Purpose
The business of learning takes place in our heads and doesn’t always show up on formal assessments. To know where each student in your class is both academically and socially, you need regular one-on-one contact. One-to-one conferences are a time for you to check student progress, expand student thinking, and coach students to do better by helping them set individual learning goals. The conferences allow you to give timely feedback and to tailor instruction to the needs and learning styles of each student.
Breaking It Down
■ Whenever the students are working in teams, circulate to conduct one-to-one conferences with individuals, partners, or teams.
■ Ask open-ended, higher-order thinking questions that require the students to delve into their understanding of the most important concepts and content.
■ Clarify and correct misunderstandings as needed, or assist the students in breaking tasks down into manageable chunks.
■ To save time, ask to see the students’ Learning Guides during your conference so you can check off completed products and add your initials without making a special trip.
Fine-Tuning the Technique
■ Ask questions that assess understanding of basic concepts by having the students tell you what they are working on or what they have learned. For the students who are struggling, set small, intermediate goals that direct the students toward the final product; revisit these students often to check progress. Pose higher-order questions to the students who are ready to extend their thinking beyond the immediate task. Teach them how to generate these kinds of questions on their own.
■ It is more important to have meaningful discussions with those students you do see than to see every student every day. Make a plan: Which students or teams do you want to target for one-to-one conferences today? This week? Are you particularly concerned about the academic or social progress of a student? Is there someone who needs the boost of a little extra attention? How are you going to make sure to touch base with every student at some point during the week?
■ Model and encourage strong discussion skills by conferencing with an entire team and asking the students whether they agree or disagree with their teammates’ answers and whether they have anything else to add.
■ Use what you learn from one-to-one conferences to tailor your instruction. Do you need to revisit a concept with the whole class? Do you need to try presenting information in new ways to address the different learning styles represented in your classroom? Are you pushing the students hard enough or could you encourage them to do more? How can your conferences with the students spur your own thinking about teaching and learning?