Week 3: Carl Anderson: Teacher's Guide to Writing Conferences by Stefanie Vogt https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi Respond to each prompt and comment on two other posts. Make sure to sign in to padlet before you respond. en-us 2019-09-27 19:02:44 UTC 2024-03-26 19:00:28 UTC hello@padlet.com During this podcast, I enjoyed learning a little from him regarding how to conference with students during writing. I really liked how he assured us that as teachers we might fail. It's ok to continue to revisit the writing topic and work together with the students to increase learning. He mentioned how we should have a conversation instead of conference. As teachers, we are quick to jump and do all the talking, it seemed he was mentioning that we should give the kids more a chance to talk. kerrycampbell https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/394746381 2019-10-07 22:17:11 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/394746381 I don't do a lot of writing instruction in my position, but I did take away from this, I'm going to try and work on giving my students more wait time. It feels so hard inside our hearts to wait longer than 30 seconds, but he mentioned how the kids really need time to think about their learning and think about what experience they are sharing. kerrycampbell https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/394746795 2019-10-07 22:19:12 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/394746795 I liked how he mentioned the kids can transfer this writing into their own life experiences. I think as teachers, we need to help point out their ideas and help them make those connections. kerrycampbell https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/394746983 2019-10-07 22:20:11 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/394746983 Take Aways nicolechase1 https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/395756334 This podcast was so helpful to me as a writing teacher because I am really looking to improve my conferencing with students during the writing block. I love how he talked about how as teachers it takes PRACTICE to get better at conferences because it is not something we group up with as students in the writing block. I also liked how he talked about how when we conference, we should be discussing the content of his writing but we should be discussing the writing strategy they are using. I think it is important to give the students wait time when you ask them how they're writing is going and continue to ask them "tell me more about that." ]]> 2019-10-09 17:42:46 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/395756334 Reflections nicolechase1 https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/395758017 This podcast had me reflecting a lot on my writing conferences. Right now, I do a lot of small group conferencing but I think I should make it more of a 1:1 conference. I think the students would feel more comfortable explaining what is going on in their writing and what strategies they are using during the writing process. ]]> 2019-10-09 17:45:00 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/395758017 Applications and Connections nicolechase1 https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/395758778 I think my school is doing a great job switching to having our writing block be more about the strategies of writing rather than the completion of a piece. I will continue to work towards this and improve my conferencing to have students tell me what they are doing based on the strategy and not so much on what their writing is about. I love how we discussed that teachers can get side tracked by the content of the students story and we really need to focus on the strategy they are using to write. This way, they will be able to transfer the strategy when they are writing other pieces or writing independently. ]]> 2019-10-09 17:46:09 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/395758778 Take aways MrsGordon116 https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/395916620 I love how basic they made writing conferences sound. They said just give the students one things to work on. 

I also loved how Carl said "student to teacher feedback correlates well with student achievement." I like how he said you can continue to prompt the students to "say more about that" to get them talking more in a writing conference.]]> 2019-10-10 01:00:12 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/395916620 Reflections MrsGordon116 https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/395917146 As I said in my take aways, I love how Carl said, "student to teacher feedback correlates well with student achievement." Often times during writing conferences, it seems to be more teacher driven. We are the master writer so we are telling the students what to work on. Instead, we can let the students take ownership to really increase that student achievement piece. I definitely think it's hard for us teachers to use active listening because we want to offer our advice. That's definitely something I want to try more of.

