Over lunch at a middle school conference, teachers told Jack C. Berckemeyer, director of member and affiliate services of the National Middle School Association , about students who took an active role in leading the familiar parent-teacher conferences. Several aspects about student-led conferences appealed to Berckemeyer. The teacher facilitates the conference, but the student is responsible for answering parent questions and concerns about student learning. Students share with their parents what they have learned, show their parents their student portfolios, and discuss the reasons for their academic grades. Students accept personal responsibility for their academic performance.
Parents attend conferences at increased rates.
Students learn the process of self-evaluation. Students develop organizational and oral communication skills. Avis Breding, who teaches sixth grade at Jeannette Myhre School in Bismarck, North Dakota, has been involved with student-led conferences for four years. She finds that asking students to fill out forms before the conferences is very useful. In fact, she hands out three forms to students to help them evaluate their learning and prepare for the conference with their parents.