Icebreaker

We do a bingo game. (See bingo card below.) The boxes have queries that are completed by finding someone in the room who has that experience or knowledge. I might ask some content-related questions to learn a little about what the students know about natural resources, as well as queries about recreational activities, favorite music, cultural awareness, etc. In our second year, we integrate our international students with our U.S. students, so I usually include questions about culture, language, and travel to help the group stretch beyond their own experience. The first person to get bingo diagonally gets a little prize. They're getting to know each other. They're also finding out who are some resource experts in the class—this guy knows how to use a map, this person's been to Central America, this person speaks three languages. So we learn about each other and how we can interact with each other in terms of some skills we wouldn't have otherwise known. It starts to build a sense of community that is so important for them to be successful.
— Joan DeYoung, Instructor, Natural Resources Technology