Shoe ID Game

Instructions

  • Everyone removes one shoe when they enter the room. 

  • The shoes are thrown into a pile and distributed randomly at a designated time during the meeting.

  • Everyone is required to find the owner of the shoe they’ve been handed and ask five original questions (that they have made up themselves) about that person, or dialogue in response to a given prompt.

  • Reconvene as a large group and share what was learned about each other during the activity.

Modifications:

After individuals find their shoes and have learned the intended information about the respective shoe owner, the facilitator can form larger groups based on shoe type (e.g. all boot wearers in this corner, all sneakers in this corner, etc.) in order to cultivate more expansive networking. 

Praxis (why + theory):

The expectation of shoe removal immediately upon entry is disarming. This activity can establish a casual atmosphere within a learning space, thereby rendering inoperative the normal traditions of professionalism. 

In my first year as a college professor, I wrote the following lengthy reflection: 

I am particularly concerned about my ability to create a space in which my students feel comfortable and confident enough to bring their entire selves and corresponding experiences into the assignments they create/complete and into the discussions they lead. This semester has been extremely enlightening as my students share many aspects of their lives in the classroom and have no qualms asking me about my own life outside of the classroom. At first I was unsure how to feel (though I was mostly excited) when a student informed me that they ‘feel as though you’re [me] one of us.’ But after speaking with my own professor about the relationships I have with my students, and reflecting on this question, I realize that I am achieving my own goals of deconstructing the teacher/student binary and the rigid expectations associated with it. In the process of reconstructing this relationship, I am creating a space for my students to explore their relationships to the people and institutions that provide and/or deny access to opportunities and experiences – I believe this exploration is necessary for students as they develop an awareness of their own subject positions.

Standing in front of a person with their shoe in your hand, or your shoe in theirs, will immediately enable a sort of recognition of self in the other. While somewhat silly, you both are acting on a silent responsibility to each other that feels sort of like a “call and response” dynamic. 

In addition to facilitating an opportunity to build relationships with peers they might not know as well, this type of simple mingling activity facilitates the hierarchical flattening and the associated reciprocity that my students experienced in my classroom. They, then, felt safe asking questions about me and sharing about themselves.