Final Thoughts
Over the course of these last few months I have learned a lot about peer conferencing and how to make it a more effective practice in our classroom. I think that I have seen the necessity for modeling and have begun to realize that I need to slow down and focus my teaching so that I may teach the students in a deeper, more meaningful way. In the past I have asked too much of my students without showing them specifically what was expected. This created a frustration on my part and I was unable to ease that frustration until I started to model these practices. It seems like such a simple idea, but it took me a while to catch on!
I also think that the structures that are involved are quite important. The rubrics, feedback sheets, checklists, etc have all worked to help the children focus and give better feedback to one another. I also think that time is essential. It is obvious to me that I need to permit time to carry out these practices. I also find that timing is important in that feedback should be given, a majority of the time, almost immediately. If there is a day in between a student reading a piece and jotting down feedback the conversation that they have the next day is not as rich as it would have been had them met immediately following the completion of their written feedback. Consequently, it may be important for some children to have a day away from the material in order to reflect more deeply, especially if it is dense material that they are reviewing.
I have also been thinking about conducting a unit at the beginning of the year dedicated to identifying and modeling the behaviors that characterize good peer conferencing. My initial thought is that this unit would last for a week or two. We would create a rubric for peer conferencing behaviors and have the children self-assess their behavior. We would talk about what a good conversation looks like, why we need to give on another feedback, how to speak to one another when giving feedback, etc. This class already had a good idea of characteristics of good conversations and knew how to treat each other well. They have all been together for two years as we looped from third to fourth grade together. I think that the time spent together, as well as the good mixture of personalities, have worked to create a safe atmosphere for this type of work.
Ultimately, what I have learned from this experience is that I can provide structure and modeling but I have to let go and let the students lead their way through the peer conference. It is important for me to take a step back and allow them to lead. Of course, there are times for me to jump in and revisit a part of the peer conference that I can teach into, but I must leave a space for the children to start to negotiate their way through their conversations. It is surprising how much I have learned from them when I have let them take the lead. It is also important for me to note that teaching is a series of choices and I must take my cues from my students.