Are they on the same page? Student and teacher perceptions and interactions in writing conferences

Abstract

This research examined the interactions and understandings between students and teachers during individual writing conferences in an intermediate school setting. It sought to explore teacher understandings of writing conferences, teacher oral feedback to student writing, student understandings of the feedback, student and teacher talk patterns, and assessment constraints. A qualitative method was applied to conduct the research. Writing conference observations were carried out in the natural classroom setting. Semi-structured interviews where conducted with teachers before and after writing conferences, and with students following the conferences to determine the understandings gained from the conference experiences. Student writing samples and any teacher written feedback were examined to gain a full picture of the events of the writing conferences. The findings indicated that although students and teachers appeared to have a shared understanding of writing conferences, it may not have been the best understanding and it may not be sufficient to develop students as writers. Writing conferences appeared to focus on the teachers instructing students on how to 'fix' their writing in order to achieve an acceptable curriculum level, with little emphasis on the further development of student writing skills. Student voice and participation were lacking in the writing conferences, and compounded by a prevalence of teacher dominated talk. Teacher understandings of the purposes of writing conferences and formative assessment/feedback were mixed, and appeared to affect the success of the writing conferences as effective sites in which to teach students about writing. This study highlights the importance of improving teacher professional development in conducting writing conferences, providing feedback and facilitating classroom talk so that students have better control of and participation in their own writing.