Classroom Management: Hold a Student-Teacher Conference

By: Janelle Cox

Have you ever conferenced with your students? If so, did you find it to be an effective way to
connect and understand them better? Using classroom management to conduct conferences
with your students is a great way for you to get to get to know them better. In addition to that,
conferences provide a platform for students to plan and set goals, reflect upon their work, and
understand their performance in class and the progress or lack of progress they have achieved.
These meetings do not have to last long (they are typically 5-15 minutes) and require little to
no classroom management preparation on the teacher’s part. They are an effective way to
use classroom management to communicate, connect, and motivate students in a more
personal way.

Classroom Management Tips on Conferencing

Here are a few tips on how to hold a student-teacher conference in your classroom.

Plan Ahead

It’s helpful when you plan ahead and create a student-conference schedule. By preplanning,
you have the opportunity to create a set date and time to meet with each student. It also gives
you the chance to prepare anything that you need ahead of time, like gathering papers of
progress or instructing students to come up a few discussion topics for your meeting.

Create Your Objectives

Create a list of objectives that you want to address with each student. This can be topics that
you want to discuss, strategies that you want students to learn and use, or even behaviors that
you want to eradicate. Creating this list will ensure that you will discuss these topics in the
meeting.

Encourage Student-Lead Conferences

Long gone are the days when only teachers had a say in their students’ education. Today’s
teachers are finding that when you give students the opportunity to have a say in their
education, they are more likely to be motivated and engaged to learn. Encourage your
students to come to the meetings with questions and concerns that they may have. Ask them to
write down a few notes to bring with them and give them the opportunity to share what they
have to say.

Take Time to Reflect

Student-teacher conferences are the perfect time for a child to learn how to reflect. They can
reflect on their progress, their behavior, or anything for that matter. Ask questions that prompt
them, such as “What can you do to improve next time?” and “What is an approach you can
use for this situation?” Self-reflection is a strategy that will benefit students in all aspects of their
lives. Encourage students to try and come up with their own solutions to their problems during
the meeting.

Clearly State Your Concerns

Student-teacher conferences are the time to clearly state any concerns that you have for the
student. Try and keep it to a maximum of two concerns per conference. You don’t want the
student to feel berated or overwhelmed. It’s best to stick to one or two things for the student to
focus on at a time. Make sure that before the student leaves the conference they have a clear
idea of what, and how, to fix the ideas and concerns that were discussed in the meeting.

Measure Progress with Documentation

At each conference that you have with the student, it’s vital that you document everything. You
will use this document to see how much progress the student made from your last meeting. It’s
also a great resource to use at parent-teacher conferences, as well as it provides detailed
information about the solutions and strategies that the student is, or will be using.

How to Approach the Conference

Here are a few tips on how you can approach the student-teacher conference.

 Plan it at a time when the other students are busy working in stations or small groups. This
way you can take one table at a time to conference with. The students at the
“Conference” table that are waiting to meet with you can work on questions or
concerns to bring to the meeting, or other busy work.

 Make sure that you conference with the students in a place where you are far away
from the other students, but close enough that you can keep an eye on everything.
Ideally, the best place would be at your desk or the reading table.

 Let students know ahead of time that you will be having student-teacher conferences
with them. This gives them enough time to get prepared for it.

Conferences are a great way to get to know your students on a more personal level. The
students will feel like they really know you, which will help increase their trust with you. Every
chance that you get to meet with your students is an opportunity for assessment. This way you
will have less time assessing at the end of the marking period, as well as a lot of notes to help you
out when grading.

Do you hold student-teacher conferences in your classroom? If so, what is the process like, and
do you find them to be an effective form of assessment? Please share you thoughts in the
comment section below, we would love to hear what you have to say.

Janelle Cox is an education writer who uses her experience and knowledge to provide creative
and original writing in the field of education. Janelle holds a Master's of Science in Education
from the State University of New York College at Buffalo. She is also the Elementary Education
Expert for About.com, as well as a contributing writer to TeachHUB.com and TeachHUB THREE
QUESTIONS TO ASK DURING TEACHER STUDENT CONFERENCES

Why hold teacher-student conferences?

