Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Beyond Breaking the Ice: Building a Team in the Classroom

Posted by anne.grey | Start the discussion

Presenter: Sarah Wheat.

Summary

In this presentation, Sarah Wheat introduces team building as an ongoing classroom practice rather than something reserved for the first day of class. Drawing from sport and performance psychology, she explains how stronger group cohesion can support communication, collaboration, belonging, and student performance. The goal is to help students see themselves not simply as individuals taking the same course, but as members of a learning community who can support one another.

The session provides several adaptable activities for building connections among students. The Team Juggle Drill helps students learn names and practice communication, while “Who Am I Like?” encourages students to discover shared interests and experiences. Groups can also create names, slogans, and logos to develop a stronger sense of team identity. Many of these activities can be adapted for in-person, synchronous online, or asynchronous courses.

Team building can also be used later in the term when communication decreases or group challenges emerge. Activities such as Defining Peak Performance invite students to discuss what helps a group work well and create shared expectations. “Please Pass the Problems” gives students an anonymous way to offer one another ideas, encouragement, and possible solutions to classroom or group challenges, supporting empathy and collaborative problem-solving.

A major focus of the session is helping instructors become effective facilitators, or “coaches,” for these activities. Wheat recommends providing clear instructions, creating student buy-in, giving groups space to work through challenges, and allowing some initial awkwardness to be part of the process. Most importantly, every activity should include a debrief. By asking students what was difficult, what they learned, and how the experience connects to their coursework, instructors can turn a playful activity into a meaningful learning experience that strengthens the classroom community.

Slides: Beyond Breaking the Ice: Building a Team in the Classroom

Presentation Outcomes

• Explain how team-building activities can strengthen communication, group cohesion, student belonging, and collaborative performance.
• Identify team-building activities that can be adapted for in-person, synchronous online, and asynchronous learning environments.
• Use introductory activities such as the Team Juggle Drill and “Who Am I Like?” to help students learn about one another and establish classroom connections.
• Apply team-maintenance activities to support communication, establish group norms, build empathy, and address conflict or challenges within student groups.
• Introduce team-building activities with clear instructions, appropriate timing, written guidance when needed, and strategies that encourage student participation and buy-in.
• Facilitate activities by giving students space to troubleshoot, communicate, and develop group cohesion rather than directing every step of the process.
• Use purposeful debriefing questions to help students reflect on an activity and connect what they learned to classroom communication, group projects, and future learning.

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