When social anxiety prevents students from forming connections with one another, it can have detrimental effects on their academic success and mental health. At the recent CTL Mini-Conference, Dr. Ben Porter, assistant dean of effective teaching in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, presented an approach that he is using to counter that trend. Called The Ten-Minute Talkies (10MTs), this assignment offers a simple yet effective way to break down these barriers and encourage interaction.
Here’s how it works. Students are randomly paired with a classmate they do not already know and must meet outside of class to have a 10-minute conversation on any topic they choose. They then submit a selfie as proof of their meeting. This process is repeated ten times with different pairings throughout the semester, allowing students to engage with multiple classmates in a low-stakes, structured manner.
Porter received positive feedback on the assignment when he implemented it in Spring 2024 and Fall 2024 in BMEN 4301 – Introduction to Medical Device Development – and is looking for collaborators to further study the intervention this coming fall.