As you think about the relationships in your life, I doubt many of them started with deep conversations about your most personal secrets and stories. Typically, bonds are formed through common interests and experiences, which often start with basic conversations around what you do for work, what you do for fun, what you did over the weekend, or what the weather is like where you are. By starting with the foundational questions, you can continue to get to know each other over time on a deeper level.
Why use icebreakers?
In conversations I have had with countless students in my career, classes rarely use an intentional, foundational approach that scaffolds over time. Instead, many classes I have seen start with typical introductions like stating your name and location then move on to the course topic and expect students to have deeper discussions about the course materials. Sometimes this works out okay, but other times, as you have probably seen, the results fall flat. Students talk about surface level issues and rarely challenge each other's thinking in a respectful manner. All of this is compounded even further in online learning environments where reading body language or having informal conversations with the person they are sitting next to before class look quite different.
By building upon your activities so students feel more comfortable around each other, you can create a safe learning space where students are empowered to engage with each other and the course material on deeper levels. This adds value to both the depth of the class conversations as well the positive classroom experience of students. Additionally, by having them do something silly or fun early on in the term, you will set a tone of excitement and energy. So instead of diving into deeper conversations in week 1 or 2, give the low risk activities/questions a try and see how the conversation unfolds. Once students are feeling comfortable, look to add to the depth of these activities as you and your students see fit.
Any of these can be done in small groups or as one large group Additionally, you may employ any of the Zoom features that lend to the sharing of these responses: whiteboard, chat, rename feature. Depending on your class size, you may want to consider using breakout rooms to limit the amount of time spent on one activity.
Low risk activities/questions:
- What is the best or most memorable meal you have ever had?
- What six words would your best friend or a family member use to describe you and why?
- What is on your Mount Rushmore of the best movies (songs, musicians, TV shows, etc) of all time?
- Play “Would you rather…?” using your slide deck and annotations. In your slide deck, have a few slides with one “Would you rather…?” question on each slide, and have students use their annotation tool to vote on the option they would choose. One example to get you started could be would you rather eat only pizza for the rest of your life or never be able to eat pizza again for the rest of your life?
Higher risk activities/questions for later in the term:
- Team Rebus or word puzzles
- You are driving down the road in your car on a wild and stormy night. The weather is like a hurricane, with heavy rains, high winds, and lightning flashing constantly. While driving, you come across a partially-covered bus stop, and you can see three people waiting for a bus. Knowing that you only have room for one passenger in your car (it is a really small car), which one would you choose to offer a ride to? And why?
- An old woman who looks as if she is about to die.
- An old friend who once saved your life.
- The perfect partner you have been dreaming about (your “soulmate”).
- If you could fix one problem in the world, what would it be and why?
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Thank you for your input!