(Zoom) Class not engaging, I ended class in the middle - what next?

[old_school]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to take another look at Zoom polls, in the past when I have used them they seemed somewhat cumbersome to set up and use (esp ad-hoc) but perhaps I'm not remembering this correctly.

Polls can be annoying, but my single question poll is "Answer the question on the slide. Select A, B, C, or D." The question is written on the slide, but I can also write one out on the Zoom whiteboard. Keeping it generic and re-using the same poll makes it much easier to manage.

Ah, excellent suggestion, thanks, yes, that'll make it much easier to reuse the same ready poll.

[the_geneticist]

I'd encourage any behavior that is increasing their participation.  They can speak or type or use a shared document.  Unless you specify that they MUST have their cameras on to earn participation credit, they won't turn them on - could be bad internet, shy student, not in a private location, etc.  Maybe next time, but it's probably too late for this cohort.
Give them specific tasks in their breakout room & a shared space to write/draw/diagram.  Also, make it clear that you expect each room to report back to the class.
I'd send an apology email saying you're sorry to have ended class in that way, you are frustrated, you want to know how they would like to interact with each other & with you (more polls? more time in small groups? more time as a large group? etc.).
Good luck

[mamselle]

When I put them into breakout rooms to collaborate on a small task, the majority will not talk to others, and I don't see any more cameras turned on either.

My breakout rooms became much more participatory when I gave the students a shared document to work on.  For example, if I plan to have 5 breakout rooms, I prepare a Google slides document with 5 slides, each of which had the same matching exercise (e.g., drag the labels in column B so they correctly describe the graphs in column A).  I paste the link in the Zoom chat.  Breakout room 1 goes to slide 1, breakout room 2 to slide 2, etc.  I can monitor their progress while they work, write small comments in the slide to address minor issues, and pop into the breakout rooms where they're really confused or making no progress.  If the task won't fit on a single slide, you can make a separate shared document for each group.  As long as you have the links in a text file ready to paste into the chat, it's not that much more complicated.

Aha! I was just trying to figure out something like this for my music theory kids...I wanted them to do a four-measure analysis separately first, then come together and show their work.

The breakout rooms setup worked, but the screen-share setup didn't let them see the single slide I'd created, now I see why.

Genius! Thanks!

M.

[old_school]

When I put them into breakout rooms to collaborate on a small task, the majority will not talk to others, and I don't see any more cameras turned on either.

My breakout rooms became much more participatory when I gave the students a shared document to work on.  For example, if I plan to have 5 breakout rooms, I prepare a Google slides document with 5 slides, each of which had the same matching exercise (e.g., drag the labels in column B so they correctly describe the graphs in column A).  I paste the link in the Zoom chat.  Breakout room 1 goes to slide 1, breakout room 2 to slide 2, etc.  I can monitor their progress while they work, write small comments in the slide to address minor issues, and pop into the breakout rooms where they're really confused or making no progress.  If the task won't fit on a single slide, you can make a separate shared document for each group.  As long as you have the links in a text file ready to paste into the chat, it's not that much more complicated.

Thank you for sharing this idea, I will try to see if I can incorporate this into my lessons moving forward. That may improve things with the breakout rooms.

[clean]

I have called them by name to have them answer questions.  I tell them to reply by voice, but if their microphone is not working today (that excuse works once), I tell them to respond in the chat function.  (I then email them to get their problem fixed, or buy an external camera/microphone).

IF they do not answer, I boot them from the class.  (WebEx has a feature that allows you to expel people).  If you have the settings so that they have to ask to be allowed back in the meeting, they may get the hint! 
Send an email after the class asking them why they were expelled? (Why they didnt respond). 

Rather than ending the class early, expel the deadwood and participate with the ones that want to participate.  This works best, of course, if you are tenured and are less worried about student evaluations.  If evaluations are important, then start to ask advice from your chair and perhaps even ask for a faculty mentor to help you. (It may help with the class, but it will certainly be a back up to show that YOU at least TRIED to address the problem). 

