Through My Lens : A Photovoice-Inspired Smartphone Icebreaker for Diverse Management Education Classrooms

This exercise introduces Through My Lens , a first-day icebreaker that adapts photovoice into a brief classroom activity. Students use smartphones to photograph something meaningful in response to a reflective prompt, write a short caption explaining what it means to them, and share through a three-question discussion guide in small groups. The activity draws on photovoice methodology and three theories: psychological safety (the shared sense that it is safe to take interpersonal risks), reciprocal self-disclosure (the principle that balanced mutual sharing builds trust more effectively than one-sided disclosure), and social capital (the networks, trust, and shared understanding that develop through connection). It needs no materials beyond student smartphones; scales from 4 to 400+ students; suits face-to-face, hybrid, and online delivery; and builds reflective visual habits that transfer across courses. Suitable for undergraduate through executive education.