DURHAM, N.H. - In just a few weeks, the first round of notifications will be headed home with students about parent-teacher conferences. Tips and checklists abound to help parents, and teachers, get the most out of the meetings, but after studying videos of conferences for ten years, a communications professor at the University of New Hampshire has zeroed in on what works best.

Danielle Pillet-Shore says parents need to make the first move in the meeting...and offer criticism of their own kid.

"It makes the interaction run smoother, because the teacher understands, 'Oh, we're a team.' And it's not, 'We're on opposite sides, we're on the same side.'"

Pillet-Shore says that out-of-the-gate criticism also tells the teacher that the parent is able to fairly assess student issues, and is already working on solutions, which sets up the framework for the rest of the meeting.

Pillet-Shore points to another interesting "find" in her research. Oftentimes, the conference isn't even really an assessment of the student. It's more an evaluation of the parent and the teacher, by each other.

"It's very complex, nuanced, it's dynamic, it's a social interaction between two parties who are mutually invested in the child's academic achievement."

She adds that despite nervousness on the part of teachers and parents, and sometimes challenging student issues, almost every conference ends on a positive note.

Content provided on behalf of self-generated. Contact: Danielle Pillet-Shore , 603-862-2362, danielle.pillet-shore@unh.edu