As teachers, we know there are so many things to get done in a school day. It can sometimes
be overwhelming to think of trying to add anything else to that list. Teacher-student conferences
can be the most valuable time we spend in a day or week. Teacher-student conferences can
be beneficial to both you and your students. They give you the opportunity to see where each
of your students are achieving and struggling. Adrienne Lanier stated, “This time spent talking to
students in either a small group or individually, gave me a chance to actually see where they
were struggling. I was able to readily distinguish my students who didn’t understand the
structure of a text, how to think about the text while reading to understand, or even their
individual struggles with word attack strategies.”

Three Questions to Ask During the Conferences

1. What have you done well to hit the learning targets we are working on?

2. What gaps are still occurring that are keeping you from hitting the learning targets?

3. Do you have the information you need to hit the learning targets?

These three questions are to help guide the teacher-student conferences to make sure they stay
on track. You don’t want it to be a waste of your time or students’ time. Be sure, when meeting,
to stay on track. Remember these meetings don’t have to last an hour per student. The
conferences can be as long or short as you want and need them to be. If you end up with not
as much time as you thought you may have, meet with students in groups instead of individually.
These conferences can be flexible.

Student-Teacher

Conferences
Improving Communication
within Your Classroom
Student-teacher conferences are a meeting between individual students and teachers in which
they mutually discuss progress, student interests, and reflect on student work.

Rationale
Conferencing is a useful tool for gaining
feedback from students and helping them
reach high levels of achievement in the classroom.
It allows teachers the opportunity to assess students and individualize instruction.
After the Conference:
Step 7: Termination
Both the student and the teacher should feel a sense of accomplishment after the conference.
The teacher should express confidence in the student’s abilities to continue working hard,
improving on & tackling
the problem with success .
In this step, the process is completed, specific goals are outlined or achieved, and student-
teacher relations are strengthened .

Seating
Why is

choice D

the best?
The teacher and student are equals and can both look at the student’s work.
They are sitting next to
each other on the
same side of the table.
It conveys acceptance
of the student.

Benefits for

Students

Benefits for

Teachers

What Others are Doing:

- Preparing for one's own conference
- Independent or small group work
- Reading or writing workshop
- Independent reading
- Working quietly and respectfully

What NOT to Do:

Do not invite the student in an ominous or formidable manner.
Do keep the invitation light and provide an amiable and welcoming atmosphere.

Do not lecture the student or take over the conference—
Do make the process mutual between the student and teacher; they should work together
Do not choose too many problems to work on.
Do choose 1-2 problems to specifically focus on.
Do not make it seem like the student’s problems in the work are the same as problems with the
student.
Do encourage the student and make him/her feel his/her own self-worth.

Interview with a

Teaching Professional
Interview with: Amy Stoerr
Fifth grade teacher
Lindburgh Elementary School
Uses conferencing:
- during book club/reading groups
- during writing
- informally, on an as-needed basis
During writing:

 Students sign up on a laminated chart with the teacher when they are ready for a
conference on a laminated chart.
 Because students in fifth grade are more independent,
 she does not meet with them as often as in younger
 graders.

Students are also given the option to peer-conference with teacher permission.
During parent-teacher conferences, students are included so they can talk about their strengths,
weaknesses, and goals.
- Ongoing support is necessary to move students toward true independence as readers
- Able to assess students in terms of motivation, attitude toward reading, ability to select and
engage with texts, use of reading strategies, oral fluency, and narrative and expository text
comprehension.
- Gives teachers a better understanding of their students’ strengths and weaknesses
Step 3: Problem Identification
Try to focus the discussion to 1-2 problems and their causes to avoid lowering morale.
The student should share the teacher’s sense of confidence about his/her ability to help with
work towards a solution.
Step 4: Agreement to work on the problem together
The student must agree about what the problem is AND agree to do something about it.
Step 5: Task Assignment
Tell student in a clear manner what he or she must do to fix the problem. The solution may occur
right in the conference or may become outside work for the student.
The teacher is ultimately the expert but the student must actively participate and stay
connected to the assignment.

