Irish Principal Blog

Conferring September 21, 2010

I am beginning an in-depth study of conferring.  Patrick Allen states, “Conferring is a keystone of effective instruction.  Without conferring, my reader’s workshop flounders.”  To increase my understanding of conferring I’m reading Patrick Allen’s book, ‘Conferring:  The Keystone of Reader’s Workshop’, I’m collaborating with colleagues and I’m practicing conferring with students.  While reading this week I found a passage that states some benefits of conferring..

“… conferring can and should be considered a nonnegotiable routine in our classrooms.  Conferring provides an opportunity for my students and me to discuss and explore ideas together — everything from word-level strategies used to uncover the meaning of unfamiliar words to understanding how sensory images can deepen a reader’s understanding of text.  Conferring helps me uncover a reader’s learning in a managebale, thoughtful way while leading to documentable data…  conferring helps me find out new things about the reader and provides an intimate opporutnity for a shared “coming to know”— everything from the variety of texts a student chooses to his or her burgeoning understanding of how the life cycle works during a read of nonfiction.  Conferring naturally becomes a thinking routine that is valued and appreciated by both my students and me.”  Patrick Allen — ‘Conferring:  The Keystone of Reader’s Workshop’ (Chapter 2)