Breaking the silence in breakout rooms

As classrooms go virtual, many teachers are utilizing Zoom’s “Breakout Room” feature for discussion groups. Despite taking advantage of this ability, students tend to remain quiet in these groups as it is often filled with comfortable silence where no one knows when or if they should speak. Students must be interacting with each other in breakout rooms for the sake of active participation in their own education and learning how to collaborate with others. 

In breakout rooms, students have to interact with each other to complete their work efficiently. Teachers only allow students to do their work for a short period of time because they are on a block schedule. The block schedule limits class hours so that groups will not meet for a long time. Remaining silent only results in wasting time with very little achieved, generally prompting teachers to give lower grades.

By taking advantage of breakout rooms and working with others, students learn to develop a mindset of confidence and assertiveness that will be useful in the future. They can easily engage in breakout rooms easily in the future without having to awkwardly stay silent. Although it may be awkward for students to participate in the beginning, this can only be overcome if someone decides to speak up first. If a student speaks up, it will encourage others to communicate as well. It is important for a student to take initiative because it shows that they can think for themselves and take action when it is appropriate. 

Opposing views may call to attention that to attention that breakout room groups only need to focus on the bare minimum of completing the required work. Since students are talking virtually, they do not have the ability to do as much compared to in-person class. With this mindset, students are missing the whole point of group work. Students are expected to discuss with others in a thorough conversation, just like in a regular classroom. When students are talking in a thorough conversation, it allows them to have a deeper understanding of the topic. Getting a deeper understanding will make it possible for students to gain more knowledge and be more insightful of the topic.

Students have to communicate with each other in order to successfully collaborate in distance learning. One way students can interact is by getting to know one another. Students gain confidence when getting to know others, and in doing so, they learn to socialize and are more likely to speak up in class.