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Katie Martin | Informed by Research, Inspired by Practice

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5 Ways That Teachers Are Using Breakout Rooms to Create More Learner-Centered Experiences in Distance Learning

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I have talked with many educators who are anxious about creating breakout rooms for fear of inappropriate interactions, bullying, and being off task in breakout

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Due to Coronavirus, many schools are moving online, and teaching through Zoom meetings. If it is only being used to present content to students, then why not just record videos and have students watch them on their own? The value of Zoom meetings is that the educator can create synchronous interactive conversations and activities. My goal is to have all my students actively engaged throughout the meeting. Below are some the activities I have used during my. teacher education Zoom meetings although they can be adapted for any age group and age level (3rd grade and up), and in training professionals. Along with the tools that come with Zoom, I also use online web tools and applications to increase interactivity and engagement. All tools I describe below are free and work on any device, any browser.

Whole Group Discussions

Whole group discussions should be just that – discussions. I believe that the teacher can use this forum for short lectures but, again, they should be short as the power of synchronous Zoom meetings is that it permits interactivity and active learning. Questions about class content can be posed with student responses elicited through verbal responses and/or through the Zoom group chat.

A favorite whole group activity I do is to have a group video viewing party. For this activity, I begin with a short overview of the video and a question of what they should look for during the video. Student responses are put in the chat during and/or after the video.

Whole group activities and discussions can also be used for Breakout Groups follow-up to share what they discussed and did. In this case, I inform the Breakout Groups to decide on a spokesperson or two to report to the whole group.

Breakout Groups

One of the best tools in Zoom is the ability to put students into smaller, self-contained breakout groups. Some ways to use the Breakout Rooms include:

To discuss a prompt or questions provided by the teacher or another student.

To do online research about a given topic.

To discuss a real life scenario or case study. This can be done in a jigsaw strategy whereby different groups are given different case studies. When they are brought back into the whole group, each Breakout Group shares their thoughts and conclusions.

To create projects using some of the web tools such as Google Slides, webbing tools, or comics that I discuss later. Time is then given to each group to share what they produced with the rest of the class in a whole group setting.

Quizzes

My students of all ages, kids and adults, absolutely love the competitive, real time quizzes – Kahoot and Quizziz. Both of these online tools – applications have huge archives of teacher created quizzes. They also let teachers create their own and remix the quizzes other teachers have created.

Kahoot

Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform, used as educational technology in schools and other educational institutions. Its learning games, “Kahoots”, are multiple-choice quizzes that allow user responses.

Mentioned Kahoot and any student who has played it just lights up. I like using it at the beginning of a session prime students about what they will be exploring during the session or in the middle to re-energize them.

Quizziz

Quizziz offers self-paced quizzes to students. During my Zoom sessions, I do live Quizziz quizzes where the students answer quiz questions on their own yet compete with one another. It is similar to Kahoot but Kahoot is teacher directed, it displays the questions and answers on the teacher’s device; whereas Quizizz is student directed, it displays all the information on the student’s device.

Polling

Polling web tools can get real time information about students’ opinions, thoughts, and ideas which can be shared with them immediately.

Google Form

Google Forms can be used for student surveys and polling. More information about how to do this can be found at How to Make a Survey With Google Docs Forms. What I really love about using Google Forms for surveys and polls is that immediate feedback can be presented to the students through the response tab.

I like using Google Forms to check in with students and to inquire about what topics they would like to discuss.

Poll Everywhere

Poll Everywhere is a live student-response tool that offers whole-class participation and assessment through teacher-designed surveys, polls, and discussion boards. Tutorial guides can be found at https://www.polleverywhere.com/guides and video tutorials at https://www.polleverywhere.com/videos.

An example I did recently was polling the student teachers with who I work about special education services at their respective schools (see screenshots below).

Web Tools

There are lots of free, relatively easy-to-use web tools that students can use in Breakout Groups to create products about a class topic. The benefits of doing so include:

Students get to be creative during the synchronous meeting.

Creating products with visual elements helps deepen the learning.

Students have fun during the synchronous meeting.

Community is built as students work together on such tasks.

Before I give them their task and send them into their Breakout Groups, I give a screen share tutorial on how to use the tool. There are also lots of online video tutorials that can be shared with students.

