FROM THE DESK OF THE WRITING SPECIALIST Close Encounters of the Word Kind: Focus and Flexibility in Student Conferences DOWNLOAD PDF

FROM THE DESK OF THE WRITING SPECIALIST

Close Encounters of the Word Kind: Focus and Flexibility in Student Conferences
by Mary Barnard Ray & Claudia M. Carlos

Have you ever realized, halfway through a lengthy explanation of organization in the tenth student conference of the day, that you have no idea why you started this explanation, and no clear sense of what it has to do with the passage in front of you at the moment? If so, be not ashamed. You are not alone. Few teachers can maintain the energy and attention needed without having occasional lapses.

Nevertheless, each student is unique and deserves the individual attention that a conference can provide. To maintain your attention, you need a simple yet organized approach for each conference. That need is the motivation behind the approach we use, which can be summed up in one phrase: focus and flexibility.

Focus and flexibility are clear enough concepts, but how these concepts play out in real conferences is fairly complex, as the following conference scenarios illustrate. We have included five excerpts from sample conferences, showing the techniques that do and do not achieve the desired results. The samples do not include a perfect conference, however, because we do not believe perfection is attainable in so human an endeavor as a conference.

In the following scenario, the instructor wants to be open and flexible. She wants to allow for spontaneity so both she and the student feel comfortable. How well does she accomplish this goal? In these scenarios, the teacher’s words are in bold typeface, the students’ in regular. Their thoughts are in italics.

Scenario #1

Instructor: Let’s see what I wrote on your paper … hmm, well, I wrote something about conciseness here.… But you’ve read the comments, so what are your questions?

Student thinks: I ‘m getting nervous, What does she expect me to say? I wish she’d told me that I was supposed to come with questions, Now she’s going to think I’m not putting in any effort.

Student: Umm … well, I’m trying to remember where I had questions, I think it was on page 2; no page 5. I guess I can’t find where it was.

Although allowing the student flexibility may sometimes help achieve a more relaxed atmosphere, it only increases the tension if the student feels unsure about the teacher’s expectations or the purpose of the conference. To avoid this problem, the instructor might tell the student beforehand that the student will set the conference agenda. This prepares the student for being responsible for the opening focus of the conference. But even this preparation does not guarantee success, as the following sample illustrates.

Scenario #2

Instructor: As I said in class, this conference is really an opportunity for you to raise any questions you have. So let’s begin with your questions.

Student: Thanks, I have lots of them, For starters, when you said I should put a comma here, why is that?

Instructor thinks: Uh oh, This isn’t a major problem in this paper. I hope I can get through this question quickly.

Instructor: That comma is needed because you have an introductory clause there, so you need to distinguish that phrase from the main sentence.

Student: Oh, OK. And another question, on page 7, when you corrected me when I use an “‘s” at the end of Jones. So, what is the rule on that, and why?

Student thinks: I’m so glad he’s answering all my questions. My only real problems are just with punctuation. Once I have these rules down, I’ll be set.

This conference has a focus, but the teacher is discovering that it does not fit his goals. As a result, he becomes uncomfortable with the degeree of flexibility he has. Being focused means identifying the boundaries of your flexibility. The instructor needs to realize that sometimes certain points need to be covered, even though the instructor still wants to reserve time for the student’s questions.

Let’s look at another approach that attempts to balance focus and flexibility.

Scenario #3

Instructor: In this conference, I’d like to talk about organization, but this is also your opportunity to raise any questions you have.

Student: Good. I have lots of questions. First, when you said I should put a semicolon here, why is that?

Instructor: Here you are dividing two clauses that could each be sentences, so you need a semicolon instead of a comma. Have you checked the manual on semicolons?

Student: No, not yet.

Instructor: Try reading that, and let me know if it doesn’t help you.

Student: OK. Now, I have another question about the use of the possessive apostrophe....

Instructor: Actually, let’s start with some of the more important problems first. I really need to make sure you understand the comments on organization, because that’s what is going to be more important to the overall quality of the rewrite. So, although I don’t want to ignore your questions, let’s set punctuation aside for a while and look at organization. Do you have any questions about those comments?

