“It’s a matter of helping students recognize the brilliance they already have”- Nadine Sancze

What is SLC?
A student-led conference (SLC) is an effective teaching and learning tool that many IB schools use across the world. It is an approach that enables children to take ownership of their learning and share their academic progress and accomplishments with parents and teachers.

The conference provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate their learning process and communication skills. Students present their work to their parents and talk about what they’ve learned. Parents listen carefully and ask probing questions.
SLC encourages student agency and autonomy. They become active participants in their learning path when they are given control. This fosters motivation, encouragement, and a sense of belonging.

SLC is not confined to older children; it is also used in the early years. By engaging children in the process of presenting and discussing their learning, they gain a variety of abilities that will benefit them both academically and socially. Participation during Student-led conferences students develop skills like communication

Benefits of Student-led conference

Communication skills-They demonstrate communication skills while presenting their learning. They practice expressing themselves clearly and confidently, developing critical thinking skills—they learn to think creatively and independently and can assess their work and that of their peers. Self-confidence: They can receive a sense of success and pleasure in their accomplishments by sharing their work with others. , ownership of learning, social skills, and organization skills. Ownership of learning helps students develop a passion for learning and a desire to take responsibility for their own growth. Interacting with others in a monitored and supportive environment allows children to build social skills. Finishing the conference on time allows the chance to display self-management skills.

Slc is a big term for EYP students. They are too tiny to comprehend the words and meaning of SLC. To make things easier, we informed the children that they had to become teachers for a day and teach their parents and make them as knowledgeable as they had become. They, too, are up for the challenge.

Children participated in a recent EYP2 student-led conference where they discussed plants. They accepted responsibility for enlightening their parents. The children discussed the theme “Sharing the Planet.” We all live on the same planet as other living things such as humans, animals, and plants. They were confident while explaining living and non-living items, as well as plant parts. The functions of various parts of the plant were discussed by the children. They even demonstrated the process of spreading seeds and caring for plants. The importance of trees allows them to consider what would happen if there were no trees. The children talked about how they can protect the trees. ‘ We shall phone the police uncle if anyone cuts down trees,’ ‘ We will use the magic word please don’t cut trees’ They give us oxygen. ‘ We need to grow trees’ are a few examples. Parents were overjoyed to learn all of these things about their four-year-old child.
Parents interact with their children while they engage in literacy and numeracy learning. Parents were even seen enjoying and participating in their children’s learning.

We, as IB facilitators, believe that this platform is a powerful tool for promoting students’ agency, engagement, and holistic understanding of their learning. The involvement of the parents helps promote a partnership between home and school, which is critical for supporting student success.

“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you”- BB King