Finally, Bonus POINTS can be offered (BRIBE THEM)! 
Next class, go about business as usual.  Then at the END of class, list the ones that participated and announce that THOSE students earned a token number of points  (like 2 or 3) to be added to their final exam score .  Try that a few times  and ONCE the participation is to your level of satisfaction, you can reduce the points to the top five students, say. 

[old_school]

Rather than ending the class early, expel the deadwood and participate with the ones that want to participate.  This works best, of course, if you are tenured and are less worried about student evaluations. 

Finally, Bonus POINTS can be offered (BRIBE THEM)! 
Next class, go about business as usual.  Then at the END of class, list the ones that participated and announce that THOSE students earned a token number of points  (like 2 or 3) to be added to their final exam score .  Try that a few times  and ONCE the participation is to your level of satisfaction, you can reduce the points to the top five students, say.

I appreciate the suggestions, good additions to my toolbox of techniques to try.

[Aster]

For the temporary ZOOM classes, I did not even attempt to go for active engagement. Instead, I focused on 100% pure lecture.

The ZOOM students do not seem to mind this. On the contrary, I've been getting positive comments like "thanks for not making me talk".

I am now having an existential moment whereas I'm doubting whether or no I've been wasting my time over the last 15+ years optimizing my classroom for active learning.

[Puget]

For the temporary ZOOM classes, I did not even attempt to go for active engagement. Instead, I focused on 100% pure lecture.

The ZOOM students do not seem to mind this. On the contrary, I've been getting positive comments like "thanks for not making me talk".

I am now having an existential moment whereas I'm doubting whether or no I've been wasting my time over the last 15+ years optimizing my classroom for active learning.

What students want and what's good for learning are often two very different things.

[old_school]

For the temporary ZOOM classes, I did not even attempt to go for active engagement. Instead, I focused on 100% pure lecture.

The ZOOM students do not seem to mind this. On the contrary, I've been getting positive comments like "thanks for not making me talk".

I am now having an existential moment whereas I'm doubting whether or no I've been wasting my time over the last 15+ years optimizing my classroom for active learning.

Interesting.

Thanks for sharing this.

[ciao_yall]

I have a few who talk my ear off, and others who I never hear from. So it's really hard to balance the class participation.

Zoom is a lousy way to teach and engage students. Anyone who claims their classes are going better is lying. Prove me wrong.

[kaysixteen]

I get that Zoom classes are challenging, and hopefully they will go away soon.   That said, some things seem to be apparent in the OP's question:

1) don't make their failure to say 'good morning' a hill to die on.   It is perhaps rude, though kids today probably do not do that, and in fairness most hs teachers will not insist on being greeted like that by students every class period.

that said

2) wrt undergrad student engagement, Zoom or otherwise, it does appear to me that this sort of behavior is much much different from what would have been normative when Gen Xers, let alone Boomers, were undergrads.   There was still more respect for elders, and authority figures, then, and, like it or not, we got vastly better parenting, taken as a whole, than the average Gen Zer has gotten.

[Hegemony]

Yeah, you just can't expect Zoom to emulate the experience of a classroom. It's a whole different animal. For instance, in a classroom, you can come in, look specifically at some students, and say "Good morning!" They make eye contact, they respond. On Zoom, you're not making noticeable eye contact with anybody, even people with their cameras on. They have to unmute themselves to answer. And one annoying thing about the system is that even if six students are trying to say 'Good morning" at the same time, only one student's sound will come through. Zoom doesn't allow people to talk simultaneously. Students know this and it makes them shy about volunteering. You basically can't expect anyone to speak on Zoom without first being acknowledged, i.e. they raise their hand, you call on them, they speak. Zoom simply does not work for a casual exchange of "Good morning"s.

