Profilia lets you run the spirit animal test with a whole class for free, with no sign-up for you or your students. You open a session in one click, you show the QR code on the board, and each student finds their animal among twelve on the device your school allows: phone, tablet or a computer-room machine. You watch the grid of the animals present in the class build up live. First names are optional, the grid appears once 3 people have taken part, and first names and answers are deleted after 30 days by default.
It is a light activity for the start of the year or a class meeting: nobody has an account to create, and the moment the animals are revealed does the talking for you.
How it works
1. You open the session before the lesson. One click from the test page, no form at all. You land straight on the session screen, with the link and the QR code ready to put up. No account to create, neither for you nor for your students, and no email address to ask anyone for.
2. Students answer together. Show the QR code or write the link on the board, or post it on your class's online platform. To have everyone start together, tick "Live workshop" when you create the session: students wait in a lobby and you start the test once the class is ready. Without this option, the session is open straight away and everyone can answer at their own pace, in class or at home.
3. You reveal the grid. It fills in by itself. You put it on screen at the moment you choose to open the discussion.
What each student gets
Each student takes the full spirit animal test exactly as if they were doing it alone, and lands on the same complete result page: the detailed description of their profile, with no account to create and no email address to leave. They can download a PDF version, built in their own browser (nothing is sent or stored), or save the image of their result.
They then see the class's collective breakdown, with no names at all, with the grid of the animals present and questions to start the discussion. Their first name, if they entered one, is visible only to you.
What you have for the debrief
- The class grid, which updates by itself and can be put on screen as it is.
- Up to four questions to start the discussion, chosen from the group's actual makeup: one majority animal, two tied, one animal that is rare in the split, one animal missing from the room.
- The "first name and profile" list, visible only to you, for the students who entered a first name (the others appear as "Anonymous").
- A PDF printout of the grid from the browser, without first names, with the date.
- A printable report, for the host of the session only, that is to say you: the breakdown, a few sentences reading the group's makeup as hypotheses to discuss, one card per profile present drawn from the test's own content, the same discussion questions and, as an option, the "first name and profile" list (unticked by default, so absent from the printout).
- A button to rerun the same test with another class, without starting from scratch.
- An optional "live workshop" mode: students wait in a lobby and you start the test once the class is complete.
You can also take the test yourself, and your result counts in the grid.
What Profilia does not do: there is no spreadsheet export, no result sent to families and no grade. The debrief happens on the grid on screen or on the printed report, with you as the interpreter.
Reading the class grid
A grid of spirit animals says nothing about what a class is worth or what the students can do: it shows which image each person got that day. Each reading below is therefore a hypothesis to put to the class, not a finding.
One animal dominates. Many students recognized themselves in the same figure. A useful question: what did these students find in it in common, and do those with another animal see the same thing in it?
Two animals share the room. Two images live side by side in the class. When it prepares a shared project, what would each camp say about how to go about it?
One animal is rare in the split. The students who got it may be the only ones to see themselves that way. You can ask those who wish to what this image brings to mind for them, without singling anyone out.
One animal is missing. This is commonplace: with twelve possible animals, a class of twenty-five will most often leave one or two aside. Rather than looking for a meaning in it, ask which image the class is missing, and why.
A very varied grid, with almost every animal present, is often the richest: how does a class this different decide what it does together?
For each animal present, the grid comes with questions drawn from the test. They are pointers to discuss with the students who recognize themselves in them, not a way to guess a classmate's animal.
Lesson plan for one class period
A grid without a debrief is just one more picture. Here is a plan that fits in 55 minutes.
Minutes 0 to 5, the framing. State the rule: twelve animals, no right answer, nobody comments on anyone else's result until the end. Say that the first name is optional, and that a nickname is fine. Show the QR code.
Minutes 5 to 20, taking the test and reading alone. Each student answers on their own, then reads their own result page in silence. Let the silence sit, do not fill it. Ask each student to note one sentence that sounds like them and one that does not: disagreeing with the result is allowed, and useful to say out loud.
Minutes 20 to 30, the reveal. Put the grid up and first ask the students what they see in it, before any interpretation. Start with the most common animal, then go to the least common animals, inviting anyone who wants to say what theirs brings to mind for them.
Minutes 30 to 50, the discussion. Three questions are enough, in this order:
- "Who recognizes themselves in their animal, and in what exactly?" Start with agreement, it is the easiest thing to say out loud.
