Student Activities
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Breaking the Ice/Teambuilding
Icebreakers are activities designed to foster interaction among members. They are particularly useful in the initial stages of group development, but can be effective in later stages to challenge assumptions, break up cliques, and deal with problems. In wrapping up a training week, a project, or an academic year, you will also want to revisit the needs of the group and allow members to reflect on the experience and their relationships through closure activities.
What do icebreakers accomplish?
- Introduce members
- Create a comfortable environment
- Explore thoughts and feelings
- Break up cliques
- Release tension
- Encourage interaction
- Kick things off
- Evoke laughter, fun
- Re-energize
- Share information
What issues should I consider in choosing icebreakers?
Adapted from guidelines presented by the Student Activities Center, University of New Mexico.
Stage 1: Getting to Know You
At this stage, group members know very little about each other. Focus on names and low-risk disclosure.
- M&Ms: Pass around a bag of M&M candies and have everyone take some. Each person must tell one thing about him or herself for each piece of candy taken (can also be done with a roll of toilet paper and the number of squares taken.)
- Name Game: State your name and some bit of information and repeat this information about each person preceding you.
- Grab Bag: Pull out an object from a bag and explain how you are similar to it.
- Make "Do-It-Yourself" Nametags or Inside/Outside: Use a paper bag and magazines; cut out things describing how others see you (outside) and how you really are (for inside of bag).
- Matched Pairs: Tape the name of one member of a famous pair to each person's back. Participants have to find their "mate" by asking other people "yes" or "no" questions.
- People Bingo: make Bingo cards with titled squares like "has lived in a foreign country," "owns a pair of cowboy boots," etc., and have group members find other people in the group who fit each description.
Stage 2: Getting to Really Know You
The group may experience hostility as relationships are formed and group roles are established. Focus on getting to know what each member is feeling.
- Continuum: State a value and have participants share where they fall on a scale of 1-10 where 1=disagree and 10=agree. (e.g., "Honesty is important" or "this group is my #1 priority"). Be careful to make sure group members don't judge each others' answers as good/bad, right/wrong.
- Gift Game: Have each member tell what gift he/she would give each member
- Group goals and expectations
- Social activities
- Group consensus activities
Stage 3: Beginning to Work
Group moves toward cooperation and better communication.
- Positive Bombardment: One member sits in the middle of a circle while other members say positive things about him or her.
- Personal Shields/Coats of Arms
- Pat on the Back: Members write positive things about other members on "Post-it® notes" and put them on each others' backs.
- Group consensus activities
Stage 4: Working Together…
The group focuses on problem solving, interdependence, and reaching goals using the following activities:
- Murder mystery exercises - The group works together to find the solution.
- Role-playing - Members take on roles other than their own (leader, follower, tension-breaker, etc.) and work together to reach a goal.
- Broken squares, puzzles, etc - The group takes part in nonverbal problem solving.
- "I Wish I Could...” - A member share skills he/she wishes to develop while others examine how to provide support.
- Self-diagnosis and evaluation - Members look at themselves critically to uncover strengths and weaknesses.
Closure Activities
Adapted from Pfeiffer & Jones "Structured Experiences for Closure," 1998
Symbolic Toast:
- Give each member an empty paper cup. Explain that everyone will symbolically fill their cup with some essence of other group members. Look around the room and decide what you would like to take from other group members. For example, "John, I wish to capture some of your sensitivity for others."
- Encourage group members to maintain eye contact while describing what they hope to take from other members.
- Invite all group members to toast one another with their cups and "drink" the essence of each member of the group!
Payday:
- Explain to all group members that they will have an opportunity to evaluate their contributions to the organization and award themselves with a paycheck. Group members are asked to write a check to themselves and the "pay scale" ranges from $0 to $100. If the member believes they have gained a great deal from the organization they will get a large amount, and if they haven't gained and contributed much, they will receive a small amount.
- Ask each participant to put their check in an envelope, seal it, and write their name on the outside, and then collect all the envelopes.
- Select an envelope at random, and ask that group member to sit in the middle of a circle and explain their amount to the rest of the members and why they wrote that amount to themselves. What did they do to earn that pay?
- Allow other group members to give them feedback about their pay and why it was deserved.
Golden Awards:
- Divide members into subgroups of four to six participants and distribute index cards, markers, and tape to each group.
- Allow each group member to reflect on the award he would give himself and the award he thinks other group members would give him and why. The other members of that group then present that person with a Golden Award and share the reasons why they gave that award.
Feedback Letters:
- Ask group members to write honest feedback in a letter for other members of the organization, be creative and include any and all comments.
- Distribute the letters to others to read.
- Allow them to make notes and discuss with each other the feedback they received.
- Ask questions such as "How will you apply what you have learned about yourself in future group experiences?"