Calkins: "Conferring" and "Learning to Confer" (Ch. 13-14)

Getting students to take another look at their own writing for the purpose of improving their writing is an on-going challenge for all teachers. Lucy Calkins does a great job describing how she uses experienced thinking to get her students to look again at their own writing--understanding that revision can mean improvement and put life in their writing. But, what Calkins does do is give teachers insightful ways of transferring the idea of empowerment to students. Here, students learn how to become helpful to each other as well as begin their own journey to independent writing; students are quick to learn how to ask 'questions' that excites the student-writer's answers to paper!
"I'm done." A common response of students in the classroom says Calkins. True. Again, Calkins guides teachers to look beyond the writing and listen to the writer. Calkins continues to remind teachers when you conferr with students to keep "only one thing in mind... allowing our students to become critical readers."
Calkins goes on to explain that at times we as teachers need only to respond. Perhaps, listening first with a sincere sense of what the writer is trying to express, keeping in mind to be respectful of their feelings and if the time is right, offer a suggestion.
The types of conferences: content, design, process, and evaluation all have a place and time to use with students. The result of using the varying conferences while carefully paying attention to how teachers use these conferences with student-writers will increase their confidence as writers and the purpose of their writing.