Determining the Relationship of Icebreakers with Principles of
Learning and Teaching
UNEB GAZDER
Department of Civil Engineering,
University of Bahrain,
Isa Town - 32038,
KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN
Abstract: - The occurrence of COVID pandemic has forced higher education institutions to adopt online
teaching. A recent study has found that a vast majority of students find online teaching less motivating than
face-to-face environments. Icebreakers are activities designed to “break the ice”, energize/re-energize students,
and create an interactive environment among teachers and students. This research is aimed at providing a link
between icebreakers and re-energizers and teaching and learning models. The purpose of this research is to
encourage teachers, especially those dealing with adult learners, to develop their theoretical understanding for
effective implementation of icebreakers in class and provide a link between teaching methodologies and
icebreakers. The nature of this study is review-based and relies upon previous research. During the evaluation
of this research, mapping between teaching perspectives, UKPSF dimensions, and the ripples’ model was
developed. Moreover, different perspectives on the design of a student-centered learning environment were also
identified. Based on this research, it was detected that there is a need to conduct further studies that can
quantitatively measure the effect of icebreakers in fulfilling the learning goals. It is also essential to investigate
whether the outcomes of ice-breaker activities can be linked with various aspects of teaching and learning. In
this context, some authors have studied the effects of icebreakers on social interaction in online learning.
However, their effects on other aspects of online teaching are still understudied. Based on the findings of this
research, it is recommended that future research should be carried out on the design and employment of
different ice-breaker activities in online classes and link them with the subject matter. The effects of these
activities on student performance in assessment, class participation, and critical thinking must be investigated.
Moreover, the current literature lacks the use of numerical and statistical analysis to support their results, which
should also be taken into consideration.
Key-Words: - Icebreakers, adult education, learning and teaching perspectives, mapping, student-centered
learning
Received: July 16, 2022. Revised: August 19, 2023. Accepted: September 21, 2023. Published: October 24, 2023.
1 Introduction
The occurrence of COVID pandemic has forced
higher education institutions to adopt online
teaching. A recent study has found that a vast
majority of students find online teaching less
motivating than face-to-face environments, [1].
Addressing the issue of student motivation is
extremely important for engineering courses, as
students are supposed to be involved in providing
design solutions to real-world problems. Icebreakers
are activities designed to “break the ice”,
energize/re-energize students, and create an
interactive environment among teachers and
students, [2]. These activities also help to polish
students’ communication skills by allowing them to
express their opinions, [3].
Students’ motivation and participation in the
class is extremely important for their learning. In
addition, creating a friendly environment in the class
is helpful for active learning and cognitive skill
development of students from different
backgrounds, [4]. Icebreakers provide the
opportunity to achieve the above goals for teaching
and learning.
This research is aimed at providing a link
between icebreakers and re-energizers and teaching
and learning models. Such research is expected to
encourage teachers at the higher education level to
use icebreakers by highlighting the achievement of
teaching objectives using icebreakers. The purpose
of this research is to facilitate teachers, especially
those dealing with adult learners, in developing their
theoretical understanding for effective
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implementation of icebreakers in class. Higher
education has been restricted, for the most part, to
online teaching for an extended period due to
COVID-19. Hence, teachers must find effective
ways to deliver subject material and create a
collaborative environment during online classes.
The current research will be a leading step towards
achieving that goal.
2 Scope and Limitation
This research investigates the validity of the
following hypothesis:
“Icebreakers/re-energizers can be effective in
enhancing student learning by increasing their class
participation and persistence with the class
activities.”
This research is important to teachers and
instructors in higher education since it focuses on
adult education and addresses the issue of
encouraging participation from students of various
backgrounds in physical and online classes. The
main limitation of this study is the absence of data
through which results can be analyzed and
validated. It has been recommended and planned for
a future study which will be done by the author. The
claims of this research have been supported by
analyzing teaching principles found in the literature
and suggesting icebreakers to address them. The
main contribution/finding of this study is the
establishment of a link between icebreaker activities
for different teaching environments (online or
physical) and their connection with principles for
effective adult learning, social interaction methods
of teaching, and the notion of the teacher as
facilitator.
