Conferencing and Reporting (Knowing What Counts)

When we involve students in conferencing and reporting, they take a lead role by selecting and showing work samples, demonstrating skills, talking about their learning, and asking their audience for a response. In Conferencing and Reporting (the third book in the Knowing What Counts series), authors Kathleen Gregory, Caren Cameron, and Anne Davies provide examples of ways to support learning by involving students in the conferencing and reporting processes. Richard Stiggins explains in the foreword that the authors provide clear and specific instructions for what to do in preparation for, during, and after conferences to leave learners feeling pride at what has been accomplished, as well as a connection between that and their plans for what comes next in their learning. This book acknowledges that, in addition to teachers, students are data-based instructional decision makers, too. The first section of this book includes ideas for how to help students initiate informal conversations about their own learning. In the second section, the authors describe different types of conferences in which students review their learning, including conferences between a student, teacher, and parents, conferences about IEPs that include the student, and conferences between the teacher and the student. The third section provides a list of common questions educators may have regarding the content presented in the first two sections. The authors respond to these questions in detail and provide examples for ways educators can adapt the methods in question to serve their specific needs.