Four Obstacles That Bog Down Writing Conferences (and Strategies for Overcoming Them)

The Big Picture: Spring is the perfect time to refine our teaching practices. When thinking about writing instruction, this might come in identifying what might be bogging down our teaching and trying some slight shifts to make the work more impactful and efficient.

When I consider my teaching, conferring is a skill that always needs improvement. From managing time to being focused, conferring requires my most intentional teaching skills. As I’ve learned and grown in both teaching and coaching, I’ve discovered several things that bog down my conferences–and learned some easy-to-implement strategies for each to make conferring run more smoothly.

Obstacle #1: Tackling Too Much

I tend to want to “fix it all.” If I look around my home and see a mess, I find myself trying to simultaneously pick up clutter, empty the dishwasher, fold laundry, and pack lunches for the next day. The truth is, though, that this doesn’t work. I’m not efficient, I’m not focused, and I never develop a system to make the work more effective.

Writing conferences are similar. If I sit down with a child and focus on letter formation, spacing, complete sentences, and word choice all in the same session, I may be guiding the writing but I’m definitely not teaching.

Try This: Limit the focus of a conference on just one thing to support implementation and transfer. Look for a skill a student is trying or approximating, provide feedback on what they have done well, and lift their work to the next level of difficulty.

Obstacle #2: Implementing All of the Writing At the Table

Though it seems counterintuitive to not engage a student in writing while they meet with me, it’s often better to set them up to write after they have left the meeting space. Unless the focus of the conference is on encoding or conventions (or the student has historically not applied their learning after a conference), my teaching is likely centered around composing a message–which involves generating a message with clarity, organization, and strong word choice. This leads me to shift so that when I’m working on planning, drafting, or revision, most of the time the student engages in oral rehearsal to set up for independent work.

Try This: When asking a student to apply the skill I’m teaching, I ask them to tell me–multiple times–what they plan to draft or add to their writing (oral rehearsal). When I’m sure they know what they want to say, I send them off to write independently, making sure to follow up later in the workshop (or the next day) to see that they have applied their learning. This not only leads to greater independence and transfer for the student but also allows time for additional conferences. As a modification for students who need some support, the student may also stay at the table close to me while I meet with other kids. This establishes proximity while also supporting some independence.

Obstacle #3: Going In Underprepared

Writing conferences are, by their very nature, authentic and in-the-moment. However, even though planning out every moment is impossible without seeing a student’s writing, being prepared for various outcomes will keep conferences running smoothly.

Try This: For each unit, choose one or two mentor texts (picture book, essay, etc.), exemplar texts (models of the writing that students are working to produce), and tools (anchor charts, checklists, etc.) as teaching tools. Mark them up with possible teaching points and have them ready to pull into a wide range of conferences.

Obstacle #4: Repeating a Conference Multiple Times

It usually begins authentically and unintentionally, but more than once I have caught myself having the same conference with multiple students on the same day. Even though each student benefits from the personalized one-on-one time, repeating conferences is not the most efficient way to have an impact during the workshop.

Try This: Anticipate possible challenges in a unit or lesson ahead of time (this is a great practice to engage in with a team!). Be on the lookout for students who need support in these areas as you walk around the classroom each day. Once you notice a few students who need support, pull them in a small group to teach or reinforce the skill rather than meeting with them one-on-one. Not only will this keep the workshop moving, but students will also benefit from working beside and learning from classmates.

The Bottom Line: Just like Stumbling Block #1, we also have to be careful not to tackle too many things at one time. If your workshop feels like it’s getting bogged down and you’re looking for some simple shifts before the end of the school year, try choosing one stumbling block or strategy as an area of focus to revive your workshop and help things run more smoothly.