BREAKOUT ACTIVITY CONSIDERATIONS:

Determine if a breakout room activity will be the most effective use of your live session time given the purposes of the course and the learning styles of the students in your section.
Consider the amount and size of the breakout groups. For most breakout activities, we recommend that you have 2-5 students in each group to ensure everyone has the opportunity to contribute. Depending on the number of key concepts and size of your live session, it may make sense to have more than 1 group doing the same activity.
Providing instructions to students is important for a successful breakout session. There are several different instruction delivery methods.

Instruction Delivery	Considerations
Verbalize Instructions	This strategy can be used with minimal set up time. Remember to explain to students how you expect them to report out afterwards
Copy and paste text or link to chat	This strategy is simple and effective when all breakout rooms will use the same set of instructions. Chat text and links follows students into breakout rooms. If you use links, make sure everyone has the correct access and that it is clear which group is suppose to follow which set of instructions.
Upload document to chat and/or wall	This strategy allows you to provide more details, including visuals, for the breakout activity then you would with copy and paste. If using chat to share document, students must download it prior to starting the breakout as the document will not go with a student into breakouts.
Collaborative Documents in Course Files	This strategy allows opportunity to provide different instructions to each breakout group and a space to capture the group’s responses in one accessible location. Faculty can also have multiple documents up during the breakout activity to observe each breakout group’s activities.

4. Decide how you want the students to report out after the breakout session.

Report Out Delivery	Considerations
Verbalize Response	This strategy can be used with minimal set up time. Remember to explain to students how you expect them to report out afterwards
Student Choice	If it doesn’t really matter how breakout groups present their work to the group, let them decide what works best for them.
Chat	When in a breakout room, only the students in that room are able to see anything typed in the chat, which makes it a great tool to summarize the group’s ideas. We recommend having at least 1 student save the chat prior to leaving the breakout room so they can share the saved chat with the class and/or professor
Whiteboard	1 student in the breakout group share a whiteboard to take notes and/or have all group members use annotations to add. Students will need to save the whiteboard prior to leaving the breakout room and share their screen on the saved image in the main room.
Offline documents	Students can use a Word document or Notes pad to take notes for the group. Recommend 1 student share screen on the document of choice during the breakout and report out. If you provided instructions by uploading a document on the wall or chat, students should use the same document to capture responses. Also, if you would like access to the document afterward, inform the students how they should provide in chat, wall or an email.
Collaborative Documents in Course Files	This strategy allows opportunity to provide different instructions to each breakout group and a space to capture the group’s responses in one accessible location. Allows all participants to contribute to the document at once. Versatility of document allows students to add tables, visuals, and links. Faculty and students will be able to access the contributions at anytime.

5. Prepare to lead a wrap up discussion after all the groups have presented.

6. Stick to a strict timeline for each aspect of the activity. Breakout activities can quickly take up a significant part of the live session time if not effectively managed. Remember to allow yourself some buffer time for the activity explanation, students getting instructions, and technical set up.