How do you keep conference notes? Teachers only please...?

Question

Just looking for other teachers opinions/ideas on keeping a conference log for your students. Please include how you use it to inform instruction.

If I wasn't clear, conference notes are notes you take after sitting down with a student and listening to them read or looking at their writing and discuss it. Teachers who use the "workshop model" would know

Answer 1

Purchase steno-notebooks for each of the students. At conference time, date the top of each page and track on your notes from the conference with your student(s). You can keep each of the students notebooks in a crate or filing cabinet for easy access when you are conferencing with the students individually.

I'm a student teacher currently and I have been in many classrooms where this has worked succesfully for the teacher.
Good luck and have a great school year.

Answer 2

I had a form that stayed in my student's portfolio. The form had spots for conferences, and on the back there was a log for phone conferences. If a parent called, I'd save the message slip and the call back time/date on the slip and keep it in the folder as well.

For a general conference I had a specific list of points of interest that I would cover with each parent. I kept it to a minimum of 5 since most parents don't have a lot of time when they do come to conference. I'd open up the questions and anything they had a question on I'd make a note of and then if needed I could follow up in a subsequent meeting.

Answer 3

Honestly, I do not really take many notes during conferences. However, when something important is revealed in a conference I jot it down on a small sheet of paper and file it in a folder. This way it remains confidential; the next parent does not accidently see it.
We have a computer program where we can include student notes. I type important info there. I also keep a notebook where I note all discipline problems and important things that I must keep record of.
If a parent tells me that their child is having a hard time due to a divorce and is not completing homework because of it... I use that info to help the child with extra homework time and personal encouragement. As far as how you use it to inform instruction... it really depends on each individual situation.

Answer 4

at a teacher's conference? I’ve been to several states. In rural areas the men sneak off to watch tv, women have to stay. Then in larger urban states like NJ people can cut and go on vacation. If you are stuck attending pass out and collect business cards and write things about how stupid the people are around you- in latin, or english - just use a 5th grade + vocabulary. WHY ARE YOU MAKING YOUR STUDENTS READ CONFERENCE NOTES? If you want them to learn take an annex course in advanced physics and show them the notes to that. Or visit somewhere and keep a video journal. A bunch of idiots obfuscating instruction by pseudo-analyzing non functional methods based on (at best) anecdotal evidence and in opposition to all formal research is doing nothing more than wasting tax payer dollars.

If you are making your students attend some pretend conference I think nothing will prepare them more for the waste and futility of speaking to ed and (worse) business people than to sit around gabbing. A great lesson is to point out at the end nothing was done and if they had spent 12 minutes reading random entries in an encyclopedia their time would have been better spent.

Answer 5

If you conduct an open house type of conference, then you set the goals. You may have a large group of parents at one time and you explain to the group what your students are doing and what you need from the parents. If it is an individual conference, be sure to maintain confidentiality - don't allow one parent to see another students grades,etc. Avoid letting the parent compare their child to others (this happens sometimes concerning discipline measures) but instead remember to compare the child to their own growth/development etc. If there is a particular problem with a student, such as lack of attendance for example, use conflict resolution steps and have a next best step contract form for all to agree and sign. From my experience, the parents you really need to see won't show up - sorry - and the interested parents won't be intimidating. You have also received a good description above.

Answer 6

I kept a journal of all communication between parents. I started out with a notebook with 1 sheet of paper for each student, but then switched to MS Word.

On the first page, I typed in each student's full name, and then their phone number underneath it. I arranged these into two columns so they would fit on one page. I then put in a page break, and wrote the first student's name as a title, with the contact number and parents name. Any other information I wanted to know about the student I would enter here as well. I then inserted another page break, and started on the second student.

After all students had a page of their own, I went back to the first page, highlighted the first student's name, and created a hyperlink to the student's page. I continued this with the rest of the students.

It takes a bit of set-up, but after I was done, I could quickly click on a student's name, type in a date, and record teacher conference notes, parent contact, and anecdotal notes. These were easy to pull up and use in conferences with parents, or as evidence of certain activities. If you are worried about students getting into this file, you can password protect it as well.

This would work the same in a binder, and take a bit less set-up time.

Hope this helped.

Answer 7

The way I was taught was to just get a clip board with paper and you can meet with your students formally or informally. (This was mainly for reading) but take notes on how the students are doing with their particular reading level...if it's hard, just right or too easy. I did this with my first graders last year. I'd read with them individually and ask comprehension questions. Make notes of how the student sounds out words and what types of books they tend to go for. If you notice something, add it to your lesson plan.
For example, if many students don't know contractions while
reading that will be a clue that you need to address that.

I am not sure the specifics of your question or age group, but I hope this helpls.

Answer 8

haha!! teachers!