Zoom Breakout Rooms

If you love being in the classroom teaching as much as I do, then this past year has been quite an adjustment for us both. Back in March of 2020, the face of education changed, and this made a lot of teachers uncomfortable. I know I was asking myself how I was going to deliver the same material the same way I always had. My “go-to” in class was groupwork and changing over to Zoom seemed like it was going to throw a wrench in the works, so to speak. I had never used Zoom before, and the small crash course my college gave didn’t really prepare me for what I was getting into. How was I going to have my students work together? Could I achieve the same results virtually that I did face to face? Then, I learned the breakout room feature, and I realized I could have my students work with each other just as if we were in class. So, I used some of the group activities that I had used face to face, and one of my favorites is the activity on logos, pathos, and ethos.

As with any activity, planning is key. What I normally do for this activity is give a lesson on logos, pathos, and ethos to give students a good understanding of each and how the three can be used to persuade readers. Once I have explained logos, pathos, and ethos, we have a discussion on the different ways they can be used and the effects they have on people. One of my favorite examples is the ASPCA commercial with all the sad-looking dogs and sad music playing in the background. This provides a good example of pathos. We also talk about politicians, billboards, newsletters, junk mail, and salespersons. Once I think students understand the material, it’s time to start the in-class activity. Before we do, it is important to note that my lesson did not change; I teach logos, pathos, and ethos the same way virtually that I did in class.

The way I do this activity face to face is to divide the class into groups of three or four and provide each group with an oversized Post-it (these can be purchased at Office Max) and a box of markers. Each group comes up with a product or service that they would like to advertise. Once they have settled on a product or service, they begin to create advertisements in which they use logos, pathos, and ethos to persuade their audience that their product or service is the best. Typically, students will use percentages or charts to show logos, celebrities or sponsors to show ethos, and text that tugs at the heartstrings to show pathos. Of course, I am circulating the room and checking in with each group to make sure they understand what they are doing. Once the groups are done (35-40 minutes), we hang their advertisements on the whiteboard and the groups take turns presenting their product or service, being sure to mention how they used logos, pathos, and ethos.

Virtually, this activity works much the same way. I place groups in separate breakout rooms and each member of the group has a role. I will assign one member to find an image or two online and share with the member who is putting together the presentation (usually in Word), and the other member is working on text to include on the advertisement. All group members contribute ideas for images and text to be included once a draft is complete. The time to do this activity is the same as it is face to face. To share with the class, the members who put together the advertisement share their screens one at a time, and each member explains how the advertisement uses logos, pathos, and ethos. Once all groups have presented, we discuss the effectiveness of the advertisements and how they will persuade the audience.

So, breakout rooms can be used for groupwork and activities. Don’t feel like you must be an expert in Zoom to make this happen. I learned as I went along. The important part of designing an activity for breakout rooms is planning. Each student in the group should have a role so that all contribute to the activity. You can use activities you have done face to face virtually, and I think your students will have fun learning something new.