Student Conferencing with a Focus on the Focus Video Highlights: Use “we” instead of “you” during student conferences. Celebrate growth rather than “got it” moments. When it comes to student conferencing, don’t judge, just support. See the full series here! [scroll down to keep reading] About Dave Schmittou Entering his twenty-first year in education, Dave has earned a reputation … Read More
3 Tips for High Quality Student Conferences
TL;DR: Make student conferences a part of your unit arc. Give high quality feedback outside of your conferences. Invite students to lead and give them ownership in conversations about their grade. These tips can support the regularity, efficiency and effectiveness, and student ownership of conferences. For the last half of my teaching career, weekly student conferencing has been a staple … Read More
Winning Streaks
TL;DR: Build winning streaks in each learner by using formative assessments, providing time for metacognition daily, and making adjustments to instruction. These “winning streaks” will provide students with the ability to succeed not only this school year, but in life. During the pandemic, most students and educators focused on what was lost. It is human nature to face a crisis … Read More
Reinventing Student/Teacher Conferencing in 2021
TL;DR: The purpose of conferencing is generally to discuss a student’s strengths and weaknesses. A structure for effective conferencing with large classes is shared. Questions to ask during conferences can include: What are your questions? In what way can I help you? What will you improve on? Unfortunately, while I had some great teachers in the past (both K-12 and post-secondary), … Read More
Criticism: Destructive, Constructive, or Instructive?
TL;DR: There are three main types of criticism: destructive, constructive, and instructive. Destructive criticism tears down; constructive criticism builds together, and it identifies a problem and offers solutions. Instructive criticism adds on to what someone knows. Let me start by sharing four related facts you may not know about me. I am hard-of-hearing. There are times that I literally do … Read More