In a digital age where interactions often feel fleeting, how do we truly connect with ourselves and others in more intentional ways? IDEA360: 500 Friends but No One to Play With is a new course we’re offering this spring, that explores this question and more. It’s designed to help students reimagine their relationships by exploring how play and experimentation can transform the way we engage with the world.
During a recent class, students explored unexpected approaches to a familiar social challenge: small talk. The session kicked off with a deceptively simple activity, walking through the room while noticing the color of each person’s eyes. Forced eye contact… yikes! As students moved through the space, reactions varied; some found the exercise awkward, while others were intrigued by its intentionality. In this brief but revealing warm-up, students became more aware of the subconscious social barriers they carry every day, all while noticing an element of each other they wouldn’t typically acknowledge.
This exercise flowed seamlessly into a discussion on psychological safety (the idea that feeling secure in our interactions allows us to take more social risks, like opening up to someone new). Using pre-curated questions on notecards, students worked through a progression of conversational prompts that gradually became more personal, encouraging vulnerability while fostering deeper trust within their group. With this foundation set, it was time to put their newfound comfort and connection with each other into practice.
Through improv exercises like “Remember when…” and Three-Line Skits, students experimented with different conversational strategies in small groups. Some leaned into humor, others took a curiosity-driven approach, all while navigating the unpredictable nature of off the cuff real-time dialogue. As the session progressed, they were challenged to take it a step further by designing their own strategies for small talk and testing those methods on each other.
Now that everyone was fully engaged in a more talkative, social mode, it was time to push the comfort zone even further, this time, outside the classroom. After a brisk walk across campus, the class relocated to Stamp Student Union for some real-world fieldwork. The challenge? Engage in conversations with strangers! Students were instructed to start small by making eye contact and saying hello to passersby before progressing to casual observations and, finally, full-fledged conversations with people they’ve never met before. The energy was a mix of unease, excitement, and confusion as they wandered through the food courts, cautiously approaching strangers. Upon reflecting on the experience, some found the process intimidating, but many were surprised by how quickly a simple greeting could lead to a meaningful exchange. Others found the experience unnerving but, in the process, began to notice and question their own patterns of disengagement in everyday communal spaces.
This session was a candid reflection of what IDEA360 is all about: questioning habits, embracing experimentation, fostering intentional observation skills, and rediscovering the joy of human connection. Through thoughtful design and playful exploration, students aren’t just learning to talk to strangers, they’re discovering how to connect and design their life in ways that feels authentic and meaningful to them; all while exploring the possibilities that can grow from those exchanges.
At The Academy, we continue to explore how play, curiosity, observation, and design shape the way we interact with the world. IDEA360 is just one example of how we are creating spaces for students to experiment, learn, and grow in delightfully unexpected ways.