It can be difficult to engage students when teaching over Zoom, but utilizing breakout rooms is an effective way to make larger classes feel more like a community. They can also give students who are reluctant to talk on microphone in the main room a chance to communicate with classmates.
Assigning roles in breakout rooms can help break the ice and ensure that everyone participates, and the iSchool Wiki has a great page that walks you through different roles and the best ways to incorporate them into your online courses. Roles can include:
-
-
- Manager or Facilitator: makes sure group stays on task and reminds everyone of the questions they need to discuss.
- Recorder: takes notes during the group discussion and posts them to a class forum if need be.
- Spokesperson or Presenter: shares what the group talked about with the entire class after breakout rooms close.
- Reflector or Strategy Analyst: guides the group to a final consensus or decision if need be.
- Challenger: asks questions during the discussion.
- Timekeeper: keeps track of time and makes sure everyone gets the same amount of speaking time.
-
If using these roles, it is a good habit to share the definitions of each role with your class and put the way you want them to assign roles (alphabetical by first/last name, birthday, etc.) in the chat. Make sure to also share the discussion questions you want them to answer before sending them into breakout rooms as participants won’t be able to view the screensharing once they are in the breakout rooms.