3 Icebreakers and Teaching
Perspectives
Higher education, in the present era, is characterized
by the aspect of diversity in adult learners in terms
of their learning methods, preconceived notions of
teaching, and commitment to class participation,
which is also emphasized by, [5]. This aspect is
linked with the UK Professional Standards
Framework (UKPSF) dimensions of (diverse
learners), V2 (equal opportunity of participation),
and K3 (learning abilities of students), see Fig. 1 for
more details about UKPSF dimensions. The UK is
considered a leader in terms of standardization of
higher education which is supported by the research
done in part, [6]. At the time of the study, there was
a lack of literature related to the use of icebreakers
for adult education. Hence, this research was carried
out to fill this gap and to support educators in
applying icebreakers as part of their daily
instructional activities.
This research revolves around the definition of
teaching perspectives for adult education and their
link with ice-breaker activities. The use of term
“teaching perspective” is also interchangeably used
with other terms in education literature for defining
different aspects of teaching; “methods”,
“strategies”, “approaches”, and “pedagogies”, [7],
[8]. Teaching perspective can be defined as “a
unique constellation of actions, intentions, and
beliefs”, [2]. Based on this definition and integrating
it with the other terms used in the literature, it can
be said that perspective is related to the aim of
teaching that one is trying to ascertain with his/her
students. According to Chulp and Collins [2], there
are five perspectives of teaching, as shown in Table
1. It is also important to link the teaching
perspectives with the well-known models of
teaching such as UKPSF and the ripples model
given by Race, as shown in Fig. 2, [9]. Therefore, a
mapping of teaching perspectives with the UKPSF
dimensions and factors for successful learning was
carried out which is shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Mapping of Teaching Perspectives with
UKPSF and Factors for Successful Learning
Perspective
UKPSF
Dimension
Factor
Transmission:
Delivery of content
A1, A2, K1,
K2
Verbalizing,
vocalizing
Apprenticeship:
Ways of being
A3, V2
Learning by doing
Developmental:
Ways of thinking
A4, K3
Wanting/needing
Making sense
Nurturing: Self-
efficacy
A2, A4, K3
Assessing
Social Reform: A
Better Society
V4, K6
Wanting/needing
Fig. 1: UKPSF Framework (adopted from [10])
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Fig. 2: Ripples’ Model (adopted from [9])
It is important to note the fact that a one-size
model for teaching practices may not be applicable
in all contexts, which further justifies the need for
mapping presented in Table 1. The variance in
teaching models and learners and educators leads to
two important questions:
1. Selection of icebreakers
2. Design of icebreakers
The first aspect can be linked with the student-
centered learning approach while the other one is
shown to improve the student learning experience.
These linkages have been presented in detail in the
proceeding sections.
3.1 Student-Centered Learning
The selection of icebreaker activities should be
based on factors related to social interaction
including safety, sound relationships, respect for
learners as decision-makers, teamwork,
engagement, and accountability. According to, [2],
social interaction is vital for student-centered
learning. However, other studies have presented
various other aspects related to student-centered
learning. The authors in, [11], have identified the
following factors of student-centered learning from
the student’s perspective:
a) Developing student ownership
b) Achieving personally meaningful
learning goals
c) Learning autonomously
d) Generating artifacts aimed at authentic
audiences
Another important issue related to student-
centered learning is the design of activities that
should incorporate challenging, real-life tasks, with
technology as a tool for learning, communication,
and collaboration, according to, [12]. Therefore, it
can be said that the two main aspects of icebreakers
are related to student-centered learning and
providing a suitable learning environment to
facilitate it. Both aspects must be addressed by the
instructor.
3.2 Enhancement of Learning
To use icebreakers and re-energizers as a tool to
enhance student learning instead of just improving
the classroom environment, the design of activities
is important. The study, [13] mentioned that the
icebreaker activities can be used at different times
during the session to enhance learning and
encourage students to participate, however, they did
not provide any statistical or mathematical evidence
to prove this aspect. However, there are other
articles to support the use of icebreakers for
attaining learning outcomes, as mentioned below.
The study, [3], employed icebreakers to improve the
speaking ability of English language class students
and found them to be useful. Another example of
evidence of using icebreakers for learning is given
by, [5], who presented the case of a physics teacher
employing icebreakers to improve student learning.
4 Discussion
This research paper highlights the benefit of the use
of icebreakers as a tool for enhancing learning and
provides its link with teaching perspectives and
aspects of student-centered learning. In this sense,
this research goes against the common belief that
ice-breakers are primarily used for improving the
interaction of class members, [14]. Therefore, this
aspect should be further investigated with the
application of icebreakers in online classes to collect
evidence related to its effectiveness for learning in
them.
The current research also provides insight into
teaching perspectives, which are different from the
well-known models of teaching and learning. This
will help to broaden my knowledge base and enable
their use for designing course contents and teaching
methodologies from a different aspect.
