Here are a few tips for improving oral participation online.• Plan class discussions:o Determine a clear goal or outcome for the discussion.
o Identify key issues for discussion.
o Select a structure to provide order and organization to the discussion: snowball, jigsaw, fishbowl, round robin, debate, etc.
o Craft meaningful questions that start with “how” or “why” and ask students to supply comparisons, personal examples, experiences, or stories
o Use visual prompts (e.g., charts, diagrams, images, infographics, memes, multimedia, or videos) to ground the discussion in concrete, “physical,” shared experiences
o Sandwich content-related questions in between social questions to help students get to know one another and feel more comfortable commenting
o Structure what students will do while they are listening (e.g., they can create or respond to a poll, draw what they are hearing, synthesize information, or post a reaction/related resource/response in chat)• Attention signals: Establish common signals for attention.o Have students physically raise their hands on camera. This is easy to see and helps them be more physically engaged in class. They can use different ASL alphabet hand signs to indicate what they need: A = answer, C = comment, I = I have a question, V = volunteer, and so forth.o Use signals provided in the Manage Participants panel in Zoom.
o Assign one student to verbally announce all signals to the instructor during each classperiod (e.g., Mary has a question, Tom is volunteering, etc.). This facilitates effective turn-taking and frees the instructor from some of the logistical concerns of conducting class remotely.• Require students to talk to each other (not you):o Designate a discussion leader: Generate a list of discussion topics for each class session. Ask students to sign up to facilitate a discussion topic. When you get to a discussion segment in the class session, turn the time over to the appropriate student facilitator for that discussion topic. The facilitator should ask the questions and call on students to reply. The instructor should REFRAIN from interjecting their own ideas unless called upon. If the instructor must comment, put your ideas in chat instead.o Dominoes: Ask a question, give a prompt, or describe a situation. Give students one minute to jot ideas down on paper. Call on a student to share their response. Ask that student to call on another student to continue the conversation. Continue the conversation in this manner until the instructor calls time.o Sketch notes: Ask students to take visual notes or make an infographic about what is being addressed in class. Send them to breakout rooms to share and discuss their notes. Give them discussion prompts such as: One thing this representation helps me see that I hadn’t considered… One thing I’m wondering… One thing I would add is…
o Video collaboration: Give assignments that ask students to collaborate virtually before, during, and outside of class—particularly assignments that require some kind of video chat. Encourage student to post video comments on one another’s work using tools such as Digital Dialogue or FlipGrid.
- Think time: In a remote learning environment, it is even harder than usual for instructors togive students time to do things, because it can feel awkward, boring, or like wasted time. However, students will feel more comfortable sharing a response when they have been given a few minutes to formulate a response and to rehearse it in their minds before they have to share it publicly.
- Insist that students prepare for discussions in advance: Give them questions to consider in advance, graphic organizers to complete online, or creative tasks to complete.
- Chat: Ask students to post comments, questions, and social commentary in chat, including links to relevant resources, materials, and memes.
- Plan movement breaks, social breaks, and “question breaks:” Remember that students havebeen learning, working, and playing in Zoom sessions for much of each day. Consequently, they need more breaks and more opportunities to be social. Assign different students to lead creative, 30-second movement breaks (e.g., a yoga pose, a dance step, a simple stretching routine) or social breaks (i.e., a getting-to-know you question, post a photo of something fun you did before COVID or that you hope to do after COVID, take turns sharing a new hobby you’re working to acquire). Plan question breaks throughout your class sessions. Instead of assuming that students will ask questions, send them to breakout rooms to figure out what questions they have. First, have them explain a key concept or share a personal example. Second, ask them to identify what questions they still have. Third, ask them to report on their questions in chat. Fourth, have the rest of the class respond to the questions they see in class so that class members end up answering one another’s questions instead of directing everything to the teacher.
- Ask students to turn off their cameras unless they are speaking. This can help them feel less “on the spot” when providing a response.
- Take notes or assign a task: Ask students to collaboratively map the discussion and sharenotes in a group Google Doc, Padlet, or other free, online collaboration tool (such as Tricider or QuestionCookie). This helps them to remain engaged and gives them a purpose for listening to and participating in the discussion. Hannah Gilman also suggests inviting students to use the tools on their phones that they are already fluent in for collaboration, such as Facetime, Instagram, or GroupMe as alternatives to breakout rooms.
• Establish visual, physical ways for students to give feedback to peers, such as thumbs up, snaps, or signals for applause.