Any educator will tell you that individual reading and writing conferences are necessary in the classroom. In fact, I’ve yet to be in an interview that hasn’t asked a question about reading and writing conferences and/or teaching small groups. Not only do individual conferences allow you to become more familiar with the student’s goals, but it also allows you to form more of a relationship with the student. Great educators know that individual conferencing is essential to knowing your students.
However, educators form a sort of “pedagogical paralysis”
during the school year that seems to stall the practice of individual
conferencing. I first learned about
pedagogical paralysis when I read, “Harnessing the Dynamics of PublicEducation: Preparing for a Return toGreatness”, by Jones, Barrett, and Vornberg.
Basically, this idea states that when educators become overloaded,
overwhelmed, or tired they will revert back to a familiar way of teaching, and
not always the best practices or innovative strategies. Now, am I saying that every educator suffers
from this in late November? Absolutely
not! I would say that I’ve seen this
often over the years. I’d love to know
your strategy if you’ve never felt it yourself!
So how can we press on and be the very best educator every
day when we know there will be phone calls, emails, meetings, and
paperwork? I may not have that specific
answer, but I’m going to give you a few ideas that I use and might just work
for you.
First, I am diligent about listening to my students read
independently. In the past, I read in
small groups with my students. This
year, as a new goal, I am doing individual reading conferences instead of small
groups. This has allowed me to really
dive deep and discuss practices I notice my students doing during reading. We discuss ongoing issues, continued
successes, and best practices for each student.
I keep my notes on a sheet when I confer with my students. It helps me remember what I noticed last time
we met, and refer back to that during our next conference. Click here to see the sheet. Here are some conference questions to use, too.
Next, I set goals with my students after running records or
DRA assessments. Doing a running record
each month on my students allows for me to have data to discuss with fellow RtI
educators and parents during conferences.
After these assessments, the students and I reflect on the information
and reading. We create reading goals
right then and there. The students help
to create these, which I believe is vital to the process. After school, I type the goal up and print it
on a form I use consistently. The form
is a downloaded format for business cards.
Once printed, I cut it out and place it in a plastic badge. This badge stays with the students (and can
be worn or attached to the student’s book) during reading as a reminder of what
they are working on while reading. See
below for a picture of what I mean.
Last, I find it beneficial to conference with fellow
educators on what is working in their classes.
“What are the new steps you are taking to enhance the learning in your
class?” It doesn’t have to be formal,
but a quick peek in the class and a question, “What are you doing well in your
reading block?”. It’s simple and
effective. You can always learn
something new. In fact, this year I’ve
taken on the goal of meeting with my students 1-1 during reading instead of
meeting in small groups. This was an
idea thrown my way by one of my team members at the beginning of the school
year, and I loved it! I’m also reading
more about “Notice and Note” as a reading practice. My daughter is in a 4th grade
class that uses these strategies, and she is a huge fan! The fact is, we can always learn from others
if we stop, look, and listen. Find your
inspiration and don’t let pedagogical paralysis take hold of you this
December! Make every moment count…the
kids, families, and your coworkers deserve it!