As mentioned above, the smaller Breakout Groups share what they did with the whole group. To insure that the others pay attention, I ask them to share in the chat the favorite thing or what they learned from the smaller group presentations.

Shared Google Slides and Docs

Having students help create a shared Google slide show is one of my favorite activities. Individual or small groups are asked to take a slide of a shared Google Slide presentation to report on a given topic. I give some broad guidelines including finding and adding both content and images. The following video explains this process.

Below is an example that focuses on classroom management. In Breakout Groups, they were give a topic. Breakout groups 1 and 2 were given the topic. , groups 3 and 4 Classroom Environment, and 5 and 6 Instructional Strategies. They were given several online articles as references and also encouraged to use their own experiences.

Padlet – A Collaborative Sticky Note Board

Padlet is a website and app that allows kids to curate information onto virtual bulletin boards using a simple drag-and-drop system. Students, alone or in groups, can start with a template or a blank page and add videos, text, links, documents, images — basically anything — to the wall and organize it, like a page full of Post-it notes (https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/padlet).

I typically use Padlet as a whole group activity. What I like about it is that the students can easily see the responses, images, links that their classmates have posted.

For example, I love starting my first Zoom meeting with the Padlet: Time to Take a Selfie Icebreaker developed by Catlin Tucker. Below is one I did with a group of teachers with whom I worked.

I have also created and used Padlets for partner interviews, where they posted the results of their partner interviews, SEL strategies, technology in the classroom, classroom management, and collaborating with the community.

Collaborative Webbing – Mind Mapping

“A mind map is a diagram for representing tasks, words, concepts, or items linked to and arranged around a central concept or subject using a non-linear graphical layout that allows the user to build an intuitive framework around a central concept (https://www.mindmapping.com/mind-map.php).

I like to use Coggle in Zoom Breakout Groups. Coggle is an online tool for creating and sharing mind maps and flow charts. It works online in your browser. It is easy to use and permits real time collaborative.

To collaborate, one of the group members starts a Coggle and then invites others by clicking on the + sign in the upper right hand corner and sends email invites.

Below is an example the student teachers did in a breakout about SEL strategies for the classroom.

Comic Creator

Students can be asked to create a comic strip in their Breakout Groups to depict a given topic. My favorite is comic creator is Storyboard That but it has a bit of a learning curve for those who are less technology savvy. Although Make Belief Comix lacks some of the tools and options that Storyboard That has, it is much easier for students to use, so I have moved to using Make Belief Comix in my Zoom meetings. For more technology savvy groups, though, I recommend Storyboard That.

Once back in the whole group. students do a screen share of their product and explain it’s content to the rest of the group. For example, a here is a comic about differentiating instruction using Storyboard That.

As mentioned earlier, Breakout Groups then do a show and tell of their mind maps, comics. The following video shows how to do a screen share. The teacher needs to make sure they have “All Participants” enabled under the sharing settings.

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UPDATED 3/11/2021 - See the end of this article for a Twitter thread from Jeffery E. Frieden (@SurthrivEDU) explaining how he uses Jamboard and Google Slides with linked doors for his breakout rooms. UPDATED 2/22/2021 - Here is a great article of tips for virtual breakout rooms from Stephanie Rothstein at Edutopia. UPDATED 10/20/2020 - Also read my article on "How to Facilitate Meaningful Conversations in Hybrid or Virtual Classrooms."
One technique that many teachers involved in distance learning right now are using is to use virtual breakout rooms, where students are in smaller groups with some sort of task to discuss and/or complete. Some of the Interactive Google Slides that I shared yesterday could be helpful with this. One use for Zoom breakout rooms that I've seen being shared quite a bit is to have one Slides presentation that is shared with editing privileges to the whole class, and small groups are assigned particular slides to work on in their breakout room. The big advantage of this method is that the teacher can turn on grid view on his/her computer, and see what work is being completed by each group on their slide. Some teachers are color coding their slides to make them even easier to distinguish.

I've seen a lot of breakout room celebrations on social media from teachers - but older students seem to be less impressed. If you do a search for breakout rooms on Twitter, you will see that a lot of college students despise them, and are finding creative memes to share their contempt. (They are quite vocal and often comical about their feelings!)

breakout rooms be mad awkward when nobody is talking, they all just be like pic.twitter.com/Q64P0Dp8ej

- 𝐀𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐚𝐚𝐚🍓 (@MezaAlmaris) August 25, 2020

I spoke to a few high school and college students to learn more, and the consensus seems to be that expecting small groups to speak to each other in a virtual room is awkward and everyone ends up being reluctant to speak. A few of the comments I saw on Twitter referred to racist comments and other derogatory statements that were made when the professor wasn't monitoring the room.

