Conducting Group Conferences
Purpose: Sometimes you might want to try conducting group conferences with two or more students. This can make the conference week—which always seems long and draining—easier on you as well as reinforce the workshop ethos of your composition classes. The goal for this style of conferencing is for students to engage in collaborative learning, by helping each other develop their papers. In this scenario the instructor should think of themselves as a Panel Chair for an academic conference; that is you want to facilitate the dialogue between both students and the their work. This style of conferencing is designed to help with stamina, which can become an issue for the instructor throughout the conference week. This exercise shifts the center of gravity in the conference away from the instructor and onto the students.
Description: Students have a tendency to write stories or analytical papers that end up connecting to the work of their peers. The purpose of group conferencing is to get those students together who seem to be writing in the same genre or on the same topic. In class, students tend to workshop with their friends (if you do not assign groups); assigned group conferencing can broaden the student’s engagement with other students in the class. As you conduct your group conferences students should be sharing with each other about the issues/problems they have confronted while writing their essay. The teacher’s job should be to help students see the connections between the group member’s papers; also, the instructor will want to get the group to work through the problems that they are having with their paper. For this reason, you'll want to read papers and make extensive notes before the conference.
Suggested Time: 10 minutes for each student in the group. For example, 3 students equals a 30-minute conference.
Before Conferences: Although group conferencing can be easier on the instructor during the conference week, it does require some preliminary work before conferences begin. You will want students to submit drafts of their papers on Blackboard (or whatever course site you use) so that you can begin to see the connections between student papers. Then you’ll want to decide on exactly how many students you want and then assign groups preferably through your course website or Blackboard. Stipulate that each member must become familiarized with the other members’ drafts. Each student should bring a list of three issues/questions that they want to address during the conference. Students should also bring at least three comments for each of the other group members. You will want students to submit their questions/issues to you before the group conference. Be sure to stipulate that the students bring a copy of their papers to the conference.
On the Day of the Conference: The instructor’s job is to facilitate the dialogue between students, and to answer any technical writing questions that arise. Again, think of your job as a conference panel chair. You will want to mention the ways in which you see the papers connecting, and point out how the differences in how the students have approached their topic/story. Hopefully, your comments will begin to start a dialogue; if not, then you need to start directing questions to the individual members. You should try to tailor your first round of questions to how the students see their own work in relation to other group members. Once you’ve done this, then you will want the students to begin to share the questions that they have brought with them. Try to get the students to direct their questions to the other group members. For the rest of the conference, the instructor will want to keep the conversation going as well as answer the questions that stump the group.
Procedure:
Instructor should make an opening remark about how the student papers speak to each other and the common problems that he/she identified when reading the drafts.
After opening remarks, the instructor should ask the students to begin discussing how they see their papers progressing. This will be a time in which the students will share how their papers differ from each other as well as connect. The instructor needs to then get the students into a dialogue that helps the group members to develop their paper’s focus.
As soon as it’s feasible the instructor should get the students to share their questions and comments that they have brought with them.
As the group members talk, the instructor should try to formulate student responses and questions in helpful ways. For instance, if a student suggests a way that another group member can improve their work, instructor should ask: How does your suggestion help? Why should the student implement your suggestion? What’s the benefit of considering your approach?
At the end of the conference the instructor should review the ground that the group covered as well as clearly explain what the student needs to work on and why.