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As a student who hates speaking in Zoom classes, I appreciate when professors use polls or quick reaction activities to warm us up. Start with low-stakes engagement (reactions to quotes, polls about characters, etc), then build to more complex discussion. Also, having a clear visual agenda and timeboxing discussions helps - knowing a painful participation moment will end in 10 minutes makes it less anxiety-producing!
My literature students love the 'critical roles' approach. Before each discussion, assign different analytical perspectives (historical context analyst, character motivations expert, literary devices finder, modern relevance connector, etc). Everyone must speak from their assigned perspective first, then discussion opens more naturally after all perspectives are shared. It gives students a clear starting point and purpose.
Former Zoom-resistant professor here! The game changer for me was implementing a 'digital fishbowl' technique. Select 4-5 students to actively discuss while others observe and take notes. After 10-15 mins, rotate who's 'in the fishbowl'. The observers must submit one question or challenge to the points raised. It creates structure, accountability, and lets introverts prepare thoughtfully. My participation went from 20% to nearly 100%!
Try collaborative documents! I create a shared Google Doc for each discussion with questions, key quotes, and space for responses. Students can type thoughts in real time, respond to each other's points with comments, and you can highlight interesting ideas to discuss verbally. This helps students who process better in writing than speaking, and gives everyone something to focus on besides awkward video tiles. Plus you end up with excellent notes!
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