Using breakout rooms for collaborative learning online

Structure effective use of breakout rooms in a synchronous online class. Strategy: 'Jigsaw' Activity. 1. Main Session: Introduce a complex topic with 4 sub-topics. 2. Expert Groups (10 mins): Assign students to breakout rooms, with each room focusing on one sub-topic. They become 'experts' on that piece. 3. Jigsaw Groups (15 mins): Re-assign students to new breakout rooms, with one 'expert' from each of the original groups. Each expert teaches their sub-topic to the new group. 4. Main Session (5 mins): Return to the main room for a whole-class debrief and Q&A. Best Practices: assign roles in each group (facilitator, note-taker), provide a shared document (Google Doc/Jamboard) for collaboration, visit rooms to monitor progress.