CONFERENCING

Alex Watts
Assignment #4: Philosophy of Assessment Statement
I do not believe that learning is something that can be forced onto someone, learning is a

process by which students must engage with in order to take responsibility for their learning

experiences. Learning does not occur the same way for all students, therefore it is important that

students can experiment and try new things in order to see what works for them.

Assessment is one of many realities that both students and teachers participate in

regularly within the school environment. As a future educator, it saddens me to think of the

pressure placed on both students and teachers by districts as well as society to increase

performance on tests, whether they be standardized or not. Assessment is a critical part of our

education system, however teaching for the test as opposed to teaching what needs to be taught is

where we are often failing our students.

Assessment of, as, and for learning

Assessment for, assessment as and assessment of learning are all approaches that enable

teachers to gather evidence and make judgements regarding student achievement. The primary

focus of all assessment should be to improve student learning. Without assessment for, as, and of

learning, it is not possible to truly improve student learning. I firmly believe that when students

take ownership of their learning is when learning happens most.

Assessment for learning requires teachers to use evidence related to the particular

students’ knowledge, understanding and skills to inform their teaching. This form of assessment

is commonly referred to as formative assessment, which typically occurs throughout the teaching

and learning process to help clarify student learning and understanding.

 Assessment as learning occurs when students become their own assessors. When students

monitor their own learning by asking questions, they are taking responsibility for their learning.

This strategy also encourages peer assessment, along with self-assessment and reflection, which

all contribute to a positive learning environment.

Assessment of learning assists teachers in using evidence of student learning to assess

achievement against curricular outcomes and standards. Assessment of learning is often referred

to as summative assessment, which traditionally occurs at defined key points during a unit and is

often used to grade students. The effectiveness of assessment of learning for grading or ranking

depends on the validity and reliability of the assessment activities chosen.

Assessment Strategy

As a form of assessment, I strongly believe in student conferencing as my method of

assessment. This can be done by scheduling short five minute “check-in” meetings with students

on a weekly/semi-weekly basis. This would be much easier in a self-contained class (all subjects

to one group) compared to a traditional school setting, however this would still be possible as

well as effective.

These check-in meeting provide teachers the opportunity to guide students in self-

reflection as well as provide students individualized attention and recommendations for their

work. This also provides teachers the opportunity to get to know their students on a more

personal level, which in turn can provide a stronger approach to differentiated instruction. When

students work individually with their teacher, students feel understood on a deeper level, which

in turn increases trust. Not all conferences throughout the school year will share the same goals

with conferences previous, so it is important that the goal of the conference reflect the format of
the conference. I would implement three different forms of conferencing with my students in the

classroom; advice conferencing, reflection conferencing, and finally assessment conferencing.

Each style of conference has a different format, while all promote student-driven learning.

Advice conferencing would focus on the learning of specific skills that a student is

missing or struggling with. During this format of conference, students must come up with a list

of questions based upon an area where he/she is struggling in the class. This provides an

opportunity for the teacher to see issues that may be more intensive and potentially require

targeted instruction. Instead of students waiting for the teacher to say if they are right or wrong,

students learn the art of asking for help. While we don’t want students to become helpless and

dependent, this style of conference allows students to ask specific questions and seek out specific

feedback from the teacher. Students guide the process, utilizing the teacher’s expertise. This also

has the added bonus of encouraging students to embrace mistakes as a part of the learning

process. Advice conferences also help to promote the classroom mindset that every student in the

class always has room to grow. The teacher uses a series of reflective questions to lead students

through the process of meta-cognition and into the setting and monitoring of goals. As the school

year progresses, teachers should be asking fewer follow-up questions as the students begin to

reflect and share how they are progressing without the aid of pre-chosen questions.

The goal of reflection conferencing is to draw out student reflection and encourage

students to think about their learning. The purpose of this conference is not about providing

correction or even providing practical ideal. Instead the teacher asks reflective questions that

encourage students to think about their learning. This style of conference would typically start

out with the teacher reminding the student of the purpose of the conference. Then, it moves

toward a discussion revolving around strengths and weaknesses. It’s important that the teacher
doesn’t add any strengths or weaknesses to the students. The goal is simply to get the student

thinking, reflecting, and sharing their personal experience in the classroom. This session ends

with a clear articulation of goals accompanied with a plan for following the next steps. It’s

important to avoid any type of feedback in this conference. Grades and scores or previously

completed rubrics are not discussed. This can be a tricky to master at first. The more students

engage in reflective conversations, the more they grow confident in their ability to self-reflect.

Unlike reflection conferencing, the focus of assessment conferencing is less about

students reflection of the process, and more focused on students interpreting their own master of

standards and content. While the advice conferences involve students asking questions of the

teacher, and the reflection conferences involve the opposite, these assessment conversations tend

to be more of a back-and-forth style of discussion. Students should discuss their progress

towards achieving specific standards. Sometimes it may work best to ask students what they feel

they have earned and why. Ultimately the goal of this conference is for students to know which

standards they have mastered and where they need to go from there. As the teacher, it is my

responsibility to ask questions regarding progress as well as share and provide feedback based

upon evidence of student work.

 The Three Types of Conferences

Feedback Reflection Assessment

Conference Conference Conference
The Focus Targeted help / Guiding students A conversation
instruction in toward self- about the mastery
specific areas of reflection of standards
reading
Role of the Ask questions and Answer questions Talk about progress
Student seek out specific and reflect on his or toward specific
feedback her learning standards
Role of the Answer questions Ask questions, Asks questions
Teacher with accuracy and paraphrase about progress and
precision and allow answers and guide share information
for students to students toward based upon
practice a strategy self-reflection evidence of student
under supervision work.
Further Students leave with Students can select Students can figure
Application actionable steps to the strategies and out what standards
fix a particular work plan for future still need to be
improvement based mastered and how
upon self-reflection. to get there
Role in Every student has a Every student has Every student is
Cultivating a chance to admit to a chance to able to realize that
Growth Mindset failure and learn articulate areas there are as many
from it where they are retakes as
growing and where necessary until they
they still need to master the
grow standards
Bibliography
Cromwell, S. (2015). Student-led conferences: A growing trend. Retrieved from
www.educationworld.com:
http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin112.shtml
Kinney, P., Munroe, M. B., & Sessions, P. (2000). In A School-Wide Approach to Student-Led
Conferences: A Practitioner's Guide. Alexandria: National Middle School Association.
Spencer, J. (2015, April 9). The power of student conferencing. Retrieved from
www.spencerauthor.com: http://www.spencerauthor.com/the-power-of-student-
conferencing/