As educators, you know a lot of work goes into leading parent-teacher conferences. Hours of preparation go into discussing important, and often sensitive, information with families in a limited timeframe. Plus, talking to parents can feel stressful and nerve-wracking. How do you kindly provide feedback while also making the experience positive for everyone?
Fortunately, we posed that question to the Discovery Educator Network, and they rose to the occasion with helpful tips for mastering parent-teacher conferences, whether they’re being held in person or remotely.
Accentuate the Positive
The key to a smooth and productive conference is balancing positive reinforcement with critical feedback. That said, it’s easy to overwhelm parents with too much information. Here are three ways DEN members frame their conversations with learning guardians:
Prepare Key Takeaways
To ensure parents remember the main talking points of your conference, create a summary. Include the student’s positive feedback, growth opportunities and solutions/next steps. If you’re having in-person conferences, this could be a three-column chart you hand to families. If your conferences are virtual, it could be a bulleted list you email to them.
Stay Organized: Back Up Your Claims with Evidence
When it’s time to talk about a student’s performance, don’t just tell parents – show them. Have examples of their child’s work prepared and ready to show any time you confer with a parent or learning guardian. The DEN also advises to:
Gather student work and assessment scores so when a question arises, you’re prepared with the data. Being able to cite specific examples not only helps parents understand, but it also reassures them that their student is getting the support they need.
You can easily show parents exactly what their child is working on in DreamBox or Discovery Education and how they’re progressing by simply sharing reports during your parent-teacher conference.
Make Student Self-Evaluation Part of the Equation
Don’t be afraid to try new things with families – get creative! Traditionally, the parent-teacher conference excludes students, but maybe this time you ask parents to have the student join. Here are three tactics the DEN recommends for teachers who want to try a new, more inclusive approach:
- Ask students to evaluate their own performance: Have your students complete a self-evaluation prior to their conference. It’s a great way to get kids to take ownership of their learning by reflecting on their goals and progress. Plus, parents are less likely to debate an evaluation if it comes from their own child.
- Ask students to come prepared: Have students bring examples of their work and be prepared to discuss them with their family and their teacher. This is an opportunity for students to take a more active role in setting goals, tracking progress and identifying areas where they may need additional support.
- Ask students to share: Start the meeting by asking the student to share something they feel good about, or something they’re struggling with – it’s a great way to foster an open discussion.
Conferences can be nerve-wracking for everyone – you, the parents and the student. It’s normal! Just remember that we conduct conferences to support the students. Everyone at that table or on that video call has the student’s best interest at heart. Come prepared, take a few deep breaths, and get your students involved so everyone stays connected.
