>Doc Holloway wrote:
>
>>I'd like to hear from some of the introverts in this group about how they
>>feel about icebreakers...I know that, though I'm only marginally
>>introverted, I find them a pain in the butt that generally only pleases a
>>few of the people who are breaking the ice.
I use an icebreaker of sorts on the first night of class (MBA students).
(This is also the first course they take in the program so they have not
spent any time together prior to this.) It is a prelude to forming teams
for class assignments. All of the students have completed the LSI (Kolbe's
inventory) and the results are on a grid on the board.
I ask students what they'd like to know about their fellow students. I
always make sure that 2 topics make it on the list: 1) Who do you admire
and why? and 2) Why are you here? I give them a two to three minute limit
guideline.
The process seems to be fairly unintrusive. People less inclined to talk
can make short order of it.
After the introductions I build on the "why are you here" question. The
answers they offer are the usual suspects; advance career, increase
earning potential, meet company requirements, be successful, etc. Very few
if any mention learning. I go on to ask how many students can identify
people in their organizations who have accomplished all of the reasons
they mentioned without having an MBA. Most peopl raise their hands. I then
talk about life long learning and give them the "you need to get out of
undergraduate mode" pep talk.
I've never heard any negative feedback (although that's not necessarily a
ringing endorsement by students either).
Bill Braun
--Bill Braun <medprac@hlthsys.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>