.jpg)
Show biz secrets for adult learning success.
This article makes the case that ice breakers -- activities used to begin the learning event -- are harmful to the learning process.
In 1912, an unsinkable ship, the Titanic, sank when it hit an iceberg. In 2009 learning situations, unwitting trainers, sink training programs when they begin by announcing, “We’re gonna’ start with an ice breaker.”
Most of the participants, in response, experience a sinking feeling. And, they may be right. There are three reasons to steer clear of ice breakers during learning.
- Ice breakers suggest a frivolous training will follow – Forcing involvement in an activity with little seeming connection to the subject being taught implies a lack relevance in the training as a whole
- Ice breakers risk learner alienation before the subject has been introduced – Communication experts suggest that people, upon meeting someone new, make up their mind about that person and their message within seconds. The same dynamic holds true in the training environment. Ice breakers waste those precious seconds on seemingly mindless activity.
- Ice breakers squander valuable time on non-essential information – The short attention spans of modern learners brought on by the endless barrage of TV commercials and the point-and-click ease of the Internet make it difficult enough for learners to maintain a continued focus with on-target content. Activities that don’t readily connect to content send learners channel surfing.
The very term ice breaker creates the wrong metaphor. The goal of the first learning segment should be to defrost the ice, not break it. Learning can intimidate adults. Attending learning means admitting a lack of knowledge, and by inference, an admission of incomplete adultness. The learners are then forced to admit their perceived incompleteness in a strange, uncomfortable room, in front of strangers, and to an instructor they likely do not know who controls their fate.
In addition, many people have negative memories of school and training is all too reminiscent of those memories. Adults may also, based on those school experiences have a negative image of their ability to learn. Still others, especially those required to attend, have negative suspicions about management motives.
Fortunately there is a way to navigate this ice. A specific path steers clear of ice while maximizing the first fifteen minutes of the training program. In our next article, Ten concrete steps for beginning alearning event - part-one, we will examine those steps.
How the brain experiences learning
What is accelerated learning?
True confessions of a talkaholic
We feel before we think
The learners' declaration of rights
How to use color to make presentations more effective
Why students do not like to learn
Moving training from out to CLOUT
It's training's fault
Learning in an anxious economic environment
That guy should have talked some more
P-E-R-F-O-R-M: Seven tips for maintaining professionalism
Facts and fun
Eight show-biz secrets to effective learning
Visit Lenn on line at www.OffbeatTraining.com or follow Lenn on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Offbeat Online.
Comments
Great article!
Thank you. Coming from a fellow reporter, it is much appreciated.
I've found that the more people fun people have at training the more they learn. Have used icebreakers with great success!
I agree. As a technical trainer I can tell you first hand that ice breakers turn off that audience. They are serious learners that want to learn the things they need for their job. They don't want their time wasted. Ice breakers are mostly for trainers to fill time. Time is money and trainers need to think like business owners. Don't waste student and company time.
Lenn, with all respect, in my experience I couldn't disagree more. I've been training for a long time and when I use icebreakers (I NEVER use the term "icebreaker" - I do agree that the image is terrible) I get more audience involvement/engagement throughout the day. When I don't, it's a struggle to draw the students out and get questions from them. It's a matter of what icebreakers you use and how you use them.
As an instructional designer and professional facilitator, I agree all activities should be in alignment with the desired results and the content within the curriculum. With that said, ice breakers when well done should engage other senses. Unfortunately, many facilitators (I personally dislike the word trainer because that is how we change the behaviors of domesticated animals)do not understand how people learn and use ice breakers as the accepted model for learning. For me, the process of learning (the acquisition of knowledge) and performance (the application of knowledge) should be fun, engaging and a challenge. If an ice breaker can help achieve that goal, I use it. Again, the focus needs to be on the desired results. Ice breakers are just a tool to move the participants close to the goal line.
Where is the overwhelming evidence to prove this point!
Come on. Don't we have better things to do, like making sure the I.D. and presentation of topics is the best it can be, rather than worrying about whether some people might not like icebreakers?
I disagree !!
I don't know about the rest of you, but where is the evidence to prove this. In 40 years I have never had anyone tell me that icebreakers (or the term icebreaker) was harmful to the training environment. I can't read my participants minds. So, I don't make assumptions about what they might be thinking.
Let focus on more important things about training and development.
I disagree. People need the chance to warm-up to the environment and the subject. Choosing activities that help them do this is the key. Much of the learning theories support this.
Thank you all for the great comments.
I think we are actually on the same page, but speaking a slightly different language. When referring to ice breakers, I'm referring to those annoying "find someone who has a pet, drives a car, and ..." activities.
As the article clearly points out, activities that further the learning to follow are extremely useful. Where trainers have gone wrong is in the indiscriminate use of mindless activities that do little more than get people talking and moving. THOSE build resentment.
If you all believe, as I do, that every moment in the classroom is a teachable moment, why squander it? An enjoyable, interesting, insightful activity that sets up the learning foreshadows the learning to come. THAT builds trust.
Thank you all again. What a helpful discussion!
All, A follow up comment - remember to check out tomorrow's article (this is the first of a three part series) before getting too worked up over this. In it I'll share a model for melting rather than breaking that ice.
Folks, it's not about the icebreakers...it's about the personality, learning style, and preferred environments of the participants and the facilitation skill of the trainer. Any activity, whether it's and "icebreaker", lecture, or worksheet must engage the learner and be the right fit. I can take the same activity and present it without instructions and get resistance. I can present it next time with clear instructions and explain the purpose of the activity up front and I get no push back. But, it's all about being able to quickly determine the characteristics of the learners and adapt accordingly.
Lenn Millbower,
Thank you for writing this article. I 1000% agree. I don't need stats or studies to prove this point you bring up. But if I go to a workshop or seminar, esp. that I paid for, I dont want to waste an hour getting to know other people. If that was the purpose, I would just go to a social event! But when I come to learn something the speaker is presenting or teaching, I want to use all my energies and time for that. Ice breakers are a WASTE of time folks and very IRRELEVANT. Maybe after the seminar we could have a networking session, but who wants to concentrate on the various ways to present yourself to an audience, as you did not come to speak but listen & learn?
Lenn, I think some people have mixed up the term, "Icebreaker" with the term and purpose of an "Opening Activity." Openers have a purpose. They connect the audience with the point of the training while creating positive learning relationships, lowering learner anxiety and creating anticipation. I am committed to those goals at every training and will continue by starting with a well chosen activity.
As Michele correctly states, I was referring to ice breakers not opening activities. The next article in the series does in fact explain step-by-step how to conduct a successful opening activity.
Again, thank you all for your comments here and on LinkedIn. The feedback here and on LinkedIn was fierce (a very few inappropriate, nasty comments were removed). The most interesting comments were those that supported using ice breakers while warning that the term has a bad reputation with learners. Interesting dichotomy, isn't it? It appears that many people LOVE their ice breakers. Unfortunately, few of them are learners.
Ice breakers are a crutch for weak instructors. They are time fillers. They provide nothing and add nothing to the learning experience. A good designer will design a learning activity that highlights an important learning objective. This is a much better way to start a class
You are absolutely right. This is a very perceptive and thoughtful article. I hate thinking back on all the time I've had to waste on silly ice-breaking exercises in training programs.
To get participants' attention and respect, it's best to begin with something that will really meet their needs. They can meet and greet during the coffee break.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!