Regis University EDRG 697 January 2016 Proposed Topic: Utilizing student-teacher conferences to increase writing achievement in grades K-5

1. +
Haley Keeling
Capstone Proposal
Regis University
EDRG 697

2. + Proposed Topic:
Utilizing student-teacher conferences to increase writing
achievement in grades K-5
Conferences provide teachers with the opportunity to empower student
writers by building on their strengths and providing individualized
teaching points. Teachers can use information gleaned from these
meaningful one-on-one interactions to guide future writing instruction
and to monitor growth. An issue for many teachers today is that
conferring with students feels uncomfortable or unproductive.
Fortunately, Ralph Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi suggest that,
“conferring with students is a skill that we can all learn” (2001 p. 49). By
understanding the best practices of conferring, teachers will be able to
guide young writers in a positive way through meaningful and dynamic
dialogue. In my opinion, conferring is a high yield skill that all teachers
of writing should practice in order to enhance the writing of their
students.
Topic Summary:

3. + Guiding Questions:
 Which conferring strategies are supported with research?
 How does conferring impact student progress in writing?
 How can teachers differentiate writing instruction through
conferring?
 What record keeping methods are effective during conferences
and how can information collected be used to drive instruction?
 How can teachers determine conferring needs in the
classroom?

4. +
 “Conferring can give us the force that makes our mini-lessons,
curriculum development, assessment and everything else more
powerful. It gives us an endless resource of teaching wisdom,
and endless source of accountability, a system of checks and
balances and it gives us laughter and human connection- the
understanding of our children that gives spirit to our teaching”
(Calkins 2005, p. 6).

5. + Project Idea
 I would like to create a conferring reference guide to increase
personalization and effectiveness of student-teacher writing
conferences in elementary classrooms.
 The purpose of this reference guide will be to assist teachers in
determining conferring needs in the classroom, provide research
based conferencing strategies and also to provide easily
accessible, student friendly materials to utilize directly with
students. The guide will also include record keeping systems to
track student growth and specific ways to differentiate conferring
conversations for each writer.
 This guide will be made available electronically to teachers on
my school’s shared “Google Drive.” I envision this tool being
most effective in paper form by a teacher’s side while
conferencing for quick reference.

6. + On a Personal Note…
 Writing is a passion of mine and I love to help my students find
joy in writing as well. I have fond memories of expressing
myself through writing throughout my elementary school years
and I also remember having a distinct feeling of support and
encouragement from my teachers. I am looking forward to
expanding and improving my conferring practices to empower
student writers, build connections with my students and also to
help students find their own unique styles and personalities as
writers.

7. + Positive Impact
 I envision this reference guide as being a useful, portable tool
that will strengthen my writing instruction. When shared with my
peers, I feel that this tool will have a positive impact on the
teaching community at my school as it will give teachers an
easily accessible reference point for practical, research based
information on conferencing. While enhancing student writing
through more effective conferring may not be at the forefront of
all teachers’ minds, having a reference guide available may
inspire teachers to take a look and apply a few new ideas to
their current conferring practices.

8. + References:
 Calkins, L., Hartman, A., & White, Z. (2005). One to One: The
Art of Conferring with Young Writers. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
 Fletcher, R. & Portalupi, J. (2001). Writing Workshop: The
Essential Guide. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.