2019 ISN National Conference on Educational Innovation

Personalized learning is a complex assembly of practices embraced by schools across the world to customize experiences with and for learners. In our research, we found that educators identified the practice of conferring - building 1:1 academic relationships to identify learner interests and abilities - at the heart of personalized learning. Through conferring, a teacher can learn about the student’s thinking on a topic, connect how prior knowledge could be applied in new ways, or challenge the student to engage in a meta-analysis of their own learning performance. (National Research Council, 2000, p 61-63; Calkins et al., 2005) Conferring tools that facilitate this interaction take multiple forms and involve varying levels of student ownership. We will explore the tools and practices teachers use to collect information and engage students in their learning through conferring. This session will allow participants to experience conferring, design tools, and reflect on the process. The participants will receive some tools to engage with, but will also be guided through the process of designing their own individual tools. Participants will receive feedback from one another during the session as they pilot their own tools and reflect on the outcomes.