Compare Management Styles

• A common method of introducing everyone in attendance is to go around the room and have the individuals state their names and give a brief introduction of themselves to the group. A variation of this would be to have each individual define what his classroom management style is, list the different styles mentioned on a chalkboard or flip chart, and touch on each of these management styles throughout the duration of the workshop. The emphasis is on the premise that there is no right or wrong style, but more importantly, what works best for the individual teacher and what is more effective with the specific mix of students as well as the subject being taught.
  
  

All in the Numbers

• Another fun and effective ice breaker is to have each participant choose and write down a number from one to ten. After all participants have chosen a number, go around the room and ask them to state as many things about themselves as the number chosen. For example, if an individual chooses the number seven, she would have to share seven characteristics of herself with her peers. Those who choose high numbers must come up with many personal interests, features, and strengths to share with the audience. The person who chooses the number one would only have to give his name. If it is a smaller group, roll a pair of dice and work with those numbers -- this also makes for an interesting ice breaker as the most characteristics an individual could have to come up with is 12.
  
  

The Name Game

• A great method of stressing the importance of listening and remembering names is to go around the group and ask everyone to state their first names. After everyone participates, hold a contest to see who in the room can remember the most names and attach them to the most faces in the group. A humorous or appropriate prize for the winner makes the learning experience even more memorable.
  
  

Animal Characteristics

• For a truly interesting session, mark each corner of the meeting area with pictures of the following animals: a lamb, a lion, a hawk, and a mother hen. Ask each workshop participant to choose the animal with characteristics that most closely match her teaching and management style and relocate to that part of the room. Each group holds discussions on the strengths and weakness of their particular management styles. A designated spokesperson from each subgroup summarizes the findings and presents them to all of the workshop participants.