Case study: Mentimeter for 'icebreakers' in seminars

Department of Economics and Related Studies
Yaprak Tavman

Yaprak Tavman describes how she uses multiple choice questions to create a 'truth or lie' icebreaker activity at the start of her seminars to help increase engagement and create a positive atmosphere for learning and groupwork.

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Transcript

So, I mean, we can use Mentimeter in a variety of ways in seminars, I suppose. But the one I wanted to focus on today is actually an activity of an introductory icebreaker. So in Economics, this can be quite useful because students are usually lectured in groups of 200 or more. So when they come to the seminars, at the first seminar it's quite often that most of them don't really know each other. So I've found that if I use an introductory icebreaker, this can be quite useful in making students feel more comfortable in the rest of the seminars that they've come to.

So the one I wanted to focus on today is actually the one from Mentimeter, which is a truth or lie activity. So this is one of the quite new features in Mentimeter, actually. So as you can see in the screen, it's quite straightforward, you just, so I use this first to introduce myself. So you can give as many statements as you want. I usually use three of those. And then you basically ask students whether they think this thing about you is a truth or a lie, and then they can submit their answers using Mentimeter that then I reveal what it is at the end. And then I have found actually sometimes, depending on what I share, students can be quite surprised as well, which is always fun.

And then I also go around the group and ask everyone to tell one statement about themselves and that the rest of the group tries to guess if it is a truth or lie about each student. So this can obviously take some time out from the first seminar, but I have found that it is actually worth it because then I realised it actually helps students with, in terms of group bonding, and I think it also helps them to feel more comfortable when they approach me as well. So then this can improve the learning environment because when I ask questions I find that students can feel more comfortable to answer them and speak out loud because the group already, in a way, knows each other. And then they also find me more approachable.

So they do sometimes come and talk to me, for example, about something I shared, which I think is really important, especially in the small groups, for students to feel like they are actually part of a group and they belong there. And I think this has also helped with the use of Mentimeter in the future, in the subsequent seminars, because then I also ask students to engage in some collaborative group work. So then when I assigned that to groups, they also feel more comfortable and they need to have a discussion and then share their answers using Mentimeter as well. So that's all I wanted to say. Thank you.