How one smart icebreaker connects students, content, and classroom atmosphere
In this best practice, Teun de Vries describes how he uses a simple, content-connected icebreaker to give his Molecular Cell Biology course a strong and personal start and a meaningful wrap‑up at the end of the semester, while at the same time boosting classroom social connections and atmosphere.
Course: Molecular Cell Biology at Amsterdam University College
Students: 2nd‑year BSc, ~65 students, maximal 25 students per group
Course design: Connecting the first class to the final exam
Teun de Vries, photo by Dirk Gillissen (www.fotogillissen.nl)
On the very first day of his course, Teun asks students to introduce themselves “in terms of a cell component.” Each student picks a favorite cell component and links it to something about themselves, turning an abstract topic into a personal entry point.
At the final exam, he returns to the same question: students are asked again about their favorite cell component, now as a bonus question. They can only earn the point if they add newly learned course material to their answer. In this way, the course gains a clear “head and tail”: after a full semester, teacher and students can look back at where they started and make their development explicit.
To his surprise, many students produced hybrid answers that cleverly combined personal traits with newly acquired biological knowledge. The answers were so original and articulate that he decided to publish them in a paper, which he also shares with students.
What worked: Safe atmosphere and a clear link to the course
Teun sees two main benefits. First, it helps him quickly gauge the diversity in prior knowledge in a group with mixed backgrounds, as is common at AUC. The icebreaker gives him “a fair impression of the knowledge they have before entering the course.”
Second, it immediately links personal introductions to course content, rather than separating ‘getting to know each other’ from ‘starting the subject’. Teun also sees easy options to transfer the idea to STEM courses: “In mathematics, you could pick your favorite number or symbol, in chemistry a favorite atom, and in biochemistry a favorite molecule. It’s the link to the course that works so well.”
Student experience: Relaxed, welcoming, and reflective
Students experience the icebreaker as relaxed and welcoming. It lowers the threshold to speak in class, and makes it easy to ask follow‑up questions, because the answers already contain both personal and content‑related elements.
At the final exam, the format invites a different kind of reflection. Teun was struck by the degree of free association students showed: their answers connected cell biology to their own lives, frustrations (like cold dorm rooms), sports, friendships and family. The answers were “wonderful, eloquently phrased and elaborate,” and showed how deeply students had integrated the material into their own narratives.
For example, one student explained how they resemble a lysosome with the words: I like eating! Lysosomes are typically used for the breakdown (hydrolysis) of molecules. They’re transported around the cell by microtubules to destination (I bike around Amsterdam to get to nice restaurants). Someone else felt connected to a mitochondrion as they bring an uplifting energy to any room I’m in!, and another student saw themselves as a ribosome, and wrote that they are generally the type of person who likes ensuring everything organized and functions smoothly and efficiently. During the course, I learned that indeed ribosomes work efficiently to ensure proteins are assembled quickly and accurately, with mechanisms to check for errors.
Lessons and advice for colleagues
Teun would not change much about the activity, but he has made some variations, such as ‘choose your favorite cell type’ instead of a cell component. The pluripotent stem-cell is an all-time favorite (I can become everything I want!).
“Go and do it, experience such an icebreaker! You’ll gain a lot and learn some peculiarities of your students. And consider writing about it, it is fun!” is the advice. Indeed, Teun has published various papers on his interesting educational designs, also for other courses. See the references below.
His key-takeaways for colleagues are: Use the ice-breaker at the beginning and return to the same prompt at the end of the course so students can show how their understanding has grown. and then, as extra feedback, share the best student answers; it shows students that their reflections are taken seriously and can be a resource for others.
Get in touch and try it yourself
Teun is open to being contacted by colleagues who want to try a similar activity or adapt it for their own STEM courses. You can reach him at: teun.devries@acta.nl.
You can also find this specific method in the activity finder: Break the ice and gain insight.