Practical Tips on Facilitating Parent-Teacher Conferences By:

TANYA S. COSTEROS,

Conducting successful parent-teacher conferences may increase family participation in your classroom and assist you, your learners, and your school in achieving great outcomes.

A parent-teacher conference is a great chance to share academic progress and growth based on classroom observations, testing data, assessments, portfolios, and assignments; learn from parents or guardians so you can better understand learners’ strengths, needs, behaviors, and learning styles; and Explore enrichment or intervention strategies to help students learn; discuss concerns that may be impeding learners’ learning and progress. While learning should be the primary emphasis of parent-teacher conferences, it is also vital to highlight issues that influence learning, such as learners’ behavioral and social development. Here are some pointers for making the most of your conferences:

Make your atmosphere friendly. Make your classroom more appealing by exhibiting learner work. If parents must accompany their kid or other siblings, provide a separate room with puzzles, games, and workbooks. Keep paper and pencils on hand so that parents may take notes.

Begin with the positive. When you begin the talk, remind parents that the purpose of this meeting is to provide information regarding their child’s academic achievement and growth, as well as how their child interacts in the school environment. All parents are pleased with their children and want to hear about their child’s strengths and struggles, so make sure to mention both — but begin with the positives.

Discuss progress and growth. Use demonstrative work samples or testing results to inform parents about their child’s aptitude or grade levels in various academic subjects. Many parents want to hear how their children compare to their peers, but remember that you’re talking about their child’s instructional levels, not their grades. However, you should advise them about grade-level expectations and how the learner performs in that context. It’s too easy for talks to stray off-topic during conferences, so keep every discussion focused on learning and ways to assist the student’s education.

Ask questions and pay attention. Inquire with parents or guardians about their children’s strengths, needs, and learning styles, as well as their ambitions and dreams for them.

Make a strategy. Make ideas for activities and ways to help learners know at home. Spend the meeting’s final few minutes discussing your specific goals for the learner. Take note of the techniques you’ll employ, how long you’ll employ them for, and when you’ll next connect with parents.