Name Game: Breaking the Ice on the First Class
By Sara Hijazi
EDI 15A Psychological Perspective: Teaching & Learning
School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
January 20, 2010
Walking into today's class I didn't know what to expect. I felt nervous, excited, anxious and overwhelmed; a variety of different emotions. However, after being welcomed into the classroom so warmly, I felt comfortable and at ease, until I found out we would be playing the name game. I'm not a very outgoing person and I certainly do not like being the center of attention amongst people I do not know.
We arranged ourselves into a large circle, and of course I ended up being the last person in the circle meaning that I had to remember every single person’s name. To my surprise there was a twist to the game. Each person had to think of a strategy that would make it easier for the next person to remember their name. For example, Ashley, a classmate, referred to herself as amazing Ashley helping the people sitting ahead of her remember her name by pairing the amazing with her name Ashley since they both start with the letter “A”.
By the time it was my turn to remember everyone’s names and strategies I was feeling pretty confident, and I was able to go around the circle with little to no hesitation. I was very pleased with this activity and thought it was great how the Professor tied it in with the curriculum for our class. She explained to us, after finishing the name game, that the way in which we thought of a strategy to help our classmates remember our name is exactly what we should strive to do when teaching.
Instead of lecturing, it’s important to strategize our lessons to help our students remember the information we are teaching them more effectively and efficiently, and not let it just go in one ear and out the other. We have to make lessons exciting and interactive so that the students enjoy what they are doing while learning a lot at the same time.
Long Island University, C. W. Post
January 20, 2010
Walking into today's class I didn't know what to expect. I felt nervous, excited, anxious and overwhelmed; a variety of different emotions. However, after being welcomed into the classroom so warmly, I felt comfortable and at ease, until I found out we would be playing the name game. I'm not a very outgoing person and I certainly do not like being the center of attention amongst people I do not know.
We arranged ourselves into a large circle, and of course I ended up being the last person in the circle meaning that I had to remember every single person’s name. To my surprise there was a twist to the game. Each person had to think of a strategy that would make it easier for the next person to remember their name. For example, Ashley, a classmate, referred to herself as amazing Ashley helping the people sitting ahead of her remember her name by pairing the amazing with her name Ashley since they both start with the letter “A”.
By the time it was my turn to remember everyone’s names and strategies I was feeling pretty confident, and I was able to go around the circle with little to no hesitation. I was very pleased with this activity and thought it was great how the Professor tied it in with the curriculum for our class. She explained to us, after finishing the name game, that the way in which we thought of a strategy to help our classmates remember our name is exactly what we should strive to do when teaching.
Instead of lecturing, it’s important to strategize our lessons to help our students remember the information we are teaching them more effectively and efficiently, and not let it just go in one ear and out the other. We have to make lessons exciting and interactive so that the students enjoy what they are doing while learning a lot at the same time.
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