Breakout Room Blues

We've all been guilty of doing this--at least I know I have. We say OK, we're going to go into breakout rooms! Everybody ready? Any questions before we go? No, OK! Off to the breakout rooms!"

And then you check on the breakout rooms only to find...

• Nobody knows what they are supposed to be doing

• They're confused and slow to start

• They're talking all over each other

• Nobody is talking

• When they come back you realize they had no clue what was going on and were way off-base

These are the typical reasons I get from trainers and designers for why people "don't like breakout rooms."

I hate to tell you but. The issue isn't the breakout rooms--the issue was your breakout room set up.

Don't Do This:

Do not *just* give verbal instructions for the breakout rooms, then set them free unsupervised into small virtual rooms to do whatever they please with their time because, trust me, what they want to do with their time is not whatever you just told them to do.

Chances are good they weren't even listening when you gave those instructions.

"Now Megan, we're talking about adults here, not children. They can listen and follow instructions."

... But do they? Adults are typically even more distracted in virtual learning situations than younger learners, because they are constantly multitasking on other parts of their job and trying to fulfill all their other responsibilities (in addition to looking at their phone).

Instead, Do This:

#1. Write out the instructions in bullet-pointed steps, then put those instructions up on the screen for them to read.

A lot of times I don't read the instructions out load at all. I say "We're about to go into breakout rooms. You all have a task to complete in those breakouts. The instructions are up on your screen so read them now." Why? Because it *forces* the learner to stop multi-tasking while half-listening and instead look directly at your screen to read the instructions. This gets them focused and ready to go into the breakouts.

#2. While you have the instructions up, instruct all learners to take a screenshot.

This serves two purposes: first, it gives them an action to do BEFORE they go into the breakout, which wakes up their brains and tells them "oh, we're transitioning into stuff I need to actively do now". Second, now they will have the instructions with them when they go into breakouts, so they have them for reference as they work through their group task.

You can even have one member of the group share their screen with the instructions on it for easy access/ reference as they work. This is particularly useful if you've given them a list of discussion questions or topics to cover.

#3. Assign roles for the group.

Example roles: group/ discussion leader, screen sharer, note taker, presenter, time manager, etc. Now, I do *not* assign ALL these roles for every breakout. Sometimes I just assign a discussion leader and/or presenter (to share during the debrief) and that's it, but doing that fixes a lot of those issues mentioned above.

#4. Tell them how long they will have to work in the breakouts BEFORE you send them out, so they can manage their time well.

You can also use the broadcast tool in WebEx/ Zoom to send out notifications to all groups as they work, reminding them about time left or any other announcements you want to give as they work.

#5. Visit the breakout sessions.

While participants are in breakouts, it's a good idea to jump into each breakout at least once--as time allows--to check on their progress, answer questions, and redirect the discussion as needed.

#6. Have each breakout session have a "proof of learning."

Each group should have something that they can share with you or demonstrate upon returning to the big room/ group as a whole. This could be as simple as a list/ summary of what they discussed, but it can also be more formalized like a screenshot of a collaborative whiteboard they all worked on in the breakouts.

#7. Debrief the learning.

Allow everyone to reconvene in the main room to share their learning with the group as a whole; it gives the learners an essential voice and active role in their training. Also, this is your chance as a trainer to emphasize their best points, redirect and correct misunderstanding, and fill in any gaps before moving on to the next topic or ending the lesson.

Side Note:

These suggestions are mostly aimed at using breakouts for discussion and/or activity. However! I also love to use breakouts to start sessions as an opportunity to pre-assess learning or allow participants to get to know each other in small groups, but even in those circumstances,

I always recommend providing structure. Humans crave it.