Discovering Voice: Student-Teacher Writing Conferences

After deconstructing many mentor texts, students write an account of a personal
experience or historical event relating to "voice." Students peer-edit each other's
writing and then participate in a student-teacher writing conference during
which they receive descriptive feedback. This individual writing conference
allows the teacher to give "just-in-time" feedback to the student regarding
his/her writing. It allows the student and the teacher to seek clarification and
to be very precise in planning their next steps. This personal dialogue offers
the teacher a window into her student's thinking and informs her instructional
decisions. The student leaves the conference with a clear picture of his/her
strengths as a writer and possible next steps to move his/her writing forward.
• What are the advantages of one-on-one student-teacher writing conferences for the student and the teacher?
• What evidence of descriptive feedback do you hear?
• What evidence of student self-assessment do you hear?

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Learning
• Teaching
• Education
• Teacher
• Students
• Inquiry