Icebreaker Activity Reflective Essay

For this artifact that addresses NJPTS #2, I had to design an ice breaker activity for students to complete during one of the first days of classes. The goal of the activity is to learn about my students as individuals and to have students recognize how they are similar and different to their peers. By having pairs of students interview each other and then introduce their partner to the class by providing specific pieces of information, not only will I, their teacher, get to know my students but the whole class will be able to learn more about each other as well. Specifically due to the fact that this activity introduces each student as a unique individual to the class, this artifact specifically complies with Standard 2, Critical Dispositions 2, which states that, “The teacher respects learners as individuals with differing personal and

Based off of my personal experiences with this icebreaker activity, both the instructor and the class tends to learn a lot about each individual student as a person, specifically due to the questions asked. Additionally, compared to introducing oneself, this activity provides some comfort because introducing and sharing facts about someone else is less stressful than doing the same for yourself. Furthermore, the exit ticket activity allows for a fun way to get everyone in the class acquainted by having students recall a specific classmate and their fact, and helps ensure that students were paying attention. While I admit that this activity is not one of the most exciting icebreaker activities, it can be one of the most impactful simply due to the inconspicuous and intentional steps it takes to create a classroom community. Because of this, I plan on implementing this specific icebreaker activity in the future, with the hopes of creating the sense of classroom community and familiarity between my students and