Is Your Conferencing Helping Students Learn—or Just Helping You Monitor?

Is there clarity—for you and for your learners—about what conferencing is really about?

In too many classrooms, student–teacher conferences are dominated by the teacher, with the learner playing a largely passive role. In our work with schools, we’ve noticed that conferencing often occurs almost exclusively in literacy or numeracy lessons, and usually with the teacher leading the conversation. But is that what conferencing is meant to be?

Recently, we invited a group of educators to reflect on a time when conferencing felt meaningful or powerful—for both themselves, and their students. The stories were illuminating. These were not moments of the teacher telling the student what to do next. Instead, they were rich, two-way conversations: students felt listened to, empowered to share their thinking, and confident to take their next steps in learning.

So, the question is worth asking: Is your conferencing helping students learn—or just helping you monitor their progress?

At its best, conferencing is a focused, two-way conversation—between teacher and student, peers, or small groups—that supports learning, wellbeing, and growth through voice, choice, and ownership.

For students, conferencing can help them to:

• Set goals, plan, and monitor progress.

• Use metacognitive and critical thinking strategies.

• Develop feedback literacy (seek, give, and act on feedback).

• Build perseverance, self-regulation, and curiosity.

• Reflect on themselves as learners and communicate their progress.

  
  

For teachers, conferencing offers a powerful window into:

• What’s working, what needs adjusting, and next instructional steps.

• How students think, approach tasks, and respond to challenges.

• How students interpret and act on feedback.

• How students articulate their goals and learning needs.

• How students are progressing—and how they self-monitor.

The critical distinction is this: monitoring keeps the teacher in control; while true learning happens when responsibility is shared.

Idea 1: There is more than one way to conference

Conferencing doesn’t have to look the same every time. Expanding the repertoire allows teachers to connect with each student more consistently and meaningfully. This might include:

1. One-on-one teacher–student: personalised and focused.

2. Roaming conferences: quick check-ins during learning time. (See Figure 1)

3. Small-group conferences: students discuss together, with the teacher prompting and listening.

4. Peer conferences: students set norms, ask questions, and provide feedback to one another.

Figure 1

Each type of conferencing helps shift the dynamic from teacher-driven to shared responsibility, creating new opportunities for students to take ownership of their learning. But structure alone won’t transform the experience.

To truly move beyond monitoring, we need to rethink how we engage in these conversations and what we want them to achieve.

Idea 2: 8 ways to strengthen conferencing

1. Invite student voice into the process. Ask students: What is conferencing like for you? Why do you think we have them? What has been most helpful? What would make them better? Their insights can reshape conferences into genuine partnerships rather than compliance checkpoints.

   
   

2. Share the choice of focus. Sometimes the teacher sets the agenda; sometimes the student does. Give learners time to prepare by bringing artefacts, questions, or evidence of learning. This small shift signals trust and opens space for deeper dialogue.

   
   

3. Make it predictable and establish conferencing norms. Whether one-on-one, peer-to-peer, or small group, set clear expectations for listening, questioning, turn-taking, and giving feedback. Predictability builds safety and supports cognitive  load to focus  on  the learning. Norms build a culture of respect and ensure that conferences remain purposeful and productive. (See Figure 2)

Figure 2

4. Offer more than one suggestion—and let students choose the way forward. When guiding next steps, provide two or three possible options instead of a single directive. For example: “You might try summarising your thinking aloud, sketching a quick diagram, or peer-testing your idea. Which one feels most helpful for you right now?” Inviting the learner to choose builds ownership and self-regulation.

   
   

5. Reflect back what you are learning from the student. During the conversation, name what you notice about the student’s learning process. For example: “I’m hearing that you approach problems by trying one strategy and then switching if it doesn’t work. That tells me you’re flexible in your thinking.” This makes visible HOW the student is learning.

   
   

6. Make it a conversation, not an interview. Conferences should feel like collaborative exploration, not interrogation. Instead, use prompts that open dialogue:

“Tell me about what’s working for you right now.”

“What do you notice about your progress?”

“If you had more time with this, what would you try next?”

7. Use evidence as a conversation starter. Invite students to bring artefacts, drafts, or examples of their learning journey. These become an anchor for deeper reflection and dialogue. Evidence grounds the conversation in real work and helps students see growth over time.

   
   

8. End with clarity—and a next step. Every conference should finish with both teacher and student clear on the “so what?” and “what next?”. Encourage the student to articulate their takeaway in their own words: “So my next step is to….” This ensures follow-through and reinforces learner responsibility.

Conferencing is not new.

Pausing to critically reflect on how we use it can be transformative. When done well, it is far more than a monitoring tool—it is a shared conversation that nurtures agency, clarity, and growth for both students and teachers.