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The Writing Conference

The Writing Conference by Bob Alexander, PaTTAN Consultant

There are mounds of rich and robust research that support using Writing Conferences as one of the most effective techniques for nurt uring better writers and better writing. The Writing Conference is also a powerful tool for practicing formative assessment, providing students with immediat e and relevant feedback, and applying differentiated, individualized instruction in a one -on -one setting.

While it takes time and practice to implement conferences as a part of your normal instructional practices, here is a “quick and dirty” list of steps if you wa nt to get started now. Remember: practice makes perfect, so commit yourself and carry through with consistency.

1. Practice Long Range Planning and Pacing . To maximize the effectiveness of writing conferences, you need to look at the big picture of your instruction. Once you start using conferences, you should continue to use conferences thr oughout the semester or school year. This means careful preplanning of activities, exercises, and assignments so that students are actively engaged in meaningful tasks or independent course work while you conduct con ferences individually. Remember: the North Carolina Standard Course of Study should be your guide for designing and scaffolding your writing instruction.

2. Pre -Read Writing before Conferencing . Put down the red pen, and just make some time to pre -read your students’ work before conferencing. After pre -reading each essay, place the piece in one of three stacks, and have a bit of fun by naming your stacks. Perhaps, “the good, the bad, and the ugly” piles, or maybe, “good, better, best.” Regardless, when you are in the actual conference, you can then start with the pile that needs the most work, and engage those students first. Remember: take notes if you desire during pre -reading, but try not to spend time marking papers.

3. Allot 5 Minutes Per Student . On the surface, this does not appear to be a substantial amount of time, but you may be surprised with how much you can accomplish one -on-one with a student in a few short minutes. Keep in mind, some conferences w ill take longer than others . Most importantly, keep to a schedule, and be sure everyone gets a conference. In some cases, you may have to arrange for a few conferences either before or after school, but it is possible to confer with all students during a 90 -minute block. In addition, if you rotate students based on your pre -reads, you will discover you can balance time in such a way that students who need more coaching can get precious extra time

4. Let the Student Talk : Be a succinct questioner, and use inquiry to encourage and engage students to talk about their writing. Be a “guide on the side, not a sage on the stage.” Starting with a simple question like “What are your thoughts on this piece of writing?” can really get th e ball rolling in a conference (note: some experts caution not to start with a generic question such as this, but it w orks for me). Remember: this is a time for coaching, and that requires both the student and teacher to be on the same page. Often, you will discover that with four or five stock questions, you can elicit a great amount of student response and still have the opportunity to convey constructive criticism in a positive fashion.

In order to move writers forward, it is important to remember that education is a student -teacher partnership. When everyone is on the same page and working towards a mutual goal, th n genuine learning occurs. 

For a more in -depth look at writing conferences, try this site:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/663/01/

The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue Univers ity houses writing resources and instructional material as a free service of the Writing Lab at Purdue. Teachers and trainers may use this material for in -class and out -of-class instruction. Included on this page is an excellent PowerPoint on conducting wr iting conferences that would work well for both students and teachers. Check it out!

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