7 Steps to a

Successful

Conference
Yes!
Before the conference:
Step 1: Engagement
Can be student-initiated or teacher-initiated
Invitation should be welcoming and should not sound judgmental

 - The student has a hand in identifying what he/she needs to work on

 - Students practice self-evaluation and self-reflection techniques
 - Because a student has a hand in it, he/she is more apt to care about the work towards
the goal
 - It is not just something the teacher assigned.

- Empowers young adolescents to accept responsibility

- Encourages students to be honest about their work habits and behavior
- Encourages students to practice preparing talking points
Do not take over the coference

Do not make it punishment or a lecture
Do make it a collaboration between the student or teacher.
During the conference:
Separate the student from their work and emphasize confidentiality. Stress that just because
there may be a problem with the work, it does not mean that there is a problem with the
student.
The teacher demonstrates strategies to improve and guide student learning. Conferences are a
way to provide students with clear expectations.
Conferencing increases student-teacher relations and trust.
No!
Step 2: Problem Exploration
Does the work have a problem? What is the problem?
The teacher should guide the student toward identifying what the most serious problems are.
Goodman, A. (2008). Student-led, teacher-supported conferences: Improving communication
across an urban district.
Social studies Principles and practice

What will learning in social studies enable children and young people to do?

Through social studies, children and young people develop their understanding of the world by
learning about other people and their values, in different times, places and circumstances; they
also develop their understanding of their environment and of how it has been shaped. As they
mature, children and young people’s experiences will be broadened using Scottish, British,
European and wider contexts for learning, while maintaining a focus on the historical, social,
geographic, economic and political changes that have shaped Scotland. Children and young
people learn about human achievements and about how to make sense of changes in society,
of conflicts and of environmental issues. With greater understanding comes the opportunity and
ability to influence events by exercising informed and responsible citizenship.

Children and young people as they participate in experiences and outcomes in social studies
will:

• develop their understanding of the history, heritage and culture of Scotland, and an
appreciation of their local and national heritage within the world • broaden their understanding
of the world by learning about human activities and achievements in the past and present •
develop their understanding of their own values, beliefs and cultures and those of others •
develop an understanding of the principles of democracy and citizenship through experience of
critical and independent thinking • explore and evaluate different types of sources and
evidence • learn how to locate, explore and link periods, people and events in time and place
• learn how to locate, explore and link features and places locally and further afield • engage
in activities which encourage enterprising attitudes • develop an understanding of concepts
that encourage enterprise and influence business • establish firm foundations for lifelong
learning and for further specialised study and careers.

How are the social studies experiences and outcomes organised?

The social studies experiences and outcomes have been structured under the three main
organisers:

• people, past events and societies • people, place and environment • people in society,
economy and business.

These organisers recognise the special contribution made by each of the social subjects, whilst
enabling them to reflect local contexts. Teachers will use this framework to provide children and
young people with opportunities for effective interdisciplinary working by making connections
across and between subject boundaries. Teachers should not feel constrained by the organisers
and should explore the opportunities to plan within and across curriculum areas as outlined
below to enhance learning. The organisers will assist with the collaborative planning of coherent
programmes of learning within and between establishments.

The fourth level provides a range of experiences and outcomes within which there can be
choice and scope for depth, challenge, enjoyment and personalisation. Schools and their
partners will consider how they can offer and plan different combinations of the experiences
and outcomes to provide a sound basis for more advanced study. The level of achievement at
the fourth level has been designed to approximate to that associated with SCQF level 4.

Social studies: principles and practice 2

What learning and teaching approaches can I use in social studies?

Although the content of the curriculum is important, our aspirations can only be achieved
through high quality learning and teaching. The social studies experiences and outcomes will
support staff in planning challenging, engaging and enjoyable learning and teaching activities
which will stimulate the interest and motivation of children and young people. They allow
flexibility and choice for both teachers and learners which can sustain interest and enthusiasm.