When you as an instructor explain why you’re not answering, most students will understand and adjust their focus to your topic, especially when they realize that you are focusing on what is most important for improving the paper. If a student persists with his or her question, you may find that you need to keep answering the questions, because you cannot address your concerns until the student is ready to listen.

Thus, focusing on your key points is useful, but so is limiting those points to two or three. Conference time is limited and your control over the conference is even further limited. You need to allow for the student’s agenda, even though you have a full agenda of your own.

For example, in the next scenario, the teacher wants to focus on several key writing concerns in the student’s paper. This teacher has no problem focusing the conference. But another problem appears.

Scenario #4

Instructor: What I’d like to do is talk about what I think are the major things you need to look at in your rewrite. As I wrote in my summary of comments at the end of your paper, the concise wording is very good throughout, with the exception of one or two spots.

So, the major questions we need to discuss are how you can make the reasoning more thorough and the organization clearer. Beginning with thoroughness, let’s look first at page six. Now here’s an example of where you begin with a focused topic sentence, but then your reasoning doesn’t seem to follow through. So right here where you wrote about policy, it seemed that another sentence was missing.

What you need then is a sentence that explains how you get to this final conclusion in the fifth sentence. It seems to me that you were thinking that policy was just another reason why the court decided the way it did. If you go back to your topic sentence, you can see that, so please note how I’ve suggested that you rewrite this sentence.

Moving on to organizational concerns...

Student thinks: He seems like he’s got a lot of ideas for me but I wish he would let me ask a question, What was my question again, anyway? A few minutes ago I distinctly remembered having one.…

This instructor is indeed making his points, but he is not necessarily communicating with the students. Just because the instructor has said the words does not mean the student has heard and absorbed them. Thus, along with focusing the conference, an instructor must listen to and accommodate the student. Without some flexibility, it is difficult to engage the student.

Let’s see how interjecting a little flexibility helps.

Scenario #5

Instructor: As I wrote in my summary comments, the major questions we need to discuss are the thoroughness of the reasoning and organization. But before we do that, do you have any questions?

Student: Not just yet.

Instructor: OK then, first of all, good job on keeping the wording concise. Student: Thank you. I really worked on that. Instructor: I think now what you’ll want to look at is how you could improve the reasoning. At the end of the last paragraph on page four, how does this last sentence connect with the previous one?

Student: Hmm. What was I thinking? Oh yes, well it was because I thought I needed to mention policy too.

Instructor: Yes, but how does that policy relate to the idea in the previous sentence? You may want to go back to your topic sentence. What is the main idea here?

By asking frequent questions, rather than speaking for long stretches, the instructor keeps the student involved. She also gains an opportunity to monitor the student’s understanding of her points. Rather than focusing her attention and the student’s on what she is saying, she is focusing on what the student is thinking.

Let’s follow this conference a little further.

Scenario #5, continued

Student: I thought the policy was just another reason why the court held the way it did.

Instructor: OK, that makes sense. Now try telling that to your reader.

Student: You mean write it?

Instructor: Yes. Here’s a pen. Try adding that logical transition right now while you have it in mind.

The instructor has now led the student from seeing the problem into actually beginning to write the solution. With her own revision noted on the draft, the student is much more likely to remember and understand the substance of her conference with the instructor. Thus, although the instructor may not have covered many points, she has indeed taught the student something.

And the student knows it. That is what conferences are about: having the student learn through a private discussion with the teacher.

Real life is, of course, less predictable and messier than these scenarios. Nevertheless, real conferences are often variations on familiar themes, and understanding those themes helps you guide the conference effectively. For us, the two themes that we find most useful are the ones we have discussed here.

In summary, to maintain a balance of focus and flexibility, you as an instructor must do two things. First focus on only one or two objectives for each conference. You must keep your objectives limited in number because conference time is limited and the portion of that time that you can control is even more limited. You cannot discuss all the points you made in your written comments, and you may not be able to address all the student’s questions. So focus first on the points you must cover. Identifying a specific focus before the conference or in the first minute enables you to accomplish something during that conference, and to know what you have accomplished.

Second, be flexible. You are not the sole determiner of the conference’s agenda; the student has questions and concerns and often these do not address the points you believe needs to be the focus of the conference. Even if the student is focusing on minor points, address those concerns somehow. Until the student has satisfactory answers to those questions, he or she will not be ready to listen to your agenda anyway.