Connecting Concepts and Classmates: An Experiential Icebreaker for Organizational Behavior Courses

This paper introduces an interactive, content-rich icebreaker that engages students in both relationship building and model construction to understand Organizational Behavior. Rather than passively receiving concepts, students move throughout the classroom, introduce themselves, and collaborate as they physically sort and connect OB variables. This is done within an input–process–outcome (IPO) model across individual, group, and organizational levels of analysis. Through structured rotations and peer discussion, students negotiate where variables such as personality, intelligence, motivation, and performance fit and how they relate to one another. Grounded in experiential learning, the activity helps students jointly build a shared mental model of organizational behavior. We outline activity steps, learning objectives, and debrief strategies.