student led conferences Archives

Every Kid Is Worth a Conversation

Dear Upper School Families, On Wednesday, October 25, all students in Grades 9-12 are invited to lead a 25-minute conference with their advisor and parent(s). Students will share their goals, present demonstrations of learning, identify curiosities and strengths, and seek feedback to support and challenge their progress. Through this experience, we desire students to: Take ownership of their learning Develop deeper relationships between advisor and parent(s) Demonstrate skills of communication, reflection, and feedback Discover the value of: setting a goal sharing specific demonstrations of learning deep learning beyond alpha-numeric grades student choice and the pursuit of curiosities through iProject measuring […]

Students Take the Lead – Spring 2016

Students Take the Lead – Spring 2016 On Wednesday, February 17, students took the lead for the second time this year with student led conferences. In the fall, students shared their goals with parents and teachers. This time, students ran the show from start to finish. Introducing parents and teachers to one another, the students showcased 5 demonstrations chosen from their e-portfolios.

eportfolio / Learning / student led conferences Posted on: November 11, 2015

Learning Transcends School

Learning Transcends School Do you believe learning happens only at school? Probably not. Yet somehow, we act like it’s true. It’s like the matrix – a kind of false sense of reality. It’s similar to “God is experienced only at church.” Hogwash. God is everywhere. And learning happens everywhere, too. For years, we have conditioned them that learning occurs in specific subjects, in specific rooms, at specific times, in specific desks. If there isn’t a grade attached to it, they may not be interested. Such conditioning limits the possibilities of learning and metacognition. This week, we challenged students to discuss […]

Learning Measures / student led conferences / XLR8 Summer Grants Posted on: August 31, 2015September 19, 2015

Launching Student Led Conferences

Launching Student Led Conferences One of our major initiatives, Student Led Conferences, is about to debut. In order to prepare, conference mentors will meet with their mentees this week instead of Advisory. The purpose of the second meeting is two-fold… 1) Cultivate deeper relationships with your mentees (get to know them well) 2) Coach them in revising their 2 goals (1 academic, 1 personal). Try SMART goals OR challenge them to pose their goals as questions (How might I {action} in order to {significant impact}? To truly make this debut a success, mentors and students will meet a total of […]