Learning Design and Teaching Innovation
What is it?
Speed dating is an activity where students can talk briefly to each other one-to-one by moving around in a circle.
How can it be used?
It is a fun and useful way to get students talking, to get to know each other quickly, to give feedback to each other or to share views and ideas. It can help students realise that there may be a range of responses to a particular question or issue.
The activity can be used to reinforce and reflect on content. If this is the case it is recommended that you prepare students prior to the class to give them time to review the materials.
Explain the purpose of this activity and provide students with the topic or question they should discuss.
Arrange two circles of chairs so that if occupied, students would be facing each other. Consider options for any students with mobility impairments to ensure full participation.
Split the group into As and Bs.
After a few minutes, the instructor asks the ‘A’s to move to the right. Repeat this a few times to give students a chance to experience a range of responses.
This activity can also be adapted for live online classes using Zoom breakout rooms.
Where to find resources
Guide to Zoom Breakout Rooms or ServiceUON - Zoom for teaching. 
Acknowledgement
This resource is based on the “Not a waste of space” project materials produced by RMIT University and the University of Melbourne, with the support of the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching. Used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Except where otherwise noted, this content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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