Stress Free Parent Teacher Conferences: The Power of Student Led Conferences
Parent teacher conference time can mean late nights, lots of planning, and incredible amounts of stress for teachers. It adds a lot of work on our already overflowing plates. But today I have a secret, one tip that will not only take the work and stress off of your plate, but will also make conferences so much more valuable, meaningful, and engaging for everyone involved.
The secret? Student Led Conferences!
Let’s talk about the power of student led conferences.
- Stress free
- Engaging and productive
- Beneficial for the students
- Can be done virtually or in person
1. Stress Free
Parent teacher conferences can cause stress for teachers in so many different ways. The added work of preparation, the worry about saying exactly the right thing, the list goes on and on.
Here’s where student led conferences come in. By having the students do the preparation for their conference, it takes that all off your plate. By having students lead the conference takes even more stress off of you. Being less stress inducing is valuable on its own. But, with even more benefits, it makes student led conferences a no brainer.
2. Engaging and Productive
Student led conferences are more engaging for students and their parents. Parents have even stated that they haven’t been as excited to attend a conference until their first student led conference! Students get to be engaged in the process, and their parents love seeing this. They are more receptive to what’s being said when it’s coming straight from their child. How many times have you had a parent believe their child’s version of events over yours? Or, remember the time when you tried to express a concern to a parent only for them to say “no way, not my child”. Well, this solves that problem! You prepare with the student upfront, and the parents will be engaged in what they are told during the conference.
These types of conferences can also be much more productive. First off, when parents are receptive to what’s being said they are more likely to take action. Additionally, having the student there to talk about their goals gets them thinking about what they need to do to reach them. Involving the student in parent teacher conferences is a great way to make conferences more productive.
Ready to try student led conferences? Click here to get everything you need!
3. Beneficial for the Students
Ownership, responsibility, leadership, reflection, goal setting.
Those are just a few of the many ways students benefit from preparing for and carrying out a student led conference. Students are held accountable for their current progress. They are able to take ownership of their strengths. They have the opportunity to take the lead. Running a conference with all adults is quite a task. Students can learn a lot from this experience. Preparing for the conference allows students to reflect on their progress so far, and goal setting is an amazing life-long skill.
4. Flexible – Can Be Done Virtually or In Person
With busy schedules, health-related protocols, and all the unknowns we face right now, it’s nice to have something that is totally flexible. I’ve created an amazing student led conference resource with digital and printable templates so you can easily facilitate these conferences in the virtual or in person setting.
Google Slides or the PowerPoint version can be presented in a video meeting. Then, the student can use those slides to guide the discussion. They can also be projected on the board and used to guide an in person conference. Print out the printable version and the students can use it like a script to guide their in person conference – no technology needed.
Read to try student led conferences yet?! Click the image below to get the digital and printable templates you need to get started right away!
