An Engagement Conference is a brief, one-on-one conversation that helps students recognize their current level of engagement and identify one small behavior that will help them build the learning behaviors that support successful independent work.

As we've continued studying teaching, learning, and student independence, our understanding of these conferences has grown.

When setting behavior goals with students, we used to call them Behavior Conferences because the conversation focused on helping students strengthen one behavior from the I-chart that was keeping them from being successful.

Today, we use the term Engagement Conference because it better reflects what we're really teaching.

The purpose has always been to help students become more successful during independent learning. What has changed is the way we guide that conversation.

Rather than simply identifying a behavior to improve, we now begin by using the Continuum of Engagement* to help students recognize their current level of engagement. Together, teacher and student discuss whether the learning behaviors look more Disengaged, Passive, or Engaged.

The Engaged column then becomes the success criteria by displaying the I-chart for the routine students are practicing. Instead of focusing only on what isn't happening, students can clearly see what engaged learning looks like and identify one behavior they'll intentionally practice next.

This small shift has made these conferences more reflective, more instructional, and more consistent with the language students use throughout the classroom.

The goal is no longer simply changing behavior.

The goal is helping students understand what engagement looks like, recognize where they are on the continuum, and gradually build the habits that lead to greater independence.

Download the lesson to learn more and see an example.

*Adapted and based on Amy Berry’s research on teachers’ perceptions of engagement (Berry, 2022)