{"id":21239,"date":"2019-10-04T08:27:51","date_gmt":"2019-10-04T12:27:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/?p=21239"},"modified":"2021-05-22T06:58:46","modified_gmt":"2021-05-22T10:58:46","slug":"conference-conversations-with-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/conference-conversations-with-families\/","title":{"rendered":"How to design pre-conference conversations with families"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Part of shifting to personalized learning is centering students in the traditional parent-teacher conference. They need to lead the conversation with families and caregivers. And this shift can be hard for folks, because, you know, change is hard! So let&#8217;s look at how you can prep families for student-led conferences. It&#8217;s all in how you design your pre-conference conversations. Let&#8217;s try to make change easier on everyone.<\/p>\n<div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\">\n<div  style=\"display: block; margin: 0px auto;\"  id=\"_ytid_75620\"  width=\"525\" height=\"295\"  data-origwidth=\"525\" data-origheight=\"295\" data-facadesrc=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Kwt0_CVwMzc?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=1&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=1&#038;rel=0&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=1&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" data-epautoplay=\"1\" ><img decoding=\"async\" data-spai-excluded=\"true\" class=\"epyt-facade-poster skip-lazy\" loading=\"lazy\"  alt=\"Student-led conferences at Leland &amp; Gray\"  src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/Kwt0_CVwMzc\/maxresdefault.jpg\"  \/><button class=\"epyt-facade-play\" aria-label=\"Play\"><svg data-no-lazy=\"1\" height=\"100%\" version=\"1.1\" viewBox=\"0 0 68 48\" width=\"100%\"><path class=\"ytp-large-play-button-bg\" d=\"M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z\" fill=\"#f00\"><\/path><path d=\"M 45,24 27,14 27,34\" fill=\"#fff\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Overheard before student-led conferences<\/h4>\n<p>We get around to a LOT of Vermont schools, and we hear what educators and caregivers have said about student-led conferences. News flash: it&#8217;s not always good. So, let&#8217;s break down the following quotes while doing two things:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>thinking about the purpose of student-led conferences (and personalized education), and<\/li>\n<li>trying to imagine how things could go better next time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Forewarned puts you in a place of power: you control your destiny. Mostly.<\/p>\n<p>(Don&#8217;t quote us on that.)<\/p>\n<h4>How to design pre-conference conversations with families<\/h4>\n<p>Looking for some talking points? Here&#8217;s what we recommend.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h5>\u201cMy kid already tells me everything at home. We don\u2019t need this!\u201d<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That&#8217;s so great! But this is an academic presentation of learning. It&#8217;s a little different from relaxed, at-home sharing. Could your child need practice with public reflection and academic language? How do you see them proving they own and lead their own learning?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Even if you&#8217;ve already seen the work, and had a conversation about it, how might this presentation be different with teachers in attendance? Could they add any reflections on the learning?<\/li>\n<li>Fantastic! So you&#8217;re able to come to the student-led conference with some ready questions to push your child to think deeper about what they&#8217;re presenting. That&#8217;s awesome!<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em><strong>Takeaway: <\/strong><\/em>Does every child have access to conversations at home about school? Who might this be helping? Does every child need access to high-level academic learning presentations\/conversations?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote>\n<h5>\u201cI just want to talk to the teacher about my kid!\u201d<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We hear this one a lot. It can definitely feel more efficient just to meet with the teacher. But a student-led conference doesn&#8217;t mean you can&#8217;t also meet with the teacher alone. Okay, let&#8217;s consider a hybrid approach! 10 minutes student-led, 10 minutes teacher-led, or 15 min\/5 minutes. Let&#8217;s think about what split feels best considering the student.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em><strong>Consider<\/strong> <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/communicate-with-student-families\/\">all the different ways you communicate with families<\/a>. Are conferences the only way to be informing caregivers? Should they be the only way?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b><i>Takeaway: <\/i><\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who is the conference for? Who should be centered? <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How can we meet all needs for a successful conference?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote>\n<h5>\u201cI\u2019ve been to one of these and it was awful.\u201d<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oh no! We&#8217;re really sorry to hear that. How can we design something that has meaning, centers your student and feels valuable to you and your family?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is such a great opportunity to spend time together; how can we maximize it? <\/span>How would *you* design it to be more meaningful?<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em><strong>Takeaway: <\/strong><\/em>How can we encourage open mindsets and shifting of thinking?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote>\n<h5>\u201cI\u2019ve already seen this work. This is a waste of time!\u201d<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How can we together help go deeper into this learning conversation? What questions could we ask your student about the work that will help them with future activities?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who might not have had the opportunity to see this work and have these conversations?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em><strong>Consider: <\/strong><\/em>Could you as the educator hold back some work to share at the conference? How can you help shape this conversation to feel valuable to all?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>What is &#8220;the why&#8221;?<\/h4>\n<p>Now that we&#8217;ve considered some of the critiques of student led conferences, we can create something that has meaning for families, centers students, and shifts the conversation. With your teacher team, it&#8217;s helpful to consider some prompts when designing conferences.