Skip to main content
Social Sci LibreTexts

1.2: Icebreaker Science

  1. Last updated
  2. Save as PDF
  • Page ID
    138508

    • Keith Chan
    \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    Icebreaker Science

    Format: In-person

    Diagram Description automatically generated
    Illustration of a retreating glacier.

    Author: Keith Chan

    Time needed: 60 minutes

    Learning Objectives

    • Experience the scientific process
    • Interact with classmates
    • Explore statistical sampling and analysis

    Supplies Needed

    • Writing supplies

    Readings

    Introduction

    The first day of lab sets expectations for the rest of the course. A lot has to be accomplished: attendance, the syllabus, a learning activity, and becoming familiar with each other. This activity addresses the latter two goals in a way that also uses the scientific method and statistical thinking.

    Students are given each question ahead of time so they can consider their own answer as well as what the class is like as a group. After this step, students move around the classroom and chat in different groups based on having something in common. When all of the questions have been explored, the instructor can review the results of each item to learn whether the students’ expectations were met or not.

    Steps

    • Ask students to write what percent of the class fit each of the categories listed on the Categories sheet. This is the hypothesis part of the activity.
    • For each category, students move to a certain part of the class. For example, students who have been on a roller coaster stand to the left and those who have not stand to the right.
    • Give students a minute to meet each other in their group for each category.
    • Record the percent of students on each side for each category. This is the observation part of the activity.
    • After the categories have all been surveyed, have the class return to their seats.
    • Go through each category and ask students for their impressions. Did they get close or not?

    Conclusion or Review Questions

    This activity got students moving and interacting each other while exploring the scientific process of hypothesis testing. Here are a few questions to conclude the activity:

    • Are these results representative of the country? The city? The school? Why or why not? This question can segue into a discussion of bias and sampling methods.
    • Which hypotheses could be considered “close enough” to the results? This can lead to an introduction to statistical inference and the standards used in science.

    Adapting for Online Learning

    If this is an in-person lab, rank how adaptable to online learning it would be (mark in bold):

    1 Not adaptable 2 Possible to adapt 3 Easy to adapt

    Students could form breakout rooms for each category, raise their hands, or respond in chat.

    Tips and Suggestions

    Come up with your own questions related to your school or community. Avoid questions that can be too personal (e.g., are you parents still together or not?) or involve knowledge that is too specific (e.g, did you like the last season of Game of Thrones?).

    Image Attributions

    Thornberry-Ehrlich, Trish L., Colorado State University. (2017). Glacier Features [Illustration]. United States Public Domain Mark 1.0. https://flic.kr/p/Rji5E7.

    Icebreaker Science Categories

    Ridden a roller coaster or not
    Is a dog or cat person
    Have been to Europe or not
    Is a morning or night person
    Like to go jogging or not
    Have eaten an insect or not
    Have done karaoke or not
    Have their birthday in the first or second half of the year
    Like to eat seafood or not
    Like group work or solo work

    This page titled 1.2: Icebreaker Science is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Keith Chan via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.