Genius Hour 20 Day Challenge - Day 17: Conferring

Day 17: Conferring

Conferring is something that should be happening each session. Nothing is more valuable than just having a conversation with students to understand how to best meet their needs. Conferring is pretty informal and on an as-needed basis for me, but this form helps me keep records and communicate with parents. At this point students have been researching for quite some time and are...

After students think they have finished their research and have written a paragraph answering their question, we have them put a red cup on top. 

Remember this?

This gives a visual cue to us that they are ready to be checked. (Even though they have a red cup on top at this point, we do have them give each other peer feedback on our Google Site.)

When they get "checked," we meet with them to go over their paragraphs and make sure that they can answer all of these questions:

• Have you answered your question?
• Are there any holes in your research?
• How do you plan on sharing your information? 
• Who/What would be the best audience?
• Do you have any other questions?

Throughout the process, they get A LOT of feedback from their peers and from their teacher. This final conference allows us to provide constructive feedback (as well as lots of positive feedback for all of their hard work!) to push students to make their projects even stronger. 

This step is also really important for your friends who are like this:

Everyone has that student or two who is very reserved and prefers not to say much. THIS STEP IS FOR THOSE STUDENTS. When students get reassurance from their peers and teachers that they worked hard and did a fantastic job, they start to step out of their shells a little more. I cannot tell you how empowering Genius Hour is for these students. By giving them the choice in what they research AND how they research it, as well as the space/time to share what they learned, they feel more confident. You will notice a BIG difference, especially for these students when they get ready to share what they learned. We have several students who would get incredibly nervous when asked to give a presentation for a different subject but who absolutely nailed it when they were given the space to share their passions.