Benefits Of One-On-Two Conferences

Galileo once said, “You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help him find it within himself.” Great teachers can help students achieve great things, and they can guide them, but teachers cannot sit there and truly teach a student anything. There has to be passion and desire to learn. Sometimes teachers have to tend to students individually to help the student succeed. According to WritingCommons.org, “Conferences are a time for you, as a student, to ask your instructor specific, individualized questions about your project that you may not have the opportunity to ask in the classroom. The conference is the ideal space for you to talk about your text as a whole and to focus on your critical thinking and organizational skills...” Individual …show more content…
One of these reasons students said they felt more comfortable was because they could ask him questions and it feel more confidential. Many students may hesitate to ask a question because they fear they will sound stupid or be judged by their fellow peer. With a one-on-one conference, they would not have to sit with another student. Although some may argue that they gained more knowledge by listening to their peer ask questions about their paper, one-on-one will make the student think for themselves. They will have to create a list of questions, and they will have to learn to critically think and look at their paper from different perspectives. Students could also go to another peer and ask them to proof-read their paper. The student could ask the other student if they thought of any questions they might find helpful to ask the professor. Not only does this give you another perspective, it allows for ample time to get feedback from a fellow …show more content…
It would be easy to quickly dismiss a student’s issues and complaints by telling them that is a them problem and them problem only. Regardless of whose fault something is, a student and their instructor should both automatically be involved in finding a solution, or at least attempting to reach a common understanding about the issue before they slam dunk any chance of making changes in the trash. No, the instructor should not have to hold the student’s hand and cater to his every need, especially if the student is an adult. However, instructors need to know that playing the “blame game” accomplishes nothing but pushing their students farther away. The solution is simple: Not only should professors try to see what they can do to help, but both the students and the professor should work together collectively to come up with solution. In order for both sides to want to make changes, they have to know that they both care to try. If a student struggles with speaking to their professor, the solution is not to wait until somebody gives and then the other person make an effort. The best way to resolve that problem would be not to give each other the option to not talk to the other; contact must be forced between the two