Determining the Relationship of Icebreakers with Principles of Learning and Teaching

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.