In social studies, effective learning and teaching will draw upon a variety of approaches
including:

• active learning which provides opportunities to observe, explore, experiment and play • use of
relevant contexts and experiences familiar to children and young people • appropriate and
effective use of technology • building on the principles of Assessment is for Learning • both
collaborative and independent learning • discussion and informed debate • interdisciplinary
learning experiences • learning outdoors, field trips, visits and input by external contributors.

How are skills developed in social studies?

The development of skills is an essential aspect of learning in social studies and the experiences
and outcomes provide frequent opportunities for applying these skills in new and more complex
contexts. Terms such as ‘investigating’, ‘exploring’, ‘discussing’ and ‘presenting’ are used
throughout the experiences and outcomes from early to fourth level, recognising that at all
stages learners are capable of exercising these skills at a level appropriate to their development.
The framework ensures that social studies provide an important context for the development of
literacy and numeracy skills.

Children and young people as they learn within the social studies will develop a range of skills
including:

• observing, describing and recording • comparing and contrasting to draw valid conclusions •
exploring and evaluating different types of sources and evidence • development of curiosity
and problem solving skills and capacity to take initiatives • interacting with others and
developing an awareness of self and others • planning and reviewing investigation strategies •
developing the capacity for critical thinking through accessing, analysing and using information
from a wide variety of sources • discussion and informed debate • developing reasoned and
justified points of view • developing and using maps in a variety of contexts • developing and
applying skills in interpreting and displaying graphical representation of information • developing
an awareness of sequence and chronology • presentation skills – oral, written, multimedia.

Teachers will support children and young people as they progressively develop these skills by
applying them in new and more complex contexts. Skills are to be regarded as a continuum
and should not be ‘capped’ at any particular level. The professional judgement of teachers is
essential in ensuring that individual learners are faced with the appropriate level of challenge in
developing skills.

What are broad features of assessment in social studies?

Assessment in social studies will focus on children and young people’s knowledge,
understanding and skills in their studies of people, past events, society, place, environment,
economy and business.

Teachers can gather evidence as part of day-to-day learning, as children and young people
describe and record, explore and analyse sources, interpret and display information, talk and
debate with peers and adults, undertake investigations and present their thinking orally, in
writing or in a multimedia format. Specific assessment tasks will be valuable in assessing progress.
From the early years through to the senior stages,

Social studies: principles and practice 3

children and young people can demonstrate their progress through their skills in using differing
sources of evidence, in assessing its validity and reliability, and in applying these in everyday life
and work. This will include assessment of how well children and young people can use their
knowledge and understanding to interpret evidence and present an informed view, progressing
to being able to sustain a line of argument. Learners can also demonstrate evidence of progress
through their abilities in applying their knowledge and skills in increasingly demanding and/or
unfamiliar contexts, such as environmental issues, citizenship, and their awareness of the world
and Scotland’s place in it.

Approaches to assessment should identify the extent to which children and young people can
apply these skills in their learning and their daily lives and in preparing for the world of work. For
example:

• Do they show awareness of the importance of participating in decision-making processes? •

How well are they prepared to contribute to discussions on local, national and global issues?

Children and young people can demonstrate progression in knowledge, understanding and
skills by how well they deal with increasingly demanding and challenging concepts within a
wide range of economic, geographical, historical, political and social contexts. Progress can be
seen in their:

• growing abilities to understand the complexity of such issues with increasing maturity and
empathy • increasingly sophisticated views • skills in supporting these by reference to carefully-
considered evidence and sources • abilities to draw together their learning to demonstrate the
depth of their understanding, for example of Scotland’s history.

Assessment should also link with other areas of the curriculum, within and outside the classroom,
offering children and young people opportunities to develop awareness of social issues such as
sustainability and enterprise through field trips, visits to local and national heritage sites, and
meetings with members of the community.

What connections are there between social studies and other areas of the curriculum?

Social studies experiences and outcomes encourage links with other areas of learning to provide
learners with a deeper, more enjoyable and active experience.

The promotion of active citizenship is a central feature of learning in social studies as children
and young people develop skills and knowledge to enable and encourage participation. Within
social studies, practitioners will plan opportunities for children and young people to become
involved in their local community and the wider world to support them in considering and
developing their roles as active and informed citizens.

