Dhagat 1

Sandeep Dhagat
Professor Suk
EDUC 230-01 Education Field Experience
Fall 2017
Rationale Statement Standard 2

Standard Two: Learning Differences

The teacher uses understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures and communities to
ensure inclusive learning environments that enable each learner to meet high standards. (NJ
Professional Standards for Teachers, 2014, p. 2).

Artifact: Icebreaker
Date of Completion: December 7th, 2017 (Fall 2017)
Course Completed in: EDUC-230 Education Field Experience

Rationale Statement:
The icebreaker artifact represents a prospective activity I would use with a class on the first day
of school to build the fundamental classroom relationships between students, and between students
and teacher. The purpose is to gain valuable information about incoming students (e.g. learning styles,
ethnicities, personal beliefs, strengths, weaknesses), while encouraging a supportive classroom
community where students are interested about each other. The icebreaker activity evidences my
understanding that learners bring assets for learning based on their individual experiences, abilities,
talents, prior learning, and peer and social group interactions, as well as language, culture, family,
and community values (NJ Professional Standards for Teachers 2.ii.5, 2014, p. 3). Among the 15
questions I constructed, I tried to create a balance between questions that would be valuable to both
other students and to the teacher. For example, I ask about what languages a student speaks, their most
effective study location, and their prospective plans for college. This information helps a teacher in
some cases understand why a student may be taking their class, and helps to make students more than
a face in a desk. In addition, the icebreaker also considers students outside their academic lives, which
can be used later to help students relate to potentially abstract concepts. For example, a student who
plays in a varsity or JV team may be more interested to learn about physiology and kinesiology if they
can see how it relates to sports science.
Based on personal experiences with icebreakers over my student life, there tend to be 3
common problems: (1) students usually refuse to take massive social risks by sharing ostensibly personal
or unique characteristics, (2) questions often lack creativity or only require superficial considerations by
students, and (3) students dont share the teachers enthusiasm in getting to know their peers. While
creating the icebreaker, I tried to mitigate these typical obstacles while simultaneously keeping the
activity valuable to students and teachers. The worst situation would be to use up valuable class time on
an activity that neither students nor the teacher find much value from. However, because I was suffering
from a lack of creativity I also looked online to get suggestions from what other teachers had done. I
found that the activities that work with elementary students do not work with high school students, due
to developmental differences. I eventually found an activity for high schools that I thought would work,
and then adjusted it. For example, I added the part about allowing students to place back 5 M&Ms if
 Dhagat 2

they answered a science question. This seemed like a simple way to start slowly integrating content into
the class without going overboard.
As a teacher, I would actually implement this icebreaker into my own class in order to learn
more about my students, create an engaging atmosphere, and begin slowly orienting students back to
content material after summer. Also, I would use the results from each year to modify and improve the
icebreaker, so that it becomes a better tool. This may include updating or rewording questions, allowing
students to return more or less M&Ms, making the teacher play the game as well, and having students
ask their own questions for their classmates to answer. Educations should clearly take the time to
actively learn more about their students backgrounds; and, while a small activity may not cover all
aspects of their life, I think it should set the right tone for building the future relationship. I would hope
this icebreaker accomplishes that objective. If for any reason it did not, I would take student input, use it
as a learning experience, and develop it.

Reference

Professional Development in New Jersey. (2014, August 4). Retrieved from New Jersey State Department
of Education:
http://www.state.nj.us/education/profdev/profstand/teacherstandardscrosswalk.pdf