Student Led Conferencing 

Mrs Melissa Bell

What is student led conferencing (SLC)?

SLC is an alternative to the traditional Parent-Teacher interviews. It is an opportunity for YOU as the parent to listen to your student talk about their learning with the support of their PAC teachers. Your student is the director of the conversation, they will lead the conversation, using work samples that demonstrate areas of success and challenges across several subjects. Students have been working alongside their PAC teachers to prepare for this type of conversation over the past few weeks.

Why the move from parent-teacher meetings to SLC?

We want our students to be actively engaged in their learning and to develop new communication skills that are essential to being successful in the workplace, no matter where they gain employment. It is about empowering students to become accountable in their learning and to begin to take personal responsibility for their own academic progress. It is also crucial that all stakeholders (student, parents and school) come together to share in the learning process together. It is very powerful for students to see school and home invest in listening to them talk together about their learning.

What would a conference look like?

This year SLC will be held by Zoom. Students will lead the conversation, PAC teachers will be there to provide support and to help identify future goals. Parents will listen and ask questions about the work samples and the learning. Each conference will be allocated a 15 minute time slot and students will be prepared with a digital portfolio of work to discuss.

Our Year 10 students will be engaging in SLC as part of the transition to their selected pathway for 2022, whether that be continuing education or moving towards entering the workforce or further studies at TAFE. Students will discuss their goals and aspirations for life after compulsory education and where possible will work with parents and teachers to identify pathways to achieve these goals.

How do you as parents get involved?

Appointments are made online via SOBS. Just book an appropriate appointment with your child’s PAC teacher. Come prepared to be inspired by your child’s ability to talk about their learning with confidence. If you are unavailable during the designated week of SLC, please reach out to the PAC teachers to arrange a more suitable time for this powerful conversation.

What impacts have we seen since introducing SLC?

Students no longer passively engage in the learning exchange. Instead, they are advocating for their learning. They are proactively seeking feedback from teachers, asking for success criteria so that they have a clear understanding of how they can demonstrate their achievement of the learning outcomes, asserting their understanding of how they learn, and helping the teachers understand how best to help them learn.

Student engagement in day-to-day learning is increasing as more effectively informed teacher/student relationships are helping to ensure differentiation. Teachers consult with students, and are requesting student input into how the learning sequences can be arranged and modified.

Pastoral and Academic Care Teacher/Student/Parent relationships are enriched as communication is underpinned with a respect built from participating in a process where the student shines, where their personal voice is supported and encouraged, their challenges are strategised, and most importantly, where their learning is celebrated.