That's a lot of hyphens—not to mention a lot of personalities in one room. Probably with different ideas about how the meeting should go…and even more goals for the outcome.

Sounds kind of intense, right? After all, sometimes it can be nice to talk to a student's parents without the student around, just as it can be beneficial to discuss a student's educational progress sans parental units. And, of course, student-led conferences aren't the best bet for all students or in all situations.

But there are plenty of benefits to bringing together all three parties—the parents, the teacher, and the student—come conference time.

For one thing, involving a student in conferences can reduce the student's fear of what's being said "behind his or her back." For another, it can give the student a chance to take responsibility for his performance and be more accountable in terms of determining the future path and quality of his education.

And when you take things one step further—from simply inviting the student to attend the conference to putting the student in charge of leading the conference—even more bonuses start piling up. Not so sure? Let's tally 'em up:

Students who lead conferences with parents and teachers can

• develop oral communication skills.
• improve their organizational abilities.
• become adept in reflecting upon and analyzing their own strengths and weaknesses.
• gain a greater understanding of their personal learning preferences.
• develop a better appreciation for the roles that teacher and parents play in their education.

But obviously the role of "conference facilitator" isn't one you can just drop on your students (or anyone, for that matter) at the last minute. So let's talk making it happen.

Advance Prep

If you want to make your move to get students leading conferences with parents, you'll have to do some prep work to help get them up to the challenge.

1. Give 'em a heads up.

Yep. Just tell them.

How to do it? "So this year, you're in charge of parent-teacher conferences. Got it? Let's move on to the quadratic formula"?

Um, not so much.

First, let them know that it doesn't need to be an overwhelming task. They don't have to create elaborate presentations or memorize speeches. They'll just need to put together an outline of what they want to talk about and a few samples of their work they'd like to share.

2. Have students create a basic agenda for the conference.

To keep it simple, you can make a template for them (paper or digital) and just have each students fill in the blanks. If they'll be talking about their performance in multiple subject areas, have them jot down a thing or two they'd like to talk about for each. If you're only dealing with one content area, they can discuss it in greater depth, and, if they like, include other items such as their views on their class participation or overall effort.

As we see it in our Shmoop's eye, the form in question can have simple bullet points for each area your student may want to touch upon (i.e., math, science, language arts, attendance, classroom behavior, teamwork, overall effort, participation—any subject or topic on which students may wish to comment). That way, the students can add in details they see as important. The form can also include agenda items to allow the student's parents (and you) to ask questions and offer feedback.

So that's the content, but don't forget the…fluff. The first item on each agenda should be to welcome everyone and make introductions. And the final agenda item (aside from a reminder for the student to thank both parents and teacher for attending) can be something to the effect of future goals or plans for moving forward.

With that sort of meeting finesse, they'll be CEOs in no time.

3. Have students pick samples of their work.

After they've drafted their agendas, your students should select some examples of essays, math handouts, art projects, or whatever fits the subject to share and discuss during the conference. Looking through work may spur them to tweak their agendas, incorporating new bullet points and deleting items that no longer seem as important.

At this stage, be sure to check in with students—or have them check in with their peers—to see if everything they have on their agendas can reasonably fit into the conference time frame. If you only have 15-20 minutes, they may not have time to walk everyone through that stellar paragraph on Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH that earned your oh-so-inspiring check-plus.

In order to get a feel for how long various items will take to present or discuss, you can have students pair up and time each other with mock run-throughs to see how accurate their estimations are.

And who doesn't love a mock run-through?

4. Finalize that agenda and script it up.

Once your students feel pretty good about their plans for the conference, have them create final copies of their agendas (like, printed out or in nicer handwriting). Then place the agenda and any work to be shared in a folder, box, or cubby for easy access at conference time.

Of course, it's also possible to share the agenda, student work, and even pictures of student projects or activities digitally via a Smartboard or projector. Teacher Brent Vasicek of the Chippewa Valley school district in Michigan has his students conduct student-led conferences digitally and helps them prepare PowerPoint presentations in advance so they're ready to go when the time comes (source).

How 'bout another example? Here you go. Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School has a killer faculty handbook for its student-led conferences. Much of the material is specific to the school's structure and style, but some pieces, like the sample student script for those conferences on pages 21-23, could easily be adapted for an agenda or guide for any student-led conference, Washington or elsewhere.

5. Remind the student to have all necessary materials ready at conference time.

That means the agenda, any work being shared, pencils and paper for any note-takers, candy drops—you name it. Then, all you've got to do is sit back and let the student lead. (Isn't delegation great?)

We know it's tough, but try to resist the urge to jump in. It may take the student a minute or two to get things under control, so force yourself to be slow to intervene. If something gets skipped, sure, chime on in, but only after you've led the kiddo have the time to think through it first.

And sure, if the student is staring at you with one of those wide-eyed white-knuckle looks, you can issue a gentle reminder to simply follow the agenda—everything is there. Eventually, most students will get the hang of leading the meeting. And if all goes smoothly, even those who don't totally master the role of facilitator on the first try will likely gain some level of communication skills.

6. Thank the student for leading. Was that really so scary?

Because why not?

In addition to placing students in the driver's seat in terms of determining the course of their education—or at the very least, manning (or womanning) one set of pedals on a three-person tandem bike—student-led conferences can also help increase parental participation and investment in the process. According to "Parent turn out at student-led conferences is often higher than traditional conferences because students are so vested in the process" (source).

We all love a good vest, right?