Monday, October 23, 2017
Conferring Amy D.
I've noticed, in the past and presently, great results come from regular conferring with my students. I've used a few different methods to keep track of individual student notes, but most times I find the forms either cumbersome and lengthy or too small to contain enough information. The other problem I've found is picking up where I left off and having the notes handy for my next conference. My goal now is to use one of the forms this week from our class and find a good way to follow through for weekly conferring. Time and numbers have also been an issue that I'm attempting to improve. My schedule for conferring is Monday - Thursday with a goal of conferring with 4-6 students a day. That can sometimes be a challenge depending on interruptions and needs from other students during Readers/Writers workshop as questions need answering and providing help/encouragement for students less engaged. I hope to have some time to take a look at Shelby's "Confer" app which she uses on her iPad. Students respond very positively when we spend time conferring, so I will continue to tweak my methods to improve timing and note taking!
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Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteI like that you set goals for yourself to confer with X students a day. I haven’t done that before, but I could truly see the benefit of goal setting for myself. I often get really wrapped up in the recording or teaching point that I just try to get through as many students as I think I can. I think the students and I would benefit from concise, brief conferences. Also, I hope you had success with the Confer app!
I only started setting conferring goals this year! I found when I didn't set goals I ended up meeting with certain students more than others and really wanted some way to make sure I made the rounds with all my students. By the way, I have never met my goals!!!! No iPad, and the Confer app doesn't appear to be available on a tablet or chromebook...hmmmm.
DeleteI like that you have set goals for meeting with individuals. Did you determine which students you will meet with each day? Are you conducting small group instruction also. I’m trying to work out conferring with individuals and meting with small groups. Any advice is welcomed!
ReplyDeleteI have a similar goal of trying to meet with about 4 students a day, in order to meet with them once a week. It is very tricky! What are your thoughts on bringing your phone around with you to time it? I was thinking of doing it discretely, so it's not a distraction, or even telling them to be honest about it. What are your thoughts?
ReplyDeleteI NEVER get through all my students in one week. Haven't figured out how to accomplish that yet ;-). I would feel it wasn't authentic if I timed my conferring with a student. Although, it would probably get me through more kids in a day. It's a battle!
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