Ice breaker activities

Ice breaker #1: Change three Things

Mode of delivery: Synchronous Online/In-person

Participation: In pairs for in-person & In group for online

Duration: 5-10 minutes based on the number of the participants

Materials:  Enough space for the learner as a group to move around comfortably

Instruction: The facilitator chooses one learner as the main player then asks other member(s) of the group to actively observe the main player. Then asks the main player to leave the place and change three things from their appearance and then come back to the group. The facilitator asks the group member(s) what changes occurred in the main player appearance.

Instruction note: For the online version the main player could just turn the camera off while they are making the three changes.

Ice breaker #2: non-repetitive words

Mode of delivery: Synchronous Online/In-person

Participation: In group

 Duration: 5-10 minutes based on the number of the participants

Materials:  Access to internet and an online platform with whiteboard feature. For in-person version, whiteboard, and enough space for the group to write on the whiteboard comfortably.

Instruction: Learners form a group. On a whiteboard, each learner will type as many words as possible simultaneously. Words need to be related to the theme (could be names of fruit, taste of the fruit, color of the fruit…). However, each learner needs to spot and delete repetitive words promptly if there were any.

Ice breaker #3: Attentive Counting

Mode of delivery: Synchronous Online

Participation: In group

Duration: 5-10 minutes based on the number of the participants

Materials:  Access to internet and an online platform.

Instruction: Group members will count to 10 as a group while looking at each other’s faces. Each group member cannot say more than one number in a row. If two or more group members say the same number at the same time, the group must restart from the beginning. The activity ends once the group has successfully counted to 10 without any group members speaking at the same time.

Main Activities

Activity #1: Fill the Empty space

The aim of this activity:  In this group activity the learner practices active observation and compassion as a social practice

 Mode of delivery: Synchronous/Asynchronous In-person

Participation: As a group

Duration: 5 minutes

Materials:  Enough space for the learner as a group to move around comfortably

Instruction: The facilitator determines a space, asks the learners to walk freely in the space. Afterward they ask the learners to actively observe and find the empty spaces and try to fill them. The learners need to try not to leave an empty space as much as possible.

Reflection questions

• Did filling the space become easier toward the end, or did it become more difficult?
• Was it easier to keep your attention focused on the free space or on avoiding collisions?
• What did you pay more attention to, not hitting anyone else or finding a spot to fill? Why?
• When everyone had access to the same information, what would happen in a real-life context?

Additional notes for instructors

• The group first start walking slowly, and they gradually try to move faster.

Activity#2: Mirror Image imitation

The aim of this activity: In this group activity the learner practices active observation and taking the risk of being judged because of imitating others’ facial or body movement.

Mode of delivery: Synchronous/Asynchronous In-person/online

Participation: In pairs

Duration: 5 minutes

Materials:  Internet and a device for doing the activity online, and enough space for the learners as a pair.

Instruction: Learners make a pair, and make different tasks as leader and follower, they switch afterward though. The leader starts to move their body and/or showing any facial reactions, and the other learner/follower in front of the leader tries to imitate as precise as possible- the follower try to act as a mirror, then they switch. Other students if there are any, observe the activity and reflect on.

Reflection questions

• Which role was more difficult to perform? Why?
• As the mirror, did you find that you were more focused on anticipating the next movement than doing the movement?
• As a leader, did you want to do a movement the other person couldn’t do physically?
• When collecting information, how would you make sure the information recorded is as accurate as possible?

 Additional notes for instructors

• Just for fun, learners could try to act as a distortion mirror as well.

Activity #3: Understanding other’s Feeling

The aim of this activity:  In this group activity the learners practice mutual understanding through active observation

Mode of delivery: Synchronous In-person/online

Participation: In group

Duration: 5-15 minutes based the number of the group

Materials:  Internet and a device for doing the activity online, and enough space for the learners as a group circle, and tools for writing-pen & paper, or a device

Instruction: Learners one by one will be tasked to actively observe their co-workers faces and try to understand how their colleagues are feeling at that moment. Then they write their reflections. Afterward, they will share their perception with each other to find out how right they were about their recognitions.

Reflection questions

• How true did you believe your observations were before finding out the truth?
• Did you guess correctly? Would having more time for determining emotions change your answer? Why?
• How did you feel when you found that you were wrong?
• Would you consider studying body language after this activity to be more empathetic?

 Additional notes for instructors

• Instructors tell the Learner that their recognition does not have to be perfect. The main goal is to encourage the learner to be more caring about people around them.

Activity #4: Problem presentation with body Language

The aim of this activity: Practicing active observation as a mutual understanding with Speech impaired people

Mode of delivery: Synchronous In-person/online

Participation: In group

Duration: 5-15 minutes based the number of the group

Materials:  Internet and a device for doing the activity online, and enough space for the learners as a group.

Instruction: Learners one by one will be tasked to present a problem by using only their facial and/or body language without any talking. Other members of the group try to figure the presented problem out. Then they share their understanding to make sure how right they are.

Reflection questions

• As the observer did you understand the situation and the needs of the person better than it would have been described? Why or why not?
• As the problem presenter, why did you choose the problem that you chose to convey and was it easy or difficult to show it?
• What would you do when the client’s request is unclear? How could you prevent misunderstanding the client’s request?

Additional notes for instructors

• The Presenter is allowed to use the objects around them.

Activity #5: Presenting a problem with drawing 

The aim of this activity: Practicing active observation as a mutual understanding with auditory impaired people

Mode of delivery: Synchronous In-person/online

Participation: In group

Duration: 5-15 minutes based on the number of the group

Materials:  Internet and a device for doing the activity online as well as a whiteboard- virtual whiteboard for the online version

Instruction: Learners one by one will be tasked to present a problem by drawing/sketching the problem. Other members of the group try to find out what the problem is. Then they share their understanding to make sure how right they are.

Reflection questions

• How could you understand someone’s problem who could convey their message only through drawing?
• How do you find understanding client’s problem?
• How does a picture convey the message in comparison to acting/ speaking the message?

Additional notes for instructors

• All members should be doing the drawing task. Learners need to know that in the activity everyone is not supposed to be a good drawer, but they are trying to have a better understanding of others’ drawing messages even though the person is bad at drawing.

Resources

A sample of Active Observation Activities slide deck is created that can be used in workshops.