Student Led Portfolio Conferences
Posted by Cindy Schmidt, 4/6/06 at 7:52:54 PM.
Student-led Conferences
At the 8th grade level, we hold student-led conferences instead
of the traditional parent-teacher conference. We prefer the
student-led format for many reasons.
As the name implies, students lead the conferences. It is a good
learning experience for them as they taught how to put together a
portfolio of their work and are trained in how to run the
meeting. In a formal atmosphere at school, students go through
their portfolios with their parents as the team teachers
monitor. Teachers will add input and answer questions as they move
from table to table.
What is a portfolio? A portfolio is a meaningful collection of
student work that will demonstrate the student's efforts, progress, and
achievements in the classroom. The student shows samples of their
academic work, discusses what they have learned, and explains their
report card grades. They also have a personal section at the beginning
of the portfolio that includes a variety of self-assessments and
personal goals.
The student-led conference fosters a sense of ownership for the
student. They are able to take the time to sit down and truly evaluate
their performance. It's a rare opportunity for parents and teachers to
sit down together with students and congratulate the child on his/her
successes as well as collaborate on a plan for areas of improvement.
The student-led conference process is definitely more work for
teachers and students. But it is worthwhile as we have seen conference
attendance levels at 90% and above since this process was implemented
in 1999.
   
District 145 Public Schools
and
Educational Service Unit #6, Milford, Nebraska
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