February 2021 – Educational Aspirations

I was introduced to Zoom breakout rooms last March when my district went remote. Breakout rooms were novel and many teachers started to use them during the last couple months of school. It was one way to get students into smaller groups where they felt more comfortable sharing. They were awkward at first for students and staff but most were able to get their breakout room sea legs by May.

Fast forward to the 20-21 school year. Like many around the nation, my school started the year off completely remote. Having a head start in March helped most teachers get into a routine quickly. Most teachers started to use breakout rooms immediately and were able to see the benefits. The social interaction that usually occurs in-person can’t be exactly replicated, but a form of it can in a breakout room. I’ve been part of some amazing student math discussions in breakout rooms this year. I’ve also been in other rooms that were full radio silence. Some this year have had detailed agendas that students follow while others are more student-directed.

Most of my elementary math breakout rooms consist of 2-5 students. Since we are using a hybrid model I try to match students in-person with those at home. I found early on that partnering up kids in the classroom over Zoom causes major audio issues. Less students participate in the breakout room when there are more than five participants. Generally, students in the breakout room have a specific task or activity. Sometimes the assignment comes from their consumable journal and other times it might be a prompt. Students are usually in the their breakout rooms for 5-15 minutes. We have a 45 minutes block for math. While students are working I pop in and out of the rooms with my camera and sound off. I observe the conversation and ask questions if needed. Most of the time, I visit a room and listen to what’s happening, add something in the chat for that room and then move to the next room. After the breakout rooms close the class has a debrief sessions and I try to have each team discuss their solutions. This strategy has worked out well this year, but I’ve had inconsistent success.

I still have questions.

What makes a good breakout room?
What’s the ideal room size and time?
Does camera on/off matter?
How do you manage breakout rooms while teaching in-person and elearners at the same time?
Should students share their iPad screen?
Do you find annotation through Zoom helpful?

I don’t believe there’s a perfect formula for a breakout room, but there are better practices. Feel free to let me know what has worked in your classroom.

I’ve been teaching in a hybrid model setting for most of the school year. My school started remotely and proceeded with an in-person staggered start. The classes are divided so I have half of the students in the morning and the other have in the afternoon. I appreciate that the school has made social distancing a priority and is limiting the amount of kids in a physical classroom at one time. The overall schedule has also changed and my math block has decreased to 40 minutes instead of 60.

Long story short, I teach kids at home and in the classroom at the same time. My instruction is mostly digital. I do that for a number of different reasons. While the digital model hasn’t been ideal, it allows everyone to participate and I can gauge engagement by looking at a teacher dashboard. My agenda and routines for each class have changed over time. Currently this is how I’ve been managing my quick 40 minute block.

11:00 – 11:05

Students come into the classroom and login to Zoom. Students at home do the same. Once everyone is logged in we start the meet and greet session. Usually there’s a prompt that students answer. This is whole group and students talk to each other about the responses. This time is dedicated to help build classroom community and connect with students. You can find many of the pictures for the meet and greet here.

11:05 – 11:10

Students log on to Nearpod for a brief review of past concepts. I use Nearpod for this time slot around three days a week or so. It’s a quick 2-3 slide presentation. Sometimes I’ll replace the Nearpod with a Quizzes or Desmos task. This time is purposefully used for students to review past concepts and I can see if additional practice is needed for specific skills.

11:10 – 11:25

Students take a look at the agenda slide and then review the goal for the day. The class completes a consumable journal page under the document camera. This is generally the time that is used to introduce new concepts/skills. Questions are asked the most during this slot. This time slot can be a challenge to manage as far as engagement is concerned. Still tweaking.

11:25 – 11:40

During this time students are either working in breakout rooms, on a set of problems from the consumable journal or independently working through a teacher-paced Desmos task. During this time I’m working in Zoom breakout rooms with students or sending feedback through the Zoom chat. I’ll often turn off my mic and video so I can hear the students and so the conversation doesn’t slow when I enter a breakout room. At times I might ask a question or two to check for understanding. The class then comes back together before the end of the session to review the group work/Desmos task results. There’s a quick closure statement about what we explored that day. I then say goodbye and a new group of students start populating the Zoom waiting room.

This routine will probably change, but it has been working so far. Ask me in a week and I might have a different answer.