Marcia+Milchiker,+Icebreaker




 * //(Saddleback College Class Schedule Spring 2010 [] )//**


 * Task: ** Introductory exercise for the beginning of the course. (Conrad pp.46-59)


 * Objective: **To introduce students to online research, creative thinking, critical thinking, and draw them into interacting with each other in an enjoyable and thought-provoking way


 * Author: ** Marcia Milchiker, MS., Biology, Ohio State University MMilchiker@cox.net


 * Method: ** Prior to this activity, you have completed the assignment; //Learning to Use Online Tools.// (Orlantha Lin //Learning to Use Online Tools (Wikispaces Engaging the Onlne Learner Week 2 Educ. 200// // [] ). // You are now familiar enough with navigating through the course materials, have an overview of the course, and are becoming familiar with the tools we will be using in the course this semester. As you work with these tools, you will become more confident as begin our exhilarating exploration through Biology 20.

If you are still uncomfortable with this technology, check out my Faculty Web Page for websites of online tutorials that will give you hands-on experience with the tech tools you are using. This will be helpful for you kinesthetic, visual and aural learners. Check out our college’s website for resources for new online learners. []. You can also make an appointment with our online computer assistance desk for students. (Note to self: when our budget situation turns around, request that staff explore this as to the feasibility, efficacy and costs. In that process, ask the academic senates to explore this, since it is an academic as well as a fiscal decision by our colleges.)

Do you need help with course content? Check out Saddleback College’s fabulous Learning Assistance Program []. As a SC student, you are entitled to schedule a tutor to work with you through out the semester, free!

I call this activity Truth or Lies in chemistry. You will pick five individuals in our class to work with in this wiki.

Our first chapter deals with the chemical basis for biology. Prior to learning about the chemical cycles which occur in cells, this is very important background material for you. You are to read the biolinks I have provided for you on my faculty website: [] as well as your textbook and the materials I shared with you already on chemical bonds. No matter what kind of learner you are, you can have fun with and master chemical bonds, since they are visual, mathematical, and kinesthetic in online presentations and in using kits.


 * I want each of you to list two truthful statements and one false statement about chemical bonds to your wiki group. . What makes this activity fun is to be as outrageous as possible in your true and false statements. Each member of your Wiki group will then try to determine which of the members of the groups’ statements are true or false. Once everyone posts his or her responses, post your truths and explain why you chose them. **

Dear Marci
 * Critique of Marcia's reflective activity by Marcelo N. Pires**

Your activity has a very interesting structure and I think students would enjoy participating in it. Above all, I think they would learn from it. You characterize it as an “icebreaker”, but I think it would fit better under the “Peer Partnership” category. According to Conrad and Donadlson (2004), an “icebreaker” should be more person-focused than content-focused, require that a student finds points in common with each other, and require that students express some form of personal information (p. 47). A “Peer Partnership Activity”, on the other hand, is content-focused and requires students to read and comment on each other’s entries (p. 61) - just as your activity. Unlike in your activity, however, an effective activity in this category (still according to Conrad and Donaldson) requires participants to provide some critical feedback on each other’s entries (p. 61). Having said all that, the fact that your activity does not “fit perfectly” in any category does not mean that it is not appropriate as an activity to be done early in the semester, of course. There is nothing wrong, in my opinion, in having an activity that allows some student interaction while also having them work on certain course-related concepts. My main comment would be, then, that if this activity is meant to be the main “icebreaker” in a course, then it should be slightly modified to make it less academically demanding and more “personal”. If, on the other hand, its main goal would be to encourage peer collaboration, then it could be modified to include a summary statement from the group about why the false statements are false. In this case, it could be helpful to assign one student as being the “editor” of the group.

Comment on Marcelo N. Pires critique of my reflective activity, Examples of Icebreakers by Instructional Designers (Conrad and Donaldson pp 46 - 59) were personal and were meant to draw students into the discussion with they fellow classmates in a non demanding way prior to introducing them to the course content. In our course, our icebreaker required students to have completed the readings and have a high level of understanding and syntesis of the materials as noted in Blooms Taxonomy, discuss these materials with classmates, and create a well thought out product. I was cognizent of first having students learn to use online tools (Conrad and Donaldson pp 37 - 45,) then drawing them in with an icebreaker (Conrad and Donaldson pp 46 - 58,) and then creating Peer Partnership and Team Activites (Conrad and Donaldson pp 60 - 72) while being mindful of the materials I need to convey to the students in a semester biology class in the time we have. The points you make are valid, and I did reflect on them myself while I was creating this lesson plan. The question I have is how do you move right into the coursework, as we did in our class, and find time to have the two additonal activities suggested by Conrad and Donaldson at the beginning of your class? When I taught biology, we had so much material to cover, starting the course materials on week 3 would have not been possible. Marcia Milchiker

Marcia, First of all, kudos to you for recognizing the value of a classmates’ activity and integrating it into the resources you are providing here for your students. That is exactly what I would like to see over the course of this program! Secondly, I want to highlight how you have provided a slew of resources and orientation to your students before they even get to the activity. This wasn’t necessary for this assignment, but it certainly is necessary for an actual class. This illustrates how much detail really goes into (before, after and around) every component of a course (and particularly an online course). Finally- what a fun way to present this potential dense and difficult topic. I would even be interested in THIS class. LeeAnn