The trick to breakout rooms is to give them a task that is a) interesting, b) a manageable size, c) their responsibility to report on. Giving them something for which you already know the answer, or which other groups are also working on, is probably not going to succeed. In a language class, I had a set of riddles in our target language, and I gave each breakout room (ideally 2 students, maximum 3) their own riddle to translate and solve, and set them at it. Or in a history class, you could give them each a scandal and have them decide as a pair whether to vote that it was caused by A or by B. "Was Richard II responsible for murdering the princes in the Tower? You decide!"

I've taught several classes by Zoom, and only 1-2 out of 40 kept their cameras off. When I asked them to turn them on for some reason, it turned out to be because they were (in one case) taking a bus to their job, or (in another case) delivering a lamb, I mean helping a sheep give birth. I think the fact that I kept talking directly to specific students helped keep them on their toes and cameras on. I know that initially there was all that concern about "Some students live in poor conditions and shouldn't have to expose them by leaving cameras on." But once virtual backgrounds were developed, that became less of a concern. I am impatient with cameras off, unless the person is having connectivity problems. And somehow that has translated into people leaving them on.

[old_school]

I get that Zoom classes are challenging, and hopefully they will go away soon.   That said, some things seem to be apparent in the OP's question:

1) don't make their failure to say 'good morning' a hill to die on.   It is perhaps rude, though kids today probably do not do that, and in fairness most hs teachers will not insist on being greeted like that by students every class period.

I really am not, I must have written this poorly, or perhaps the fact that it was the first example I gave. I simply mentioned it only to demonstrate the lack of even this minimal level of engagement/participation (which also serves their own interest in letting me know they can hear me). How much effort, intellectual or otherwise, does it take? Honestly, I could just start the lecture with "can you hear me?" - I'd get the same (lack) of response.

that said

2) wrt undergrad student engagement, Zoom or otherwise, it does appear to me that this sort of behavior is much much different from what would have been normative when Gen Xers, let alone Boomers, were undergrads.   There was still more respect for elders, and authority figures, then, and, like it or not, we got vastly better parenting, taken as a whole, than the average Gen Zer has gotten.

I would agree with you on this, there definitely is a difference.

Thank you for your post.

[old_school]

I'd encourage any behavior that is increasing their participation.  They can speak or type or use a shared document.  Unless you specify that they MUST have their cameras on to earn participation credit, they won't turn them on - could be bad internet, shy student, not in a private location, etc.  Maybe next time, but it's probably too late for this cohort.
Give them specific tasks in their breakout room & a shared space to write/draw/diagram.  Also, make it clear that you expect each room to report back to the class.
I'd send an apology email saying you're sorry to have ended class in that way, you are frustrated, you want to know how they would like to interact with each other & with you (more polls? more time in small groups? more time as a large group? etc.).
Good luck

Thanks, I strongly encourage them to use their cameras, though I know some may have legitimate reasons why they can't/won't which is why I don't enforce it but make it clear that it helps them more than me (it keeps them more accountable) and it at least emulates/fosters a sense of community in an online environment by being able to see each other. At the end it's up to them. I do ask they turn on their cameras (at least briefly) during exams for attendance purposes, but even that doesn't result in 100% compliance (can't do anything about it, so I won't worry about it).

All my usual techniques to encourage participation that have worked reasonably well in my other classes have failed here, so I am going to switch to just lecturing and not worry about their level of understanding as much (the only reason I regularly would ask if they had questions, or call on them with specific questions).

I only have so much energy I can invest in them. I will adjust my expectations, in terms of their participation, though not in what we are covering/learning in this class. If they want to ask questions, fine, but I'm done trying to coax anything out of them in this class.

[the_geneticist]

I have a few who talk my ear off, and others who I never hear from. So it's really hard to balance the class participation.

Zoom is a lousy way to teach and engage students. Anyone who claims their classes are going better is lying. Prove me wrong.

I hate teaching over Zoom.  The few perks are: me not needing to wear shoes, students like when my cats interrupt class.
The level of student-student, student-instructor, and student-content interaction is so low.  Even with all of the tips and tricks it's just nowhere what you get in a live classroom. 
I'm impressed with any student that made it through the past 1.5 years and didn't give up.