Icebreakers and the import of student engagement - Mark Hetherington and Denise McLaughlan

The importance of the icebreaker with any given class, whether it be in person or online should never be underestimated.

The team uses a variety of ideas, and some of the key reasons for using them are noted, succinctly, as follows:

Icebreakers warm up the conversation among the participants in an initial class.

Icebreakers can help improve the efficiency of first meetings by strengthening bonds between participants and reducing any (perceived) tension.

Icebreakers may stand alone, or they may serve as a segue into the class, activity or overview of the unit to be taught. 

The best icebreakers arguably reinforce the reason for the group coming together, in the case of the team and their teaching, to provide sound reasons for Communication being on the curriculum and how working with us will develop a number of lifelong skills, namely oral, writing and analytical skills, to name but three working examples. 

This post showcases two very different approaches to the conventional methods many of us might use when meeting classes for the first time.

Mark - moral dilemmas. This is something that Mark has used in a variety of classes over the years and is intended to get students thinking about why they might think a certain way, to defend their thought processes, consider the importance of joined up thinking and critical analysis (just a phrase at this point for learners), and of course, the necessity for sensible structuring. The ethos of the exercise has remained the same over the years, but the scenarios and how the introductory session is delivered changes each year, to freshen things up a little.

The idea behind the exercise is to assemble learners into small groups, and work through possible scenarios, and what factors might influence their individual decisions. Mark always clarifies that there is no right or wrong answer, but to consider WHY they have come to their respective decisions. He always provides what HE would do in that situation, which often leads to an organic line of questioning from the groups, which is exactly what he is looking for. The session is reflected upon afterwards, and the following two links provide the lesson itself and some student feedback. He has around 20 different scenarios, and they are often tailored to suit the needs of any given class. Please click on the links below.

Moral dilemmas session

NCL SWAP Science 2022-23: Moral Dilemmas Session

Denise - using music to convey meaning in communication terms. 

Sometimes Denise deliver an icebreaker lesson with a ukulele as the star attraction.  The idea is that she plays a few chords and ask the student if the sound conjures up any images in their mind. As she works with the class for possible answers they are often many and varied.  She emphasises that first of all, all students saw the perceived 'correct' image - given that this was the very first time they consumed this 'information', this 'vibration', this music.  

So what they saw in their mind's eye cannot necessarily be wrong - it was what it was (for them).  

Next, she shares what the actual artist was trying to communicate (eg Jason Mraz 'I'm Yours' - a love song) and they discuss how and why communication can be a "slippery thing" and how some people are (arguably) better at communicating; but reinforcing the need to learn and develop key communication skills. 

The initial class is then focused on what assessments the students will be learning in her classes and serves as an innovative and interactive opening session.