Student Conferences

Rather than having students present to the class (although I still may have them share their findings a later date) or submit a portfolio to me for evaluation, I decided that I would schedule students conferences. I plan to meet each student in 5-minute blocks. During that time, students will share their initial question, predictions and findings. I am hoping that by having them explain their data and how they reached their conclusions, I will gain a richer picture of their learning. I shared a copy of the conference "questions"with the students and let them know that I would be using some of the questions to guide the conference but that the time was for them to share their data with me.

Here is a list of the questions:
1) What was the question you were investigating?
2) What was your initial prediction before you saw any data?
3) After viewing that data, what is the answer to your question?
4) What data, tables and/or graphs do you have to justify your findings?
5) If present, why do you think there was a difference between your predictions and the actual data?
6) If present, why do you think there was a difference between the school data and Canadian data?
7) How might you use your data? What may be a next step or next question?
8) What was the most difficult part of this project?

I am SO happy that I chose this format as it allowed me to ask questions and clarify things in their research. This helped to identify the level of understanding the students had regarding their data and data skills. It also allowed me to identify holes in their learning. The feedback I received was much richer than if I had the student present to the class or just hand in a package of their research.

Following the conferences, I was left a little underwhelmed. This project has been an interesting experience for me as it is the first time I totally gave up control. As it appears as though the students did not really obtain the level of critical thinking I was hoping for, I will have to ponder what went wrong and, more important, what I can do next time to ensure the experience is even better.