A lot of the problems that appear in virtual breakout rooms are similar to the ones we have in the physical classroom with small group work, especially with older students. They become more self-conscious, and don't feel safe sharing with a group of strangers. They don't want to take the lead in the conversation because they may appear "uncool" if they show interest in academics. Just as we need to do in person, we should establish connections and develop norms before throwing students into a group with unrealistic expectations. On Twitter, Theresa Wills (@TheresaWills, theresawills.com) shared this model, suggesting a gradual release.

A good example of beginning in the low stakes stage would be to develop connections using something like this "Frayer a Friend" from @sarahjteacher.

Having a straightforward process for convening to breakout rooms and returning is essential. If you are using Google Meet for breakout rooms, @ajchambers suggested using a slide like the one below, where students can click on the color of their assigned breakout room. (Google Meet is rolling out breakout rooms this fall, but you can find "hacks" like this one by doing a Google search. Daniel Kaufman (@KauDan721) also has a YouTube video with an explanation and a link to a template here. There is also an extension you can add to your browser to create breakout rooms, but I have not used it so I can't say how well it works.)

Mollie Safran (@afsocialstudy) offered this suggestion, allowing students to choose a breakout room depending on their comfort level with a topic.

The extremely productive Esther Park (@MrsParkShine) recently offered the following template on Twitter (you can find more of her free templates on her website):
In addition, Esther Park has released an awesome video showing you tips and tricks for managing breakout rooms with Google Meet and a couple of helpful chrome extensions.
SlidesMania just added this template by Stephanie DeMichele (@sdemichele) for teachers who want to create virtual station rotations:

Jen Roberts (@JenRoberts1) created this spreadsheet tool to help teachers create automatic breakout groups for Zoom.

Do you use OneNote? You can find Breakout Templates for OneNote here - provided by @jlo731 and @SalleeClark.

Assigning roles can help alleviate some of the stress once students are in a breakout room. How to Use a Breakout Room Notetaker from Shana Ramin (@ShanaTeaches) gives instructions and a template you can copy on how a notetaker can be helpful in virtual breakout rooms. In this document from Stanford, it is suggested to even assign the role of "first-to-speak!" Here are a few other roles from the same document, and methods for assigning them:

Assign roles to students. Assigning roles will help students start the conversation and support equitable participation. Possible roles include first-to-speak, note-taker, reporter, timekeeper, equity monitor, or questioner/devil's advocate.

Randomly assign roles or select students with an equitable prompt. This may have the added benefit of acting as an icebreaker. Examples include assigning or selecting the person: whose first name is closest to the end of the alphabet, is wearing the shortest sleeves, whose birthday is coming up the soonest, whose hometown is closest to campus, etc.

One of the high school students I spoke to mentioned that it would get awkward when they finished their task before the time was up and they would all just "stare at each other" in the room, so you should address what they should do when their assignment is complete, and exit strategies as well.

Here are a few more resources on virtual breakout rooms that I highly recommend (some of these have ideas for breakout room activities, and some also give more ideas for facilitation):

Some parting thoughts:

Think carefully about your reason for using breakouts, and set the stage so they will be successful and meaningful.

Different platforms may have more or less features for creating and monitoring breakouts - and technology is changing quickly to meet the current demand.

It's always great to practice first with a willing partner - significant other, best friend, your own children - so you can iron out the kinks before you use it with an entire class.

3/11/2021 UPDATE: Read the embedded Twitter thread below for a great breakout room workflow using Jamboard and Google Slides.

I think I cracked the code on encouraging students to engage in meaningful academic discussion in Google Meet breakout rooms.

1/
- Jeffery E. Frieden 🌱 (@SurthrivEDU) March 10, 2021

Terri is a curriculum and tech integration specialist, speaker, and author with a passion for engaging and empowering learners. She delivers engaging professional learning, consultations on a variety of educational needs, and professional articles for various outlets . Find out more about Terri on the About page in the site menu. View all posts by Terri Eichholz

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UPDATED 3/11/2021 - See the end of this article for a Twitter thread from Jeffery E. Frieden (@SurthrivEDU) explaining how he uses Jamboard and Google Slides with linked doors for his breakout rooms. UPDATED 2/22/2021 - Here is a great article of tips for virtual breakout rooms from Stephanie Rothstein at Edutopia.