- "Who does not recognize themselves at all?" Disagreement is as interesting as agreement, and explicitly allowing it stops the test being taken too seriously.
- "If the class had to choose one animal to represent it today, which would it pick, and why?" This question moves the conversation from the individual to the collective.
If the class is large, run the three questions in sub-groups of four for ten minutes, then take one sentence back from each sub-group. A round table with thirty students does not work.
Minutes 50 to 55, a commitment. One concrete step, chosen by the class: for example, in the next group assignment, plan a moment where everyone says how they like to go about it before the group gets started. You will come back to it at the end of the project.
What not to do: say out loud which student is which animal if the student has not said so themselves, form work groups from the spirit animals, rank the animals or declare one of them the best, and use the grid to assess, grade or direct students towards a pathway. The first names you see on your screen are not meant to be read out loud. Do not bring a spirit animal back up weeks later to explain a student's behavior: the animal is a way in, not a label.
When to use it
At the start of the year, with a class that is getting to know itself. The animal gives them a subject that is neither work nor the weather, and the grid on screen gets people talking far more than a round table does.
Before a group project, to give students a pictorial language for saying "we do not go about it the same way" without it being a reproach.
In a class meeting, for a class that works well but never talks about itself. The playful format carries a discussion that would feel heavy any other way.
Remotely, if the class follows the lesson by video call: a single link works just as well as in a room, and a grid filling up gives everyone something to look at together.
Anonymity, age and data
The grid only appears once 3 participants have taken part. Below that, it would give too much away about each person.
The first name is optional. If one is entered, only the host of the session, so you, sees it, next to the student's profile. Students only see the class breakdown, with no names. A nickname works just as well, and without a first name the result still counts in the grid. Our privacy policy states that taking part in a group session is open to all ages, and that under 15 the first name is left blank or replaced with a nickname.
No account is needed, for you or for the students, and no email address is asked for. Sessions and any first names given are deleted after 30 days, automatically, unless you sign in and choose to keep the group for 12 months: students are told before they answer. There is no advertising anywhere on Profilia, and the data is not sold to anyone.
What the spirit animal test measures, and where it stops
The spirit animal test draws on symbolism, it is neither a measuring instrument nor a belief system: it is not divination, and the traditions it cites serve as imagery, not as a belief to adopt. It maps stated preferences onto twelve animal figures loaded with imagery: the wolf and belonging to a group, the cat and independence, the tortoise and patience.
It has no psychometric validity, and claims none. It is material for a conversation and a pleasure to read, not a diagnosis. We would rather say so plainly: a test that presents itself as playful and then behaves like a verdict would be dishonest.
The practical consequence: a class grid is material for a conversation, never a verdict. It should not be used to assess, to direct a student towards a pathway, or to justify a decision about a student.
Frequently asked questions
Is the spirit animal test for a class really free? Yes, the spirit animal test for a class on Profilia is entirely free, with no cap on the number of sessions, no paid tier and no advertising.
Do students need to create an account or give an email address? No. Neither the teacher nor the students need an account. You create the session and show a QR code; each student answers directly, with no sign-up and no email address.
Are the students' answers anonymous? Between students, yes: they only see the class breakdown, never who has which profile, and it only appears once 3 participants have answered. The host of the session, that is to say the teacher, sees each person's profile next to their first name, if they entered one. The first name is optional and a nickname works.
How many students are needed, at minimum and at maximum? You need 3 participants for the grid to appear, and a session accepts up to 300 people, which covers a class and a full year group alike.
How long is the data kept? A group session and its results are deleted automatically 30 days after it was created, first names included, or 12 months after if you chose to keep it (account required, students told before they answer). If the group is linked to your account and the grid was shown, only an anonymous summary then stays in your account, for 12 months after the group closes: how many people per profile, with no names or answers.
Can the test be used with students under 15? Taking part in a group session is open to all ages, since it asks for no email address and no identity. Under 15, the first name is left blank or replaced with a nickname. Our questionnaire has not been validated with students: present it as a set of questions to get people talking, not as a measurement.
How long does the activity take in class? Allow one class period: about fifteen minutes to take the test and read alone, then around thirty minutes for the reveal and the group discussion. The plan above fits in 55 minutes.