Based on the article: Sociograms--Mapping the Emotional Dynamics of a Classroom byAlan Cooper
Social dynamics in a classroom can be a tricky thing. As teachers, we just want everyone to get along. We dream of being able to put any child in a group of any three other kids and they will all just work together nicely and cooperate to complete the task.
But of course we know that while this is the dream, there is often such a collection of little personalities that a task as simple as changing seats or creating groups for project work requires more orchestration than Handel's Messiah! (And we certainly want to shout "Hallelujah" when it works out!)
I've just read an interesting article which I found on my colleague Laurie Bartel's facebook page. (thanks, Laurie!) It described an experiment of creating "sociograms" by passing out cards and telling students they can choose two partners for a group project. (Any type of project--the results will generally be the same regardless of subject) Then you collect the cards and map out with arrows who selected whom. Kind of like this (and may I just add this is not my class--I would never publish the results of something like this!):
Social dynamics in a classroom can be a tricky thing. As teachers, we just want everyone to get along. We dream of being able to put any child in a group of any three other kids and they will all just work together nicely and cooperate to complete the task.
But of course we know that while this is the dream, there is often such a collection of little personalities that a task as simple as changing seats or creating groups for project work requires more orchestration than Handel's Messiah! (And we certainly want to shout "Hallelujah" when it works out!)
I've just read an interesting article which I found on my colleague Laurie Bartel's facebook page. (thanks, Laurie!) It described an experiment of creating "sociograms" by passing out cards and telling students they can choose two partners for a group project. (Any type of project--the results will generally be the same regardless of subject) Then you collect the cards and map out with arrows who selected whom. Kind of like this (and may I just add this is not my class--I would never publish the results of something like this!):
The two-way arrows show students who selected one another. The larger circles show students who are frequently selected. And then you have your poor outliers--like Charlie and Livie and Bill--who do not get selected at all. Some of the interesting trends (and resulting questions) this can show you in your class include things like...
- Do I have cliques going on and what can I do to help them be more inclusive?
- Is Tom "the man!" because he is kind and helpful to others or is there some other dynamic going on that I should be aware of?
- There is a complete wall between genders here--how can I help my students overcome gender bias and reluctance to work together?
- And then the ones I worry about most--the Charlies and Livies and Bills--how can I help them to learn to socialize better and to be more included in the group?
Usually after I get to know the kids the results of such a survey would not really be a surprise to me, and I confess that I have often attempted to choreograph friendships (or at least acceptance) through group assignments. I've tried different things throughout the years. If the class is generally a nice group it can be as easy as saying, "Pick two people you haven't worked with before." I've also had luck having kids "Select two topics you are interested in learning more about" (such as particular Ecosystems. (This works best if you don't give them notice ahead of time so they can't scheme with their friends!) And with the Charlies or Livies or Bills I try to find something they are really good at that I can identify them as a "class expert" on so I can pull them into discussions. "Hey, Charlie is really good at identifying kinds of snakes...let's ask Charlie!"
How have you handled some of the socializing problems in your classroom?
No comments:
Post a Comment