Student Led Conferences

(UNESCO)United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

Changing Teaching Practices: Using Curriculum Differentiation to Respond to Students’ Diversity (printed by UNESCO in Paris, France):

Student-Led Conferences

Throughout this material we have been reinforcing the importance of having students committed to participating in their own learning and assessment. Students need to take responsibility for their own progress and be held accountable. This is a crucial part of their personal human development, and students’ participation should not be disregarded by school policy or teachers. One way students can be involved in assessment is by taking the lead in the periodic assessment of their progress. In student-led conferencing, for instance, the students are responsible for assessing their own progress. They do this based on both feedback from the teacher and their own reflections on works that demonstrate their learning. At the student-led conference, the students relay this information to both their teacher and their parent(s). Usually students use their portfolios as a means to demonstrate to their teacher and parent(s) the progress they have made. Teachers play an active role in preparing students for these conferences (Little & Allan, 1988). Also, this is a rich activity for developing self-confidence and boosting self-esteem because students will learn how to deal with their own strengths and failures as a natural part of their academic life. Below we provide a set of steps that help teachers to prepare students for leading conferences.

Teachers’ Help with Student-Led Conferences

• Sending invitation letters to their parent(s) for the conference;
• Choosing pieces of work that the students feel best demonstrate their learning (across and within subject areas);
• Reflecting on these pieces of work using teacher feedback and their own analysis;
• Showing how these pieces demonstrate progress—identifying strengths and areas that may still need to be developed;
• Preparing and practicing the presentation for the student-led conference;
• Practicing meeting and greeting parent(s) including using proper ways to introduce parent(s) to peers, teachers, other parent(s) and the principal;
• Learning how to answer questions that may be asked by parent(s) and teacher during the presentation;
• Thanking parent(s) at the end of the conference and with thank-you notes/letters; and
• Evaluating the student-led conference.