Student-led conference day in spring is one of the most stressful and one of the most joyous days of the school year. It's a day for the students to show their parents who they are as learners, how much they have learned and grown. Portfolios are filled with work and reflections. Activities are on the tables. The students have half an hour in their homeroom to show Literacy, Math and Units of Inquiry work. Then they have another half an hour to take their parents around the school to specialist classrooms. I almost cried today when I saw how the students took charge and parents listened. It was powerfulAll the students are at different places in their learning journeys but they all have learned this year. I just hope that the parents let go of their expectations and truly celebrate the effort and growth.
Expectations can be tricky. You can't do without them but sometimes in our (parents' and teacher') eagerness we set the expectations so high that in the end we focus on what hasn't been achieved yet rather than what has been accomplished already.
For the Unit of Inquiry about religions my third and fourth graders had to pretend they worked in a museum and had to create a flyer for a religion of their choice. We had had four units of inquiry before where the librarian and I taught them research skill, reading and writing non-fiction, writing bibliography. Of course we hoped the children would produce magnificent work.
When the students started turning in their flyers we wanted to hold our heads and cry because it wasn't anywhere close to what we had imagined.
I am glad I had sense to invite a fifth grade teacher to listen to the presentations and assess the flyers. He was impressed with the work. Of course there were some that could have been better and some that clearly had input from parents but most of them were very well done, showed that the students had used different resources, had read the information, picked what was important for them, wrote it in their own words, and organized it into a flyer.
I hope that throughout the day the parents will see what has been accomplished and not focus on what they wish their child could do. Third and fourth graders have many years of school ahead to build on the skills and knowledge they touch in primary school. 
What a wonderful event: students sharing their learning in portfolios with their parents. I love that! I'm stealing that idea, okay?
ReplyDeleteBonnie
This is exactly what we do, too Terje! It is so stressful for the teachers to help the students prepare, but it is often a joyous day of celebrating the accomplishments, for students of course, but also for teachers to really see what has been done. I loved seeing your pictures and the grid of expectations. Everyone is certainly different, aren't they? It's a good idea to have the 5th grade teachers give their response too. Thanks for sharing all of this!
ReplyDeleteFocus on what they did do, that is so important. The fliers look amazing to me. It is so powerful for parents to see what is happening in the class. Thanks for this glimpse.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great learning experience for students.
ReplyDeleteWhat an exciting day for everyone - stressful I understand, but worth it all! The goal is to celebrate their learning and accomplishments, but you are so right -- usually parents want to know what their child can do, or more specifically, what they cannot do. Continue to focus on the positive, the growth, and enjoy celebrating! Thank you for all you do to help your students!
ReplyDeleteThanks for educating me. I have always liked the idea of portfolios, but I had never heard what you do with them. I love that the students can demonstrate their learning to the parents. I can tell that there is some risk involved, and I hope the parents all saw the growth. How brilliant to have another teacher do the assessment on the presentations that you had become too close to. I have learned a lot here.
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