It's That time of year! It's time for fall conferences. School conferences call be very enlightening. Almost too enlightening. It bursts a parent's bubble that school is going so well but find out the opposite. It also can be encouraging. School is going well. There are times that a parent can leave a conference quite bewildered. "What was that all about?" I especially find this with "student led" conferences. The student shows different samples of work. Often the teacher has a self assessment or "what about me" page that the student has filled out. I leave these conferences having no idea what the student is really doing at school.
How do I make the most of the conference? Conferences are designed by school personnel and are different depending on those organizing conferences. Conferences may change formats from year to year so it's always important to figure out what kind of information you, as the parent, want and prepare a list of questions. To get the information wanted, ask very specific questions. If you don't have time with what the teacher has planned, schedule another time to meet to work through the questions on the list.
What kind of questions? That depends but here are some categories to help think this through.
- Behavior (in class, in non structured environments, in specials)
- Focus and Attention (getting to work, completing work, listening)
- Individual Academic Areas
- Classroom Skills(following directions, working independently)
- Organization and following Classroom Routines
- Interactions with peers and staff
- Social skills
- Fine motor and its effect in other areas
- Does he seek information when he doesn't understand
Preparation is always a key. It's hard to think of all of your questions in the moment so a written or digital list may help. It 's good to take a notebook to take notes. It is easy to write notes on some of the papers given but they can get lost or misplaced where a notebook that has written notes is a little easier to keep information in a central place.
Posted with Blogsy