Beginning and Closing the Individual Conferences

[erichho2]

These are some strategies that I learned during my time in the writer's workshop at UIUC. Previous research has shown that students tend to leave conferences with positive feelings when they feel their needs have been addressed. It's important to address both what the students feel they need in addition to what the teacher believes they need. In the beginning of the conference, I typically like to ask students how well they feel they did on the paper, rather than going straight into comments. Doing this helps you get a good idea about how the students think about their strengths and weaknesses in their writing. It's also helpful to have them point out places in the paper and provide examples for where they feel the issues are. At the end of the conference, I like to work with the students to make a plan for revision. I will typically type out some notes as we discuss what they will do next to revise. This helps them to remember and internalize what they need to work on, and more importantly, gives a clear series of steps. I feel that revision processes can be frustrating for students if they feel what they need to revise is too abstract, so having a written down plan helps.

[dunn10]

I agree that addressing the student and asking how they feel about their paper is important. I think this shows you recognize their efforts and you respect them. Additionally, individual conferences are a nice way to interact with students that might otherwise be shy in front of their peers. I like to take a little time to ask them some questions to help build rapport. As one of my colleagues calls it "shooting the breeze". In doing this, i hope students feel more comfortable during class, and have a lowered affective filter that will allow them to fully participate. Lastly, individual conferences are a great time to check-in with students that might be struggling with the class. I always try to prepare some ideas/solutions for students that I notice are struggling and encourage them to contact me, when they are in need of help or not understanding class content. When you deliver this information one-on-one, I have found the students take your advice to heart. When, I make suggestions or encourage students to reach out to me if they are struggling as a message to the whole class, I never get any follow-ups.