{"id":8875,"date":"2017-10-10T05:48:32","date_gmt":"2017-10-09T20:48:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ibpsych.themantic-education.com\/?p=8875"},"modified":"2017-10-10T05:48:32","modified_gmt":"2017-10-09T20:48:32","slug":"for-teachers-pt-conferences-made-easy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2017\/10\/10\/for-teachers-pt-conferences-made-easy\/","title":{"rendered":"For Teachers: PT Conferences Made-Easy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday we had Parent-Teacher (PT) conferences at school and I thought I’d share a few things that made for smooth sailing and an enjoyable day for me. We only have ten minutes per interview, so I’ll share how I managed to communicate a whole lot in that short time.<\/p>\n

New teachers will probably find this a lot more helpful than the “old hands,” as will those using the teacher support packs. I remember getting very nervous during my first PT conferences, so I’m hoping some tips here will be helpful.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Phase 1: What we’re doing…<\/h3>\n

I give a short talk about the unit we’re currently working on, but instead of going into the specifics that have little context for parents, I give the summary in terms of real life applications. For example, when talking about PTSD I explain that “…we’re looking at the effects of stress on our memory and the brain. But more than that we’re also learning about how our thinking can influence the effects of stress, in that it can make it worse or it can make it better, so that hopefully (student’s name) will learn that it’s not just about what happens in our life that could cause stress, it’s always how we deal with it, which I think is a pretty good thing for a teenager to learn.”<\/em><\/p>\n

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Phase 2: How we’re doing it…<\/h3>\n

I then bust out the student workbook for that unit and explain the general lesson structure, but again without going into specifics. I simply say that “…each lesson has three questions that I expect (name) to be able to answer.” <\/em>I use the three levels of learning diagram (see below) to help me explain these questions.<\/p>\n

Some parents love the fact that they can use the questions in the workbook to quiz their own child each night (their kids are less impressed with this).\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I also show how each lesson has a guiding question that I expect students to be able to answer and if it’s not completed, it should be done for homework. So the parent knows that if they want to check their child’s homework all they have to do is say “show me your answer to today’s psych’ question.”<\/p>\n

I then show how all the assessment materials that are needed are also in the workbook and how success in the tests is based on hard work: if they do the preparation and practices they will be well-prepared to succeed.<\/p>\n

Here’s an extract from the PTSD workbook…<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"workbook

I show parents the workbook and how they can use it to check-up on progress at home.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Phase 3: Where the student’s at…<\/h3>\n

Now the context for the course, lessons, and how we’re working in class is set, I can provide specific and meaningful feedback to the parent about what level their kid is generally working at.<\/p>\n

I keep track in a printed spreadsheet about which students show me their workbooks in each lesson and I can use this to feedback to the parents. I also use the image below to help give the parent some context of where their child is at.\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n