Using Break Out Rooms Effectively in the Writing Classroom: Session #2 of the CRWP 2020-21 Webinar Series

In our October 20, 2020 webinar, Chippewa River Writing Project director and Central Michigan University professor Dr. Troy Hicks (@hickstro) presented ideas on how to use break out rooms effectively. Dr. Hicks challenged us not to worry or think about what meeting platform we are using, but how we want to use our breakout rooms.

He asked us to begin to begin to think of our activities as “anytime learning” (asynchronous) and “real time learning” (synchronous). He presented us with important questions such as:

What do we value?
What can we do to make the most of the precious time we have with our students?

Dr. Hicks introduced the Harvard Project Zero’s Thinking Routines Toolbox and the National School Reform Faculty’s Protocols for collaborative work and small group discussions. He had us consider how we might blend these ideas with popular activities and literacy structures such as the 4C’s Collaborative Writing Activity, KWL charts, Venn Diagrams, Jigsaw reading, Save the Last Word, probing questions, and more, all giving us a great example of lessons to make the most of our time with students.

This session was packed with great activities, ideas, and resources for how to better use your real time learning experiences with your students in break out rooms this year!

Here are the links to the resources shared during Dr. Hicks’ presentation: