities toconfer." T fi t how (b y aski g!) st e t w riti g is g oi g a t o

teac h them s omet h i g t hat makes se se at t he time.


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Why Confer with students?Formative assessment is a planned process in whichassessment-elicited evidence of students status is

used by teachers to adjust their ongoing instruction,or by students to adjust their current learning tactics.

Popham, W. J. Transformative Assessment


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C onferring with children is an art. It s an active process wherein we sit side-by-side with children, put ourselves in the moment,listen carefully, and reflect and respond in ways that encourageand nudge them forward as learners. I believe that conferring isone of the most significant actions we take as teachers: it serves toindividualise our instruction, move children from guided toindependent practice, and provide daily opportunities to know-really know our students. When children and teachers confer

it puts both in the active roles of teaching and learning.

Debbie Miller F oreword to - Conferring: The Keystone of the Reading Workshop


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ResearchJohn Hattie did a meta analysis of factors that effect student

improvement.Effect sizes of components of conferring:Feedback 0.73Formative assessment 0.90Goal setting 0.56Direct instruction 0.59


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H ow oes on ferri ng it I n to M y l ssr oom ?

There is no t on e size fits ll way of appr oachi ng con ferri ng . Itneeds t o be flexible an d suited t o the stude n ts i n the cl assr oom .H ow ever there are s om e b asic guideli nes on how to organ isepurp oseful c on fere nces th at meet the needs of individu al

stude n ts.


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Guidelines for student Conferences

When:- Conferring usually occurs during the independent phase of the writing workshop/ reading workshop.

How often:- This will depend on the needs of each student. Some will

need conferences more often than others. Each student shouldhave a conference every 2-3 weeks. What are the others doing:

- Useful independent writing or reading. Where does it occur: (you go to them!)

- The teacher goes to where the student is working todiscuss their writing/reading.


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R ecor Kee i ng

It is of vital im orta nce t o kee rec or s of y our c on fere nces.They will:sh o w evi e nce of each stu e n t's r ogress.gui e y our teachi ng in teracti on s with stu e n tshel y ou la n f or con fere nces

They must be r od uctive - there must be a " ressi ng reas on " to what y ou are writi ng do w n . There are a variety of ways t o do this.

Discuss at y our tables the r ocess y ou have bee n usi ng to keerec ords of stu den t con fere nces.

Exam le C on fere nce R ecord and another .


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T al ing A ou t W riti ng - T he sse ntials of on ferri ng

Wha t d oes a te acher need t o no w in order t o resp on d t o st ude n t writers? Wha t are s ome of the in tang i les ( ou r ody languag e, t on e of v oice, w ait time) t ha t cre ate a con text f or effective te ach ing in the writi ng con fere nce?

What I See What It Makes Me Think About


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Structure of a Conference

Conferences are short (~5 mins)

Teacher researches the student. Student must be preparedfor questions like: "Tell me about your writing. What are you working on as a writer? What can I do to help?" (1-2 mins)

Teacher compliments the student on an aspect of their writing (30 secs). E.g. Describe the effects of a technique on

you, the reader.


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Teacher teaches the student something that builds on theirexisting knowledge. Heart of conference. (3 mins)

o P recise Feedback. Use a writing continuum , anotherexample

o "Something writers do is..."o "There's something I want to teach you today..."o Give an explanation of why you're teaching the strategy,

language convention, etc. and name it. The language youuse is important.

o Student 'has a go'.


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R ecap : Set writing goal. Reminds students what to focus on,and allows teacher and student to refer to it nextconference. Teacher writes the writing goal in theirconference notes.

Continue Writing! (Id like you to try this out right now...")


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Useful Resources

One-to-One (Lucy Calkins)

The rt of Teaching Writing (Lucy Calkins)

How's it going? (Carl nderson)

The C FE Book (useful for goal setting)

First Steps W

Jennifer yers


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R eflectiony K ey Learning:

y What are you going to take back to your classroom?

y F urther Wonderingsy What do you want to know more about?

y Use the iPods to record your responses!

Documents

Conferring PD