TWIS considers the relationship between students’ families and the school to be of paramount importance. April 1st and 2nd happened to be our school’s Student-led Conference (SLC), which replaced the traditional parent-teacher conference because this time, our students were in charge!
It took a few weeks of preparation for students as they had to go through their collection of class tasks, homework, formative and summative assessments then reflect on these learning experiences. Their preparation truly paid off! It was an emotional moment for most parents and teachers as students spoke confidently of their achievements and shared an honest appraisal of their performance at school.
During the conference, the students explained their progress by talking about their successes, challenges and learning targets. For the PYP, students shared their progress by leading their families through a portfolio of best working samples or showing specific tasks with the homeroom and single-subject teachers.
While our MYP students shared their academic successes and challenges through a slideshow presentation. Students justified their progress by referencing specific assignments that showed their learning growth or attainment of some set learning targets. They also completed self-evaluations of their performance in each class and shared them with their families.
Students are held accountable for their progress when they explain areas of strengths and those in need of improvement. The tone of the conference was very positive with a focus on what can be done to ensure further success in the future. Through SLCs we boost our students’ confidence and encourage them to take responsibility and ownership for their learning. It has been a great SLC experience for TWIS families!
Here’s what some of our parents shared:
