An alternative to kicking them out (though, I would support that, as well!) would be to make it verboten for them to sit together. I have taken to periodically rearranging my students' habitual seating patterns. Sometimes I do this by getting to class 5 minutes early and writing on the board, "today, you must sit in a different part of the room" or "make sure that when class begins you are sitting next to someone you do NOT already know" (I then have them introduce themselves and talk with that someone new for 5 minutes about the assigned reading). Other times, I've had them "count off" and then asked them to sit with their group (we then do a group exercise for part of class and I don't let them return to their original seats following). I was worried about such strategies, because they were so evocative of, um, kindergarten, but they've actually proven very helpful, both for breaking up cliques and for getting students who don't talk much in class to be more interactive.
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Posted by twilight blue to academicsecret at 11/03/2006 01:42:01 PM
