{"id":353,"date":"2015-08-18T15:25:41","date_gmt":"2015-08-18T21:25:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/sips\/?p=353"},"modified":"2019-09-10T18:48:17","modified_gmt":"2019-09-11T00:48:17","slug":"sip-2-1-ice-breakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/sips\/sip-2-1-ice-breakers\/","title":{"rendered":"SIP 2.1 Ice Breakers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Photo<\/a><\/strong>Thirsty for Strong Instructional Practice?<\/h2>\n

Welcome to the first day of the new semester!\u00a0 Everyone is excited, the room is filled with promise.\u00a0 You don\u2019t want to kill the mood by spending the entire first day going over the syllabus, but when you enter the classroom and look at 25 new students, you wonder how you are going to get this ball rolling.<\/p>\n

Take a SIP of This:\u00a0Ice Breakers<\/h2>\n

First-day ice breakers may seem trite or overly enthusiastic, but they can go a long way toward setting the tone for a class and establishing your parameters while allowing students to get to know each other and know you.\u00a0 Community building starts on the first day and can often be that key element that shapes up a successful teaching and learning experience.<\/p>\n

Here are two favorite icebreakers:<\/p>\n

Listen to my name.<\/em>\u00a0 Arrange students in pairs (in case of an odd number, you can pair up with the remaining student).\u00a0 Give each student two minutes to tell the story of his or her name\u2014how was it chosen?\u00a0 Does it have special significance?\u00a0 Is it attached to a nickname?\u00a0 Etc.\u00a0 The student who is listening can\u2019t say a word.\u00a0 After two minutes, the two students switch roles.\u00a0 Finally, each student \u201cintroduces\u201d his or her partner to the rest of the class.<\/p>\n

This icebreaker is a great demonstration of how to listen\u2014what it feels like to be truly present without jumping in and replying.\u00a0 It is an excellent way of building confidence for students\u2014their story, opinion, and point of view means something.\u00a0 It helps students to recognize how long two minutes really is (have you ever had that student who goes on and on, probably without realizing how much he or she is talking?).\u00a0 And by the end of the exercise, every student in the class knows each other\u2019s name\u2014a fabulous first step toward community building.<\/p>\n

Set common goals or learning outcomes for the class<\/em>.\u00a0 Using your syllabus as a point of departure, take a look at your learning outcomes or course goals and expand to create objectives for classroom behavior or community experience.\u00a0 You may ask, for example, \u201cHow does this class feel about late arrivals?\u201d\u00a0 This usually inspires a good conversation around how we feel when others arrive late, what we would like them to do when they arrive late (sneak in quietly and sit down, or publicly apologize?), or if it is even an issue.\u00a0 You may be surprised\u2014little details that can drive a professor nuts might not be an issue at all to the students in the community.\u00a0 Other topics may include use of technology, food and drink, side conversations, etc.\u00a0 By setting common goals around these community behaviors, you can learn a lot about the personality of the class and also take some of the \u201cpolicing\u201d responsibility off of yourself.<\/p>\n

Still Thirsty? Take Another SIP of Ice Breakers<\/h2>\n