Breakout rooms: a student's perspective

The Tip of the Day team recently added a new member: undergraduate Chee-ia Thao. We asked her to tell us about her experience as a student taking multiple classes over Zoom. What features are instructors using? The answer: breakout rooms – in every class. We wanted to know more. Here's what she told us:

You say that breakout rooms are used frequently in Zoom class sessions.  In your experience, 

1. What makes a breakout room session successful?

For a breakout room session to be successful, I think a big part for the students is to have their camera on. Being able to talk face-to-face instead of seeing black screen with the other participants’ names is more engaging and involves participation from the students. As for the instructors, they should check up on the groups to see if they need any assistance or let them know that the help button is also available.

2. What are the particular behaviors or procedures on the part of the students that make for a productive and positive experience in a breakout room? On the part of the instructor?

Having students be prepared, such as reading the readings beforehand or looking at the powerpoints before class starts. In the instructor's case, they should have a time limit for breakout rooms to ensure that students don’t get off track and it’s also a great way to time manage the class. Another great way for productivity, from my experience, is to have a google doc set up and give each group one particular question and discuss it, then write it down on the google doc for easier sharing when coming together as a whole. 

   3. Do you have any tips for either instructors or your fellow students for how to implement these best practices?

I would suggest for instructors to build a community in order for students to get to know one another, which allows students to become more comfortable with each other and allows for a successful breakout room session. 

Chee-ia's number one tip, to have students turn their cameras on, echoes what most instructors also know and want to occur in their Zoom sessions. The challenge, however, is to get students to do it. Our tip is to make it a priority now, early in the semester, so that it becomes the norm in your class. Be aware of even small numbers of black boxes on your screen, as students follow the pattern set by their classmates. 

While we cannot require students to have their cameras on, and some students have legitimate reasons for not turning on their camera, we certainly can strongly encourage it. At the beginning of class, there are often still a few students who haven't turned on their cameras. I will then say something like "I would really like everyone to have their cameras on, if at all possible. I want to see your faces. It helps all of us so much to be able to see each other during class." Slowly, one new face, then another, and then all their faces appear on my screen. It doesn't work all the time, but setting the precedent now does help build community and sets up the breakout rooms to be more successful throughout the semester.