<\/p>\n<h5>Some prompts when designing pre-conference conversations with families:<\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What&#8217;s the purpose of student centered\/led conferences? <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What&#8217;s the purpose of teacher led conferences? <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And what do we want our shared purpose to be? Who owns the learning? Who is centered in the conference?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are the ways families are informed? Should conferences be the only\/primary way?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/communicate-with-student-families\/?highlight=17%20ways#.XZY8TZNKhTs\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-21343\" src=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/17-better-ways.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/17-better-ways.jpg 959w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/17-better-ways-300x218.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/17-better-ways-768x557.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h4>Examples from the field to keep you going:<\/h4>\n<p>Thankfully, there are a lot of resources about shifting toward SLCs, including examples of what they look and sound like at various levels. Take a look at some of these to inspire your planning and design.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/student-led-conferences-3\/#.W7NjpXfMz-Z\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">our resource page of videos and teachers of SLCs<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?time_continue=127&amp;v=L_WBSInDc2E\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">video of several grade levels <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(featuring 3rd grade + teacher + parent feedback)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/10qetF6YB1QKs59fRaW1zora9QeD94_k9p2NbFvx6R2c\/edit\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A student led conference menu <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(high school level, but easily modifiable for elementary).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/presentation\/d\/1AQpNfgMyPXS-WdRUTdXGocNqNcHczjCMNy8CysGMgoA\/edit?usp=sharing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Student led conference MGI module:<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> loaded with examples across grade levels from the field and a plan template.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.edutopia.org\/blog\/student-led-conferences-resources-ashley-cronin\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">usable resources from Scholastic<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> across grade levels and purposes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/49170218\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">student led conferences in kindergarten (video)<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/45140230\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">student led conferences at 5-8<\/span><\/a> (video)<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/fPwBqzBJRhk\">The Script and the Pep Talk<\/a> (video; how one educator sets students up for success with SLCs)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Develop your conference conversation plan for this year:<\/h4>\n<p>Ready to make the shift? YES? Next, here are some next steps that might help in creating your conference plan.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">consider your grade level<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">consider the WHY<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the proficiencies, power standards you want to share or report on<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">make something that works for your team<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you could use <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1FG4obJmDHAZbL9i4V436cl5BwIoxe0HlBpmsP9YAuMw\/edit?usp=sharing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">this ready made, month by month checklist plan<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to use (not reinventing the wheel!)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">possible structures:<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">November (identity) and spring (portfolio more broadly)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">November (intro SLCs + portfolio) and spring (sharing of PBL learning)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fall (identity\/transferable skills) and spring (academic portfolio)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Lamoille educator Katie Bryant helps her students design the conversation with families by laying out a script in advance, for them to use as they choose. That and a little pep talk, and everyone&#8217;s ready to go.<\/p>\n<div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\">\n<div  style=\"display: block; margin: 0px auto;\"  id=\"_ytid_37717\"  width=\"525\" height=\"295\"  data-origwidth=\"525\" data-origheight=\"295\" data-facadesrc=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fPwBqzBJRhk?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=1&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=1&#038;rel=0&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=1&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" data-epautoplay=\"1\" ><img decoding=\"async\" data-spai-excluded=\"true\" class=\"epyt-facade-poster skip-lazy\" loading=\"lazy\"  alt=\"Prepping for a student-led conference: The Script &amp; The Pep Talk\"  src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/fPwBqzBJRhk\/maxresdefault.jpg\"  \/><button class=\"epyt-facade-play\" aria-label=\"Play\"><svg data-no-lazy=\"1\" height=\"100%\" version=\"1.1\" viewBox=\"0 0 68 48\" width=\"100%\"><path class=\"ytp-large-play-button-bg\" d=\"M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z\" fill=\"#f00\"><\/path><path d=\"M 45,24 27,14 27,34\" fill=\"#fff\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And now over to you: what&#8217;s the word on the street about student-led conferences? What are you hearing?<\/p>\n<p>How do *you* design pre-conference conversations with families?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Part of shifting to personalized learning is centering students in the traditional parent-teacher conference. They need to lead the conversation with families and caregivers. And this shift can be hard for folks, because, you know, change is hard! So let&#8217;s look at how you can prep families for student-led conferences. It&#8217;s all in how &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/conference-conversations-with-families\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;How to design pre-conference conversations with families&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":21348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[481],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-led-conferences"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21239"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29637,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21239\/revisions\/29637"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}