IF YOU WANT TO:
Making a game of learning students' names.
A professor of forestry uses what he calls the "Name Game" with students to get everyone in the class acquainted. First, the students introduce themselves and tell the class something about their majors, their areas of interest, etc. Then he says, "Okay, let's try that again with just the names; only this time you will have to listen very carefully because I want you not only to introduce yourself but give the names of the students who came before you."
The first student gets off easy, since she has only to introduce herself. The second person has to give his own name and the name of the student before him, and so on. "I put myself in last position," he explains, "and by that time I try to name all the students in the room. I find that it is not only an effective way to learn their names, but the game-like quality of it breaks the ice and helps to create a sense of community."
Another teacher in the social sciences uses a similar game, called the "Ball Toss Exercise," wherein students stand in a circle and introduce themselves. After the full round of introductions, the teacher tosses an imaginary ball to one of the students, calling out his or her name as she does so. That student then has to toss the "ball" to another student while calling out his or her name, and so forth around the circle.
Limitations on Use of Suggestion
Copyright 1983 by the Regents of the University of California