by Dennis Harter, MS Principal
dennish@isb.ac.th
As shared before the Songkran break, Middle School is excited to host our Student-led Conferences (SLC) on April 27 & 28. This conference format places the student front and center of their own learning as they take parents through their learning progress, their portfolio of work, and their goals moving forward. SLCs empower the student to understand themselves as learners and articulate the successes and struggles they’ve had throughout the year to that point.
“At ISB, we develop learners who will be passionate, reflective learners.” (ISB Mission, 2nd point)
In recent weeks, ahead of hosting these conferences, all students have been curating their work and reflecting upon their learning throughout. Students often select work from earlier in the year and more recently to compare and demonstrate their learning progress. Alternatively, they may select recent work that they are particularly proud of. Through the SLC process, students reflect upon their Habits and Attitudes for Learning (HAL) alongside their work and growth. Each teacher provides input into students’ reflections through discussions with students during class as students prepared and curated their portfolio and reflections. This process is, itself, powerful and important learning for students.
“Schools that implement student-led conferences report that they:
– Encourage students to take responsibility and ownership for their learning by involving them in the goal-setting and assessment process.
– Engage families in richer, more transparent conversations about student progress.” (Ashley Cronin, Edutopia, 2016)
Becoming a passionate, reflective learner does not happen by chance. Students must be provided opportunities to reflect upon their learning, consider themselves as a learner, articulate their understanding, and set goals for learning improvement. SLCs are best practice for this, particularly at this stage of development, which is why they are so frequently used in top middle schools around the world.
All ISB MS students engaged in the process of reflection and curation to prepare for the SLCs. Advisors have helped guide students toward preparing their overall reflection along with the talking points for when they host the SLC.
During this time, parents will only meet with their child. Recent direct feedback from the teachers has come to parents in the form of individual written comments for every student. These were sent out a few weeks ago and are available in PowerSchool, if parents have not seen them yet.
Student-Led conference days are not a time for parents to meet with individual teachers as teachers are all hosting their own advisory students’ SLCs throughout the days.
Wednesday morning at 9:00 AM, an email will be sent to MS parents with the link to sign up for a 30 minute block for their child’s Student-Led Conference at school. Appointments are hosted by the Advisor, typically in the advisory classroom.
(Please note that on April 27 & 28, MS students do not have classes, but ES and HS have normal school days. Their conference days were earlier in the semester, when MS had classes.)
In the event that a parent is unable to attend the conferences on the day, we will ensure that students have an adult with whom to present their learning (e.g. teacher, administrator, or counselor), either on a conference day or some time after school, so that all students have this learning opportunity and grow in this empowerment.
As always, if you have a question or concern regarding a specific class, please contact your child’s teacher directly with your questions or to set up an appointment.