Manage

Another major aspect in the practice of peer conferencing is management. There are certain features that I have found to be important to establish in order to help the students and teacher manage the peer conferencing experience.

As discussed in the planning portion, the students generate rubrics and lists of criteria that name the characteristics of each type of writing. These rubrics and criteria also provides the students with a common language so that they can articulate their feedback more effectively in their discussions. Shared language makes it easier for them to have a conversation as they are better able to describe their thoughts about the piece. For instance, when a student refers to a “fat question” they understand that this means that they are looking for a question that is more than just a yes or no question. They understand that a "fat question" will sometimes have more than one answer and will usually not be answered until the end of the text. These two little words serve as descriptors for a bigger idea and the students are able to use this with one another to communicate their thoughts. As you can imagine, it is quite helpful for the students to share a common language in order to gain more descriptive and focused feedback.

Rubrics and checklists also help the students to stay focused on what they are looking for in each piece. These structures help students to pick out essential items that will aide them in their search for feedback to give to their peer. I have also developed feedback sheets where they can jot down their ideas. These feedback sheets contain essential questions connected to the particular unit. These questions help those giving the feedback to push their thinking and focus their feedback. It also gives the students a place to record their ideas so that they can easily communicate their thoughts verbally. I do think that composed questions can be too prescriptive, and some of the children have voiced this concern, so I try to remain mindful of that. In reaction to that I have attempted to create questions that are fairly open-ended. The sheets are also structured to give the students room to create their own responses regardless of the questions that the teacher or student has generated.

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