Strategies to Foster Discourse and Collaboration in Remote Learning Environments

The past couple of months have been challenging for educators, to say the least. However, in the midst of it all, there have been opportunities to take a critical lens to practice in the efforts to effectively pivot to a remote world and successfully implement hybrid learning models in the near term.  No matter the current focus, changes implemented today will pave the way for ushering in more personalized approaches that focus on high-agency strategies as schools settle into a new normal.

Let’s focus on the short term.  For many schools, especially here in the United States, the school year has been pushed back, or students will begin remotely. Even for the schools that have started face-to-face, COVID-19 could force an abrupt change of course. Thus, there is a pressing need to develop and implement pedagogically-sound strategies that work in a remote environment.  I recently facilitated two intensive virtual workshop days with educators from the Shaler Area School District in Pennsylvania.  The series will conclude with a third day in a few weeks. First off, they were a fantastic group to work with virtually.  The dialogue, openness to new ideas, and willingness to take risks was apparent each day.  What made it even better was how much I learned from the experience.

One of the main challenges with remote learning has been student engagement, something I addressed in a recent post, where I provided six elements to consider. As I planned out my activities for the two days, I really wanted to create a meaningful experience that included numerous opportunities for discourse and collaboration. Using Zoom breakout rooms and an array of digital tools (Padlet, Linoit, AnswerGarden, Mentimeter, GoSoapBox, YoTeach!, Google Forms, Thinglink) interactivity was extensive. You can also use Google Meet to create breakout rooms in Google Classroom (learn more HERE). 

When designing lessons for learners here are some tips based on what I learned:

• Establish behavior and conduct norms
• Mute everyone during synchronous instruction to start. I have found this to be extremely beneficial in setting the tone and attentive behavior.
• Have an interactive ready to go every 10 – 15 minutes
• Add the question prompt or task in the chatbox (I just copy and paste it from my slide deck)
• Unmute everyone and then place them randomly into breakout rooms.
• Provide regular updates to students by broadcasting messages to all rooms
• Remind students that there is an “ask for help” button (top left). This is a great way to combat cyberbullying or to respond to group questions.
• Jump into rooms to monitor.
• Upon closing the breakout rooms mute the entire class again
• Provide a digital tool for all kids to share their responses to the question discussed or task completed.
• Encourage ongoing dialogue and questions using the chatbox.
• Encourage the use of earbuds or headsets if you are managing both face-to-face and remote learners at the same time. 

Collaboration during synchronous lessons is crucial to keeping kids engaged. It also sets the stage for structured cooperative learning activities that could occur live or asynchronously as part of remote blended learning. Below are some of the most common strategies I use to help educators implement remote learning using the tips above.

• Think - Pair - Share (in a remote situation it would be think, randomly group in a breakout room, and share)
• Turn and Talk
• Jigsaw (check out this blog post if you want to see how I implemented this strategy using a digital tool)
• Station Rotation
• Brainstorming (HERE are a list of some great free tools)

I need to give huge should out to Esther Park. She really took the virtual breakout room to a whole new level. Below are her tweet and associated image. 

I made breakout room choice doors where Ss will "go" to during their work time. We're using Google Meet & I plan to link different Meet links to each door so students can collaborate, work alone, or get extra help. Honoring differences & personalizing instruction! 

 

It is essential to be intentional about planning for discourse and collaboration in any remote learning lesson or experience, just like we would in a face-to-face setting.  Students desperately miss and need interaction with their peers to create some sense of normalcy while increasing attentive behavior and engagement in the learning process.

Be sure to check out my entire #remotelearning series. 

The Pedagogy of Digital Discussion

I wasn’t an overly confident student when it came to engaging in open conversations during class.  If one of my teachers posed a question, I only raised my hand if I was 99.9% sure that I knew the correct answer.  I guess you can chalk this up to the fact that I lacked a certain degree of confidence in my knowledge acquisition or the fact that I was a relatively shy student when it came to class participation. Perhaps it was a combination of both. There were other issues at play that impacted my level of engagement. Not only was I averse to answering questions, but I also rarely directed any to my teachers outside of a one on one conversation.  Discussions with my peers were limited to the rare occasion when a cooperative learning activity was planned.  Such was life in a classroom back in the day.

I often reflect on