In student-led conferences, students are responsible for their grades and must defend their academic progress. Through this process, the student and the parents develop a better understanding of how the student is doing in the classroom and both the parents and students will better understand why the student got a particular grade.
Before the conference, plan how the students will actually lead the conference. Help the students prepare what they want to say and make suggestions. Students can utilize PowerPoint presentations for visual aids, but make sure to show the students how to use this program.
Student-led conferences help teach students organization skills. Students must compile a portfolio that will impress their parents. If a student puts together a poor portfolio during one conference, the student can learn from this experience and create a better portfolio next time. Portfolio building is an important skill for students to practice because many professions require portfolios and portfolios are similar to resume building.
Create an enjoyable and relaxed environment by including mints and soft music in the background. Younger students might get bored when other students are presenting, so give them something to do so that parents can focus on the presentations. For example, provide coloring books.
Give students positive comments that help boost their confidence. Have something positive to say about all of the students so that they do not feel like they are going to be heavily criticized when leading the conference. Be encouraging and keep the overall tone positive, focusing primarily on student growth. However, be honest as well, giving students a little constructive criticism.
Students learn to value or not value education based on how much their parents value their education. Parent-teacher conferences make parents more involved in the education of their children, sending the message that the parents care about their child's education.
Children and parents have clearer communication about the child's grades after a student-led conference because the parent can see the evidence and understand where the child is struggling. If the parent sees the child struggling with certain grammatical rules, for example, the parent can work with the child at home on the specific grammar rule. Parents also like seeing student work and can feel confident that their children are getting a good education.