All staff teaching social studies will identify opportunities to develop and reinforce social studies
knowledge and skills both, within their own teaching activities and through working with their
colleagues to plan interdisciplinary studies and a coherent approach to the development of
literacy, numeracy, citizenship, creativity, enterprise and sustainability.

Teachers have opportunities to combine statements of experiences and outcomes in various

ways. They can group them around important concepts in social studies; they can organise
statements to provide a basis for a subject-based approach; they can group experiences and
outcomes around common learning contexts in social studies.

Through self-evaluation, schools, departments and teachers will plan a balance of learning and
teaching approaches, learning that develops all the attributes and capabilities of the four
capacities, a coherent approach to important themes such as citizenship and enterprise,
progression in skills and understanding, and effective use of interdisciplinary work to deepen and
extend learning
Principles of Teaching and Learning http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/introduction/

The curriculum standards presented in this document describe major themes and outcome
expectations to assure excellence in social studies. The delivery of such a program at the level of
classroom teaching is equally important and is discussed at length in the NCSS position
statement, A Vision of Powerful Teaching and Learning in the Social Studies: Building Social
Understanding and Civic Efficacy, Social Education 57, no. 5 (September 1993): 213-223. That
document identifies and describes those principles of teaching and learning that must under
gird all social studies programs of excellence. Those principles are:

1. Social studies teaching and learning are powerful when they are meaningful. • Students learn
connected networks of knowledge, skills, beliefs, and attitudes that they will find useful both in
and outside of school. • Instruction emphasizes depth of development of important ideas within
appropriate breadth of topic coverage and focuses on teaching these important ideas for
understanding, appreciation, and life application. • The significance and meaningfulness of the
content is emphasized both in how it is presented to students and how it is developed through
activities. • Classroom interaction focuses on sustained examination of a few important topics
rather than superficial coverage of many. • Meaningful learning activities and assessment
strategies focus students' attention on the most important ideas embedded in what they are
learning. • The teacher is reflective in planning, implementing, and assessing instruction.

2. Social studies teaching and learning are powerful when they are integrative. • Social studies
is integrative in its treatment of topics. • It is integrative across time and space. • Social studies
teaching integrates knowledge, skills, beliefs, values, and attitudes to action. • Social studies
teaching and learning integrate effective use of technology. • Social studies teaching and
learning integrate across the curriculum.

3. Social studies teaching and learning are powerful when they are value-based. • Powerful
social studies teaching considers the ethical dimensions of topics and addresses controversial
issues, providing an arena for reflective development of concern for the common good and
application of social values. • Students are made aware of potential social policy implications
and taught to think critically and make value-based decisions about related social issues. •
Rather than promulgating personal, sectarian, or political views, these teachers make sure that
students: 1) become aware of the values, complexities, and dilemmas involved in an issue; 2)
consider the costs and benefits to various groups that are embedded in potential courses of
action; and 3) develop well-reasoned positions consistent with basic democratic social and
political values. • Powerful social studies teaching encourages recognition of opposing points of
view, respect for well-supported positions, sensitivity to cultural similarities and differences, and a
commitment to social responsibility.

4. Social studies teaching and learning are powerful when they are challenging. • Students are
expected to strive to accomplish the instructional goals, both as individuals and as group
members. • Teachers model seriousness of purpose and a thoughtful approach to inquiry and
use instructional strategies designed to elicit and support similar qualities from students. •
Teachers show interest in and respect for students' thinking, but demand well-reasoned
arguments rather than opinions voiced without adequate thought or commitment.

5. Social studies teaching and learning are powerful when they are active. • Active social
studies teaching requires reflective thinking and decision-making as events unfold during
instruction. • Students develop new understanding through a process of active construction of
knowledge. • Interactive discourse facilitates the construction of meaning required to develop
important social understanding. • Teachers gradually move from providing considerable
guidance by modeling, explaining, or supplying information that builds student knowledge, to a
less directive role that encourages students to become independent and self-regulated
learners. • Powerful social studies teaching emphasizes authentic activities that call for real-life
applications using the skills and content of the field.