How to use breakout rooms

When working with groups of learners, it can be really beneficial to use breakout rooms for pair and group work if you have access to them.

Task 1

If you’re unfamiliar with how to set up and manage breakout rooms in an online platform, watch Julian’s video tutorial and note how you can do these things:

• Open breakout rooms and allocate learners
• Share materials
• Join a breakout room in order to monitor
• Close breakout rooms

When you’re finished, open up the platform you use or have chosen to use and try to share your screen. Go to the Help or Support pages of your platform to find out more if necessary. Note that Julian used Teams in this tutorial.

Task 2 (optional)

Look at one or more of the clips of teachers and students using breakout rooms in their lessons. While you’re watching, think about the teacher’s reason for using breakout rooms in each of the clips
1) Darya 1
2) Darya 2
3) Ekaterina
4) Grisha

Reflect and share

What other types of activities would you get learners to do in breakout rooms? Share your ideas in the comments. Read other participants’ ideas and ‘like’ those you think you’ll try in your lessons.