Ice Breakers

Girrrrseach

Hey all!!

Im a trainer, and was looking for good Ice breakers and session shakers to A) introduce the class to one aonther at the start of a training class, but more importantly, to shake up a class, perhaps between modules or when the class is lagging and needs a shake up!

I tend to not have a lot of space to move about, so nothing that involves getting up and moving around, but more a fun activity to stimulate the mind!!

Any ideas??

Tom Dunne

The one thing you must undestanding is that most people here, be they teachers or lecturers, are in a different situation to you. In your position, you might see a class for one day, possibly up to five, would that be correct? And you may never see them again.

Whereas we tend to see the same class at least twice a week for nine months. So ice-breakers and session shakers aren't as relevant for us.

Having said that, when starting a module at the beginning of a semester, I usually begin with something like "So, we are all here to learn about 17th century English literature, with particular emphasis on poetry and short stories". To which I usually get puzzled faces and some looks of panic (I lecture in computers). It usually goes down a treat.

As for during a session, if I think the class is fading, I usually resort to picking on people (i.e. throwing questions at them, answering questions with questions, provoking debate, etc.) or, worse case scenario, sending them for 5-minute breaks.

fenris

Rather than looking for a contrived ice-breaker type activity (which will always feel contrived), look at how your training is structured. A method that I have used very successfully with groups of students from mixed cultures and technical ability, begin training with an introduction to mindmapping with the group making an example mindmap of something like cars, dogs etc.
This was followed by a session of generating a mindmap of what the group thought they knew about the topic, this could lead to lively debate and help target areas of unconcious incompetence for extra attention later.

When individuals began to fade, a general 2-5 minute break was called and stated to be because people were starting to look tired. - works with adults on a quite technical topic, mileage may vary with teenagers!

A good mix of interactive sections, before each main break, the class mindmap would be put up on the board, and updated according to the topics covered, in this way progress was demonstrated, and material reviewed. It was not uncommon to come back after lunch to encounter debate on what items belong where on the mind map.

At the end of each day the class would generate a mindmap of the topics covered as a group activity. The maps generated throughout the course when compared to the initial map generated at the start of day one usually told a very good story and helped reinforce the skills and knowledge gained.

Girrrrseach

Usually, I would have a class of 25-30, for 14 days...

Two very good points, esp the mind mapping one.

CorkGirlyRebel

Hi guys,
I have a project to do on Organic planning of a firm....
in order to illustrate what an organic business is I must create an activity in order to teach the class about the topic...

Has anybody got any funny ideas on how I can demonstrate this topic to the class and in turn get them to understand the topic as a result...

How in Gods name do I make Organic Planning sound "sexy" or perhaps interesting....

Any ideas are very welcome...