Breaking In Zoom Breakout Rooms

Last Tuesday I was as giddy as a schoolgirl. The day had finally arrived and I was ready. Coffee? Check! My old lady glasses? Check! Paper and pencil for taking notes? Check! Euclid's turn to have Zoom Breakout Room training had arrived. I had been anxiously looking forward to this training for sooo long; I would finally be able to send students in groups to Breakout Rooms. (Confession: Clearly, I haven't had a lot to look forward to during this pandemic...lol.)

Kudos to our district TOAs who arrived bright and early and ready to share their knowledge and expertise. (They are, in fact, experts at their craft and more than willing to go the extra mile to ensure we feel supported in a whole host of areas. I would encourage you to reach out. We are fortunate to have them!) With Tamara Moyers at the helm, they presented a tightly-woven training on how to implement breakout rooms. In much the same way that we carefully plan our lessons, they had put a great deal of thought into the pacing and deliberately embedded comprehension checks at key points in the presentation.

I need to give a special shout-out to TOA extraordinaire,  Roni Weink, with whom my group was paired for practice. She was so patient and full of helpful tips.  Awww, the voice of experience. Before she began her new position as a district TOA and was still in the classroom, she and her students had sampled breakout rooms. 

Like a child anxiously waiting to play with a new toy, I could hardly wait for my students to take part in these mini Zoom sessions where they would finally be able to engage with others in a small group setting using Kagan engagement strategies--like we used to in the olden days. But, I knew I need to process this new information and come up with a plan for how and when I would introduce these rooms

to my students in a streamlined and logical way. I couldn't just willy-nilly send them to fend for themselves. I needed to think this through. 

I didn't start that day even though I wanted to. Doing so would not have been in my best interest nor beneficial for my students. Instead, I put this new learning in my mental crockpot and adjusted the setting to low. (I also didn't want to wait too long before practicing what I'd been taught.)

When I was ready, I explained what breakout rooms were and their purpose. So, how did my first try at breakout rooms go? It was wonderful, novel, and...left much to be desired. We debriefed and came up with a Tree Map of "Glows" and "Grows" that we can use to catapult us to the next level!  

Sharing is caring! As we embark on this third trimester, I'm going to take advantage of this platform to thank our AWESOME district leaders for all their support and guidance.

Keep on Truckin' (That's a throwback phrase from the '70s--for those of you too young to recollect!)

Lola E. Jollie