by Emory Gun ’22

Throughout online school teachers have been working hard to keep students engaged and collaborating. While it is understandable that teachers want students to work together and cooperate with each other, the least effective Zoom feature teachers have used so far is the breakout room. Normally, working with others is an ordinary aspect of school, but of course, this year is no ordinary year. Breakout rooms have consistently been less productive due to the number of students who keep their cameras off and microphones muted.

 Most of the time students have been merely just sitting in breakout rooms and not talking. Without a teacher to guide the discussion, many students do not know how to start or maintain an on-topic discussion with their peers. Breakout rooms have also been a point of stress for many students. Not knowing with whom you are going to work or whether your partner(s) will be involved, increases feelings of uncertainty. Instead of unproductive time wasted in breakout rooms, class time would be far more productive with more teacher instruction or time for focused independent work.