Taking the Pulse of the Class

A few years ago I discovered a quick but very telling way to take the pulse of the class. Each time I am ready to change student seating, I give each student a little square of paper and ask them to think of the members of our classroom, and then answer these three questions:

1. If you could choose to sit next to anyone in the room, who would that be?

2. Who do you consider to be a student role model and why?

3. Who do you not want to sit next to and why?

For question 3, I tell students they may not write "because I don't like him/her". They must give a deeper reason why sitting next to that person would not work out well. I also assure them that I am the only one who will look at their answers.

Sometimes the results come as no surprise and other times they can be unexpected! I find it helpful to note how many times a particular student is listed as someone "not to sit next to" and the reason. For example, this year I have a student who was listed ten times as someone others don't want to sit with because of constant talking and bothersome distractions. With this information in mind, I start any necessary and helpful interventions. From time to time students have written down behaviors that had not been on my radar and needed to be addressed and/or referred to pupil services.

Often a name will pop up over and over and I pay attention to the given reasons and behaviors that will need to be retaught. At other times, students have been honest in stating they felt they would get in trouble by talking too much with a particular student.

Although some students write down their friend out of a sense of loyalty, it is usually predictable who will be recognized as a role model. And sometimes I am surprised by this as well. It's more valid to see a student listed by many.

One of the most concerning outcomes is when a student's name is never requested as one to sit next to. That's when I reflect on why this child is seemingly going unnoticed by peers. There could be friendship challenges and interventions may be needed.

I typically use this strategy about three times over the course of the year. It could be used more often as well. Names change on these lists as friendships evolve throughout the year. Having this information is one more way to be aware of the social aspects, needs, and culture in my classroom. And the pulse of the class beats on.

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