Description:
I’m a new adjunct professor teaching literature seminars that rely heavily on group discussion. When I taught in person last semester, discussions were lively and engaging. Now that we’ve moved to remote learning, my Zoom discussions are awkward with long silences and the same 2-3 students participating. I’ve tried breakout rooms but students say they’re uncomfortable. How can I recreate the dynamic feeling of in-person discussions in a virtual classroom? Looking for specific techniques beyond the basic ‘call on students’ approach.
6 Answers
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!
Try building rituals that make participation predictable and low stakes. Start each session with a 2-minute chat prompt that everyone answers before talk begins. Rotate simple roles like discussion leader, summarizer, and devil's advocate so responsibility is shared. Use think-pair-share with 3-minute breakout rooms and a one-sentence deliverable back in chat. Run quick polls and use Zoom annotate on short passages to spark reactions. Run a fishbowl sometimes: small active circle with others observing and posting questions in chat. Ask for one-line preclass posts to prime thought and to hold students accountable. Allow a “pass” option and normalize silence.
I had that same awkward silence my first term online. What helped was shifting the prep out of Zoom so students came with a short, required post or a one paragraph note on the reading. Give everyone a role ahead of time like connector, skeptic, or example-hunter and rotate roles weekly. Start class with two minutes of private writing in the chat or a shared doc so people have language ready. Use tiny, timed breakouts with a clear deliverable, one sentence or one question to bring back. Polls, annotation tools, and calling on roles rather than people made participation feel safer. Gentle grading for participation nudged everyone.
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