Effective Ice Breaker Activities for Professional Development
Beginning professional development with an effective ice breaker activity is a popular opening activity. This helps warm up the audience to the learning experience as well as get to know each other better. An ice breaker tends to be unrelated to topic being presented at the learning session and is a common interest or skill for the majority of the audience. For example, an ice breaker may be to find someone with the same birth month as yourself and tell them what you are looking forward to learning today in the session. It breaks the ice among strangers, hence the name ice breaker.
However, there is a more effective way to design and deliver an ice breaker during a professional development session. This post will provide insight into 5 ways to upgrade the ice breaker activities you provide during professional development so that they are meaningful, practical and applicable to the learning session topic.
Use Icebreakers as a Warm-Up
Beginning the learning session with an engaging activity sets the tone and expectation that attendees should continue to engage at high levels throughout the learning experience. By weaving engagement strategies throughout PD, it keeps the momentum going. When attendees are connected to each other and willing to engage, they are more likely to comprehend and apply their new learning after the experience.
Go Beyond the Basics
Choose icebreakers that build connection and trust, not just surface-level fun. Being intentional about what you choose sets the tone for the upcoming learning session. When you pick an activity that allows the attendees to come together around a common goal (ie. gain skills in the learning session) and find commonalities among one another, a relationship begins to form. This will prove fruitful during the learning because a foundation has already been created where people feel connected allowing vulnerabilities to surface. Trust starts to form as bonding solidifies.
Make It Meaningful
Align activities with professional learning goals to set the tone for the session. Just because an ice breaker can be fun and relatable to build relationships doesn’t mean it can’t also be meaningful to the topic attendees will be learning during the session. It will take time to find or create the right activity to fit the topic, but in the end it helps the learning stick. Without knowing it, attendees are warming up their brains for the upcoming learning topic while focusing instead of building relationships with those around them. Keep it light, keep it fun. But, make it meaningful.
Encourage Collaboration
Use team-based challenges that foster discussion and problem-solving. When we work towards a collective goal, we can rely on the expertise of each other. This continues to build trust and relationship while strengthening knowledge and skills. Attendees need to be doing the majority of the problem solving work in order to process, sort and save learning for quick retrieval later on down the road. Collaboration allows attendees to find their own language to explain the new learning to a peer. This deepens comprehension of everyone in the collaborative discussion. Hearing peers share newly learned information with their own perspective and expertise sprinkled on top, allows peers to make additional connections to solidify learning.
Respect Time & Comfort Levels
Provide options for participation so all staff feel included. Not everyone is going to enjoy the same type of ice breaker activities. For example, gregarious personalities might enjoy talking to new peers they don’t know whereas more shy personalities prefer silent, solo options. You can survey teachers at the beginning of the year to find out their preferences and comfort levels for ice breaker activities. No matter what option you decide to use, be respectful of attendee’s time. We don’t want to take away from the learning, we just want to kick start it.
Do you need options for ways to engage staff during PD? Download monthly morale boosters or buzzword bingo for increased staff engagement during PD sessions.
If you need more resources to help you become an even stronger teacher leader or coach, browse these printable and digital options. Check out other helpful blog posts here. Be sure to also check out my latest book, Always A Lesson: Teacher Essentials for Classroom and Career Success.
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About the author, Gretchen
I am a teacher trainer and coach. Working elbow to elbow with teachers and teacher leaders to ensure instructional proficiency and student achievement soar lights me up. We have a real need in our nation for strong educators to remain in the field. My blog, book, podcast, courses and instructional materials are geared towards empowering teachers (and those that lead them) to receive the support needed to grow and thrive today, tomorrow and always.
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