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

[glendower]

I'm sorry you're having such a bad time with this class. The novelty of Zoom is over and now it's just a slog. My advice depends on what kind of school and students you have, and isn't just for you, but also for anyone else who consults this thread. If students are on-campus at a well-funded school, so that they have strong internet connections and no distractions, then they should be able to turn on their cameras and participate, at least by posting questions, comments, and jokes in the chat. I've found that it works well to lecture for 3-5 minutes, break to catch up with the chat and answer questions, return to lecture, rinse and repeat. Some are happy to type, even if they don't want to speak.

OTOH, you might have students who are trying to listen to lectures via their phone while working a full shift as a delivery driver, or in food service or some other retail position. They can't really turn on the camera or speak aloud, and may not even be able to text a question or comment. In such a case, consider that they really are prioritizing their education: they are trying to keep up, as best they can, through listening. They may be better able to "participate" via asynchronous methods, such as discussion boards. You could ask everyone to post a sentence with the most important or interesting thing they learned from lecture, within 24 hours, something like that.

In your position, and this is a me thing, I'd apologize in person, on camera, and say something to the effect that we're all still very stressed by the pandemic, and Zoom, and that this experience gives you more insight into what they're going through, so while you hope they'll understand your position, you'll try to be more understanding of theirs, going forward. The ideas about midterm evals, polls, and other ways to participate without having to speak are all great (I really liked the standard poll ABCD answer with questions on a slide---thanks for that!). I hope you'll be able to end the semester feeling better about the class than you do now.

[Istiblennius]

I've also had some Zoom classes that were low on verbal engagement, but I found that the students were willing to actively use the chat to contribute. You could try a waterfall - ask them all to type an answer to some question in the chat but not hit submit for a couple of minutes. Then have everyone submit together and you get a string of answers to the question that you can follow up on - "student X, you wrote yackity yack, can you tell us a little more about that?"

I also use mentimeter to make interactive slides that I can screenshare to get conversations going and students can post anonymous Q&A options too.

[Morden]

you could try a waterfall - ask them all to type an answer to some question in the chat but not hit submit for a couple of minutes. Then have everyone submit together and you get a string of answers to the question that you can follow up on - "student X, you wrote yackity yack, can you tell us a little more about that?"

That's a really good idea! Thank you. I've tried something similar using a whiteboard, but the responses are anonymous, so it doesn't lend itself to follow up unless the student volunteers.

[ciao_yall]

Today my students were quiet so I told a few war stories, then ended class a bit early. At least in class I can come up with a group discussion topic to get them in small groups and use up some time... but with Zoom? Forget it.

Part of the problem is that we are in week 11 out of 18, or the "7th inning stretch." They are a bit bored with the class, resting up from the midterm, but not anxious yet about the final.

[mamselle]

So, OP: How did the next class go?

(Or have you had it yet?)

M.

[mahagonny]

Levity: there have been some stories of students who had their video function turned on and apparently didn't realize it. One was in bed, asleep, the whole time.
Lots of teachers have gone/are going through similar things. Good luck. You'll figure it out.

[Sun_Worshiper]

Levity: there have been some stories of students who had their video function turned on and apparently didn't realize it. One was in bed, asleep, the whole time.
Lots of teachers have gone/are going through similar things. Good luck. You'll figure it out.

I've seen students in bed, students in their underwear, students driving in their cars, etc., on Zoom.

Very glad to be done with Zoom teaching and back in the classroom, although I suppose I might not be so thrilled if I get COVID from one of my students.

[old_school]

Yeah, you just can't expect Zoom to emulate the experience of a classroom. It's a whole different animal.

All good points, and helpful examples. Thank you for sharing.

[old_school]

Thank you all for taking the time to share your suggestions/tips and approaches (and words of support) - all much appreciated.

For the immediate future, while I sort through various options (incl. new ones shared with me here), I will just adjust my expectations in terms of student engagement in this particular class, though not academics. I.e., while perhaps not ideal, I will mostly straight lecture until I figure out what works with this group. I did this yesterday and it went well (from my perspective).  Obviously, if anyone would have asked a question, I would have happily entertained it, but I stopped periodically asking if anyone has any questions or calling on anyone, and thereby avoided the frustration of not getting any responses. If they want to learn this way, fine, otherwise they will have to be a bit more proactive, I just don't have the energy to keep coaxing them to act in their own best interest. And who knows, perhaps this is a better way for them to learn, if only this particular group.

My other two classes, everything proceeded quite smoothly with my very interactive Q&A approach which has served me well for many years with all of my classes, but this one. Students there have no problems participating in their own learning and it makes it much more of a collaborative learning environment which I prefer.