]]> 2019-10-10 01:02:06 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/395917146 Applications MrsGordon116 https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/395917794 I really like when Carl talked about not just fixing up the writing piece during writing conferences. It is so easy to do, especially with our younger students. I can't wait to simplify my writing conferences and just talk with the student to see how it's going and have the student come up with 1 thing they want to work on. I feel like if they are able to come up with this one thing that they are more likely to remember it and want to implement it in the future. ]]> 2019-10-10 01:04:26 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/395917794 Take Aways rachelfreund https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/396702665 I love the idea of simply asking students, "How's it going?" in regards to their writing. I like that he gave examples of ways that writing conferences can become side tracked. I agree that often students will want to tell you about the topic they are writing about and not the writing strategies they are using or struggling to use. Knowing this, teachers can prepare ahead of time for how to tackle those situations to guide the conversation back to student writing.]]> 2019-10-11 14:23:09 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/396702665 Reflections rachelfreund https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/396704478 I love the idea of student feedback to the teacher. When I am conferencing with students I am leading the conversation and I am telling students how to improve their writing. I always try to give them a star and a wish when we are meeting. I like how Carl emphasized the importance of asking students for their feedback. Moving forward I am going to try this and i bet I will get to know my students better as writers.]]> 2019-10-11 14:25:47 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/396704478 Applications rachelfreund https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/396706142 I am going to try some of his strategies out when conferencing with students. I am going to start by asking them "How's it going?" I am going to give them plenty of wait time. I also am going to focus on one strategy or aspect of their writing during that conference. It is so easy to get carried away and give students a couple of things to work on. I am going to also keep in mind Jennifer Serrvallo's goals. I think choosing one of those goals to focus on during a conference would really help me stay "on topic" and make for a meaningful writing conference.]]> 2019-10-11 14:28:16 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/396706142 Reflections margaretdobbeck https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/397030109 After listening to this podcast, I actually felt quite validated in my own writing conferences!  The anecdotal note sheet that I use during my  writing conferences includes writing things that are going well and then next steps/areas of growth, which seems to follow the same type of format that he was speaking of in the podcast.  Start with how’s it going, what’s going well? Then diving into an area of growth.  I try to keep my conferences really simple, especially because I’m conferencing with kindergarten students, so just being able to provide them with one next step or one strategy/skill will allow their writing repertoires to grow!  I do think that I will be trying to encourage my students to do more talking during these conferences than I have been so far though!]]> 2019-10-12 20:30:27 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/397030109 Take Aways margaretdobbeck https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/397030367 One thing I really enjoyed about this podcast was how he was saying feedback doesn’t just come from the teacher, but from the students as well. I feel like during my own writing conferences I tend to do a lot of the talking, but I would like to try and allow my students to take more ownership of their conferences by asking more questions that will prompt them to lead conversations rather than me.  Ultimately, I feel that this will allow my students to take more ownership of their writing abilities and goals that they set towards becoming stronger and more confident writers.]]> 2019-10-12 20:33:17 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/397030367 Applications margaretdobbeck https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/397030612 Next week as I conference with my students during writing time, I plan to start with more of an open ended question like he said in the podcast and then provide my students with wait time.  I’m hoping that by taking these two steps at the beginning of the conference, my students and I will be able to have a more meaningful conversation about their writing!]]> 2019-10-12 20:36:09 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/397030612 staceyhauck https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/397057193 This came at the perfect time, at conferences we spoke at length about improving students' writing abilities and we have talked as a team about how to best support students with their writing goals and how to provide meaningful feedback. This is conjunction with the writing strategies book has us on a great path to reach all our learners. ]]> 2019-10-13 02:48:43 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/397057193 staceyhauck https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/397057606 I loved the phrase "writer to writer talk." I think it's so important to have students view themselves as writers. Starting with "how's it going" is such a great way to open up the lines of communication and help move the writers along on their road. This made writing conferences so attainable and less daunting. ]]> 2019-10-13 02:55:00 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/397057606 staceyhauck https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/397057802 I loved how the feedback will truly be used. I have been learning a lot about successful or PD that has the most impact. The idea of having the student writers giving feedback on what they need help with from the teacher writer and then putting that skill into action right away reminds me of the coaching cycle and how much more impactful that is than just reading feedback and not asking them to put it into play right away. ]]> 2019-10-13 02:58:09 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/397057802 I enjoyed revisiting the importance of conferring with writers. It was helpful to remember the importance of wait time- it shifts responsibility to students and tells them that we value their thoughts as writers. Mr. Anderson also discussed that the purpose of the conference is to have a writer-to-writer conversation- not to "fix" a piece of writing. A take away was to take a teaching approach to conferring opposed to fixing. christinejackson1 https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/397509177 2019-10-14 16:28:52 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/397509177 I would love to shift my guided writing groups to be more student-directed. I often approach the group with a plan in mind and a strategy to teach. I would like to move to the approach of starting with "How's it going" and allowing the students to give me feedback of what is going well with their writing and identifying areas they need assistance. christinejackson1 https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/397513812 2019-10-14 16:37:42 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/397513812 After listening to this podcast, I am viewing my role more as a "mentor writer" as Carl described it. In order for my students to grow as writers (not just assignment completers) I need to elicit more feedback from them and allow them to reflect more on their own writing. christinejackson1 https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/397515158 2019-10-14 16:40:30 UTC https://padlet.com/sd54/kg8lo6xi6ixi/wish/397515158