This year in Big
History, Gaeby and I, along with the help of Sam Martinez (if you are not picking Sam’s brain, like what are you even doing professionally?), developed a way to get a glimpse into our students’ social emotional lives throughout the course of their freshmen year. We created a “Twice Weekly Check In” Google
Form where students spend a few minutes twice a week in class filling it out
and giving us feedback. Here is what it looks like;
History, Gaeby and I, along with the help of Sam Martinez (if you are not picking Sam’s brain, like what are you even doing professionally?), developed a way to get a glimpse into our students’ social emotional lives throughout the course of their freshmen year. We created a “Twice Weekly Check In” Google
Form where students spend a few minutes twice a week in class filling it out
and giving us feedback. Here is what it looks like;
Here is some of the feedback that I get at the end of each week;
This snapshot is
from the beginning of the year. I saw which girls from my 3rd period
were getting involved in sports, which girls might be struggling socially, and
which girls were still trying to get a hang of how things work academically around
here;
from the beginning of the year. I saw which girls from my 3rd period
were getting involved in sports, which girls might be struggling socially, and
which girls were still trying to get a hang of how things work academically around
here;
This snapshot was
from a couple of weeks ago as girls turned in their first major project in my
class. I can see that many of them are not feeling ready to turn in their
projects which is something that Gaeby and I were able to address with enough
time before meltdown mode. It also shows what else is on my students minds as
they work on this project; shadow visits and frosh council selection.
from a couple of weeks ago as girls turned in their first major project in my
class. I can see that many of them are not feeling ready to turn in their
projects which is something that Gaeby and I were able to address with enough
time before meltdown mode. It also shows what else is on my students minds as
they work on this project; shadow visits and frosh council selection.
Here is what I am thinking a few months into this-
Pros
- Students don’t seem to mind doing this twice a week – it has become a routine!
- I am able to adapt in real time to student needs (ie changing deadlines, making seating charts, changing instructional approaches) that I feel will benefit my students.
- I am
getting much better at having hard conversations with students because I am not
guessing at what their needs are. I know and can get right to the point. - I have insights as to why work is not getting turned in or why a student’s performance might dip.
- The
Freshmen hallway being moved upstairs is HUGE for me and makes casual check ins
really easy. I try to make a point to take notes on some of the fun stuff they
add to the list (like dog costumes & sports) and take some laps upstairs on Fridays to check in
with students as they are packing up for the weekend. - I really feel like I know MOST of my students at this point.
Cons
- COMPASSION
FATIGUE – I do not always have the bandwidth to hold space for student problems
when I am at my own limit so I worry about consistency. - It can
be really easy to forget to have students take the survey when you are caught up in a lesson or trying to get to the end of a unit on time. - I don’t always
know what to do with all of the feedback I get and therefore have probably
become a big pain in the butt for our personal counselors and ed support team with my many questions.
Questions
- What
days of the week are best to survey students? - Is this
actually improving my teaching and if so how do I measure that? - Are students going to get burned out on surveys?
- Might they have expectations of me checking in with them personally that I cannot always meet, and therefore disappoint them?
Well if you scrolled down the page this far thanks, any thoughts or feedback is much appreciated!
Also, Here’s a quote that I came across today that I really liked;
“Every time you think of calling a kid an “attention-seeking” this year, consider changing it to “connection-seeking” and see how your perspective changes
– Dr. JodyCarrington
I can't imagine reading those surveys twice a week. I commend you and Gaeby for your work!
I agree it's important to check in with students to see how they're feeling and to create meaningful connections with them. They value that you find worth and value in them and that you're invested in their lives outside of the classroom. I wonder about pushing deadlines etc. Sometimes students procrastinate and simply just didn't get the work done because of their own lack of time management and you can continue to push deadlines but for how long until they also learn time management?
I actually love this and, with your permission, I'd love to start doing this with my juniors.
I commend you, Miranda, for doing the check-in twice a week! I actually only do mine every Monday, to see how they are feeling at the start of the week, and to then just keep an eye on them (if needed) throughout the week. It is an easy and quick way to "get a feel for how they feel" and I am so glad we implemented this. Plus, I think it is a tangible way to show my students that I care about them and in return, I hope they feel safe and comfortable in my classroom.
This is fascinating to me and my question about how do you find time to read the surveys twice a week comes to mind…
do you see trends? are some students chronically stressed or unhappy? does it ebb and flow?
I would love to see the questions…
wondering if some version of this would be applicable to our adults?
Reading them is not the time consuming part – like you mentioned the thing that takes up a lot of my time is doing the actual personal check ins and tracking who is chronically in stress and who is going through the normal ups and downs of high school and figuring out a way to meaningfully address those needs when applicable.
Doing this for our adults would be fascinating! so many questions of how to do this come to mind!
we should talk…
Miranda, thank's to you and Gaeby for helping to create a culture in this school of sharing feelings and being heard. Developing trust and open communication with our students is so vital to learning and classroom well-being. You are setting the stage for healthy two-way communication to benefit their upper classes as well (and me). This brings up the issue about carrying this method up the 4-year ladder. SEL could be a component in all our department unit evals, even if it's two or three questions.
I love the quote you end with. It's true, many difficult interactions are actually because people what to connect but don't know how.