From the literature reviewed in this research, a
list of icebreaker activities was prepared which is
shown in Table 2. These activities are recommended
to be used in different environments (online and
physical). Further details and evidence of their use
can be found in the references cited with the
activities. It is expected that it will be helpful for
instructors to select icebreakers that can promote
participation from students who are from diverse
backgrounds.
Assessment of peers' work
Verbalizing/vocalizing
Making sense of content
Receiving feedback
Learning by
doing/practice
Need/Want
to learn
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Table 2. Ice-Breaker Activities
Activity
Reference
Environment
Learning theatre
[5]
Online/Physical
Post it notes
[15], [16]
Online
Human web
[17]
Physical
Significant event
[15]
Online/Physical
What’s your wish
[18]
Online/Physical
Share your uniqueness
[19]
Online/Physical
Post your experience with
a short comment
Online
Stop, Start, Continue
[15]
Online
Learning cells
[20]
Online/Physical
Reading stories
[3]
Online
Silent reflection
[21]
Online
Rounds
Physical
3-minutes each way
Online
Buzz groups
Physical
Brainstorms
Online
Syndicates
Physical
Snowballing/Pyramiding
Physical
Fishbowls
Physical
Crossovers
Physical
Electronic voting system
[22]
Online
Board games
[23]
Online
Extended introduction
Physical
Audio-lingual Method
(ALM)
[7]
Physical
Communicative
Language Teaching
(CLT)
Online
Interactive maps
[14]
Online
Animated presentations
Youtube playlists
Virtual pinboard
Comic strip
The mapping of teaching perspectives with
UKPSF and Ripple’s model, shown in Table 1, is
not found in the literature. It was done to encourage
teachers and instructors to use icebreakers with a
broader scope to cover subject matter, instead of just
focusing on items of general knowledge and interest
(such as songs, stories, events, etc.).
Authors, mentioned in Table 2, have
recommended a list of icebreakers, supposedly from
“experience” but there is a lack of quantitative
evidence to support their claims of their
effectiveness in supporting student-centered
learning. Therefore, this research tried to find a link
between the recommended methods and other
sources of literature to design and adopt class
activities based on evidence, rather than judgment.
5 Conclusions and Future Directions
This research was aimed at providing a link between
icebreakers and re-energizers and teaching and
learning models. The literature review was used to
create a mapping between the icebreakers and
teaching methodologies. These linkages were also
made with the well-known teaching models
implemented worldwide.
After the review, it was found that the literature
is available to illustrate the fact that icebreakers can
be used to enhance student participation and
learning. However, it lacks the evidence to justify
their claim quantitatively or subjectively. Therefore,
it may be used as a stepping-stone for future studies
and can be used as a basis for changes in teaching
practice. During this research, a mapping was
developed between teaching perspectives, UKPSF
dimensions, and the ripples’ model. Moreover, this
research was able to identify different perspectives
for the design of a student-centered learning
environment. It was also found that icebreakers have
been used in online and physical learning
environments, even before the COVID-19
pandemic. With the advancements in artificial
intelligence, it is possible to implement icebreakers
within a gaming environment. The use of gaming
activities has also been proven effective in
strengthening the class environment.
Based on this research, it is detected that there is
a need to conduct further studies that can
quantitatively measure the effect of icebreakers in
fulfilling the learning goals. It is also essential to
investigate whether the outcomes of ice-breaker
activities can be linked with various aspects of
teaching and learning. In this context, [13], have
studied the effects of icebreakers on social
interaction in online learning. However, their effects
on other aspects of online teaching are still
understudied.
Therefore, it is recommended to direct future
research to determine the effects of icebreakers on
different aspects of teaching in the online
environment. Wherein, icebreaker activities should
be designed and employed in online classes and
linked with the subject matter. It is essential that the
effects of these activities on student performance in
assessment, class participation, and critical thinking
should be investigated using well-established
statistical and numerical analysis. Another possible
direction of research could be the determination of
the effectiveness of gaming-based icebreakers and
their counterpart activities.
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Contribution of Individual Authors to the
Creation of a Scientific Article (Ghostwriting
Policy)
Uneb Gazder solely contributed to the present
research, at all stages from the formulation of the
problem to the final findings and solution.
Sources of Funding for Research Presented in a
Scientific Article or Scientific Article Itself:
No funding was received for conducting this study.
Conflict of Interest
The author has no conflicts of interest to declare.
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
(Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0)
This article is published under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
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