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As many of teachers transition to online teaching this Fall, you might be wondering: how can I facilitate group work online? Don't worry! You don't have to remove Jigsaws or Think, Pair, Share from your lesson plans. Virtual breakout rooms are easy to set up (either ahead of time or in the moment). They even have exciting features that allow you to "circulate" the room or share messages with the whole class. Here's everything you need to get started, and our 10 favorite ways to use virtual breakout rooms for online learning.

Here's how it works

If you're using Zoom, first set up the breakout room setting. Then, you can pre-assign or auto-assign breakout rooms. This article walks you through the step-by-step process (it's easy and fast). This tutorial shows you how to set up your rooms and how to maximize every feature to engage students and enhance their learning. If you're using Google Meet, check out this video to get started.

Setting up your students

Before you put students into breakout rooms, explain when you will use them. Talk about how you will use them. Most importantly explain why you will use them. Show them a short video that explains how the rooms work. Model the process. Then, try it once, and reflect. It's important to lower the stakes when you are introducing a new tool. Establish a routine where students know that breakout rooms are a consistent part of learning online.

Your teacher toolkit:

Circulate

You can leave the main room and pop into breakout rooms. It's the virtual version of circulating your classroom to check in on small groups. These check-ins allow you to ask clarifying questions, build on students' ideas, and observe. Moving in and out of the breakout rooms also holds kids accountable for the learning task.

Send messages

When teachers facilitate small groups in brick and mortar classrooms, they often display a visual timer or remind students how much time they have left. You can send a message from the main room to all the breakout rooms to keep your students' on task, share directions, or add other helpful reminders.

Poll for feedback

Because working in breakout rooms is new for students, use the polling feature to gather student feedback once everyone is back in the main room. If you plan to use breakout rooms consistently, it's important to find out what students' experience was like so you know what adjustments or supports you need to put into place.

Our favorite ways to use breakout rooms:

1) Book Buddies

We love that students can read to a sibling or caretaker when they are learning from home. But what about reading to each other? Pair students so they can buddy read in a breakout room. Pop into the rooms to listen for fluency and expression, ask questions, and informally assess comprehension. Mix up the pairs so your kids can get to know each other and build relationships. Pro tip: ask students to grab a favorite book before the class meets online.

2) Jigsaw

This activity works especially well when you have a long text, but you are short on time. It also deepens reading comprehension as students focus on one page. First, make sure your kids have access to the text. Put it in the learning management system or whatever organizing tool you use (class website, Seesaw, etc). Next, ask students to open up the text. Put the students into breakout rooms where each room represents one page. Students read their section together, discuss it, and choose a speaker to summarize what they read to the whole group once the breakout rooms close.

3) Four Corners Debate

In the main room share a statement with your students. Tell them that there are four stances they can take: strongly agree, agree, strongly disagree, and disagree. Give students time to think and make a choice. Students type their stance into the chat. Place students into breakout rooms based on their chosen stance. Once in their rooms, students develop an argument and choose a group speaker. When everyone comes back together, each speaker shares out. Students can type in the chat if they've changed their minds.

4) Strategic Small Groups

One of the biggest worries about lost learning time is that students have fallen significantly behind. You may feel pressure to slow down or teach lower than grade level content. Differentiate instruction by designing learning tasks for each breakout room and strategically grouping students. This is your opportunity to remediate and fill in the gaps.

5) Peer Editing and Feedback

Use breakout rooms to put students into pairs or small groups for peer editing and feedback. We love using Glows and Grows. Another of our favorite feedback protocols is PQS (praise, question, suggestion).

6) Literature Circles

Lit circles give kids an opportunity for choice. You can group students based on their reading level. Pro tip: assign specific group roles to hold students accountable, and help them practice different reading strategies. Students can meet in their virtual breakout rooms to discuss the chapter they read the night before.

7) Project-Based Learning

Collaborating in small groups to solve problems and work towards completing a larger task are at the heart of PBL. Breakout rooms are an ideal space for your kids to meet in their groups and move their projects forward.

8) Choice Board

Engagement is challenging online. Consider trying a choice board where you create different activities for practicing the same skill or learning about the same topic. In the main room, present the choices. Put students into breakout rooms based on what they select.

9) Strategy Groups

Reading and math teachers, this one works especially well for you. In the main room review the strategies students are learning. Give students the same problem set or text. Then, place the students into breakout rooms where each room has a different strategy. While in their rooms, students use the strategy to solve the problem or read the text. When everyone comes back together, each group shares how they used the strategy.

10) Share Sessions

Our kids miss each other and their friends. It's important to give them time to chat and socialize. This activity works well during a weekly class meeting or right after. Share some discussion starters with your students, and place them in small groups in breakout rooms. When everyone comes back together, ask students to share an "ah ha" moment or a connection they had with another student.
How are you using virtual breakout rooms? Share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook. Plus, Everything Teachers Need to Know About Zoom for Online Teaching.

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10 Ideas For Using Virtual Breakout Rooms

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As many of teachers transition to online teaching this Fall, you might be wondering: how can I facilitate group work online? Don't worry! You don't have to remove Jigsaws or Think, Pair, Share from your lesson plans. Virtual breakout rooms are easy to set up (either ahead of time or in the moment).

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Google Docs is another easy option for collaborative discussions. I generally prefer using Google Slides over Google Docs, though, because if there are too many people on a Google Doc, you can sometimes feel like you're getting "bumped into" when people are typing above you. In Google Slides, students are working in small groups on their assigned slide only, so things just don't feel as crowded from an end-user perspective.

Google's Jamboard is another popular option for online collaboration. If you're doing a quick activity and don't really need to account for who wrote what, Jamboard is a great choice.

Since Jamboard additions are anonymous and there's no revision history, it may not be the best option if you'd like to hold students accountable for their contributions or are worried about students accidentally deleting others' content. Still, make sure to check out Jamboard if you haven't already because it's a super helpful and versatile tool.

I'm also a big fan of Padlet for collaborative activities. You can post a few prompts and have students respond to the prompts by adding their own notes and images. The free version of Padlet is somewhat limited, but still worth checking out. If you're new to Padlet, click here to get a free Padlet with my referral link.

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Create a Breakout Room Note Taker in Google Slides (+ FREE TEMPLATES!) - Hello, Teacher Lady

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Looking to facilitate student collaboration online? Grab these FREE Breakout Room Note Taker templates!

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When introducing online small groups review the virtual classroom rules/norms that you and your students generated together. Go over why these rules are important and ensure them TRUST is imperative during these activities.

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For a skill or discussion based synchronous session, present a small "bite" via the whole group instruction along with clear directions for the small group activity. Give students time to "chew" on the skill/topic together in small groups online. Last, have students reunite as a whole group to "savor" what they resonated.

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Prevent off - topic conversations during online small groups by providing students time at the start of your session to discuss what's on their minds with their peers. Such conversations can begin with this or that school appropriate, a thankful thought, weekend plans etc. Better to work out any small group kinks with low - stake activities.

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Breaking students up into groups is less intimidating than speaking in front of the entire class. Assigning a minimum of 3 students per online small group will ensure it is not an awkward experience especially while building a sense of classroom community.

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Pre - assign online small groups to save time.

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When online small groups are utilized on a consistent basis the more comfortable and confident the teachers and students become.

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Create a Blind Kahoot, Quizziz, Quizlet LIVE tied to learning objectives for students to play together in teams while in online small groups. This will encourage them to debate the answers with one another. Reminder to ensure you've shared the link and code prior to sending them into their groups.

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Practice the good ole "proximity to the teacher" rule. Pop into various online small groups just as you would circle around a group in a traditional setting.

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Curious to know what is happening in the online breakout small groups? You can join in to each session and prior to disbursing students into breakout rooms be sure to drop the link into the chat to share with them a padlet such as this, or a google jamboard, or google slide to capture their thoughts. This will help you watch in real time. If you notice a group is struggling be sure to swing into their online small group.

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Inform students early and often in your level of trust and you believe in their ability to make good choices. Trust empowers.

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Assign a specific responsibility to each online small group participant. For example you could assign a student the role of the chat facilitator, who guides conversations, word processor who enters the responses in the shared document, the time keeper who monitors the groups pace, speaker sho shares thoughts to the whole group afterwards.