Student-Led Conferences and Digital Portfolios

     I am in love with the concept of student-led conferences! A student-led conference is basically just a parent conference that is led by the student. However, it is the teacher’s responsibility to guide the student through the conference. I believe parents love the idea of their child showing them their progress throughout the school year. A student-led conference gives students responsibility, promotes critical thinking, independence, and improves presentation skills. I can only imagine how much better my presentation skills would be today if I had the foundation that a student-led conference provides.  Another tool that I am in love with is a digital portfolio. A digital portfolio is a continuous collection of a student's performance on a digital device. Portfolios not only make learning more accessible, but they also show student growth over a long period of time. I plan to use both student-led conferences and digital portfolios in my classroom when hosting parent conferences. I believe parents will be impressed to watch their child present their growth over the school year themselves. Both student-led conferences and digital portfolios are a creative way to let students collaborate and communicate with their guardians. I cannot wait to jump on board and use these awesome ideas in my classroom!