2. Relating – breaking the ice

Ask students to find images describing themselves, their university, hobby, city, etc. This icebreaker can be done synchronously (e.g., in an online meeting) or asynchronously, e.g. by posting pictures on a padlet as shown in the picture above – tested with positive student response during the UCOILD COIL 2 project.

For a more advanced version, you could make students create ARTISTIC POSTCARDS to EXCHANGE: Organize an online postcard exchange where students design digital postcards to send to each other that reflect their culture and/or include themes related to their education. They could write a message about their experiences in e.g. ECEC on the back.

Pair your students in internationally mixed groups. Make your students responsible for preparing a coffee/tee meeting together. Students decide when to meet. Prepare a few starter questions for your students to make conversation going – tested with positive student response during the UCOILD project (COIL 1).

As part of the coffee meeting you could play COME CLOSER TO THE CAMERA: Students are presented with questions to which they can agree or disagree. When agreeing they should move closer to the camera, when disagreeing move further away. (Simple questions could be: sun or snow? Ocean or forest? Inside or outdoor? Netflix or books? Disco or café? etc.)

Exchange pictures or artefacts related to a COIL theme to spark interest. This was tested with positive student response during the UCOILD project: The theme “creating an ideal playground” was introduced with asking students to choose a picture of how their own childhood playground would look like, setting the scene for relating, but within the framework of the subject theme chosen.

Get students to make a visual collage with the use of the Diversity Circle. Ask students to check some aspects of the diversity circle: Can you tell something about these dimensions to introduce yourself?

Let students share with each other the career perspectives they have and how their education is relevant to that. Let them share their own hopes and ambitions if they want to.

use cultural cards and let students share with each other in smaller groups the answers to different cards.

You can also make students do a cultural collage. Assign students to create a digital collage that represents their culture’s art, traditions and maybe even ECEC traditions. Encourage students to use images, text, and symbols. This activity promotes cultural sharing through visual art.

EXCHANGE PLAYLISTS: Make students exchange favorite music playlists before meeting (asynchronously) and talk about the playlists when meeting online.

EXCHANGE USEFUL LINKS: Students are asked to present an internet-link worth sharing and explain why they find it useful.

Tell a story together. The teacher can kickstart by providing 3 words that should be incorporated into the story. Each students take turns – telling one line – collaborating on creating a joined story.

if you want an advanced exerice, collaborate on creating a digital storybook with illustrations, text, and narration. Each student can contribute with a page, and the result is a collaborative story that reflects different cultures’ storytelling traditions. This could also be part of the actual co-creation phase

The 1st person gives a basic introduction to his/her/their interests. The 2nd person introduces him/her/themselves and finds one thing in common with the 1st person. A 3rd person introduces and finds one thing in common with the 1st and 2nd person. Each of the rest of the class members introduces themselves and finds something in common with at least 3 others. To make fair, the 1st person finds something in common with three people, the 2nd with two, and the 3rd with one.

Play a traditional song or musical piece from one student’s culture and encourage all students to get up and move to the rhythm. This energizer combines music, dance, and cultural exploration.

Have students describe an average day. This can be done in an online meeting, or in writing, on e.g. a padlet.

If you dare, you could also suggest students to SHARE A SECRET: tell something about yourself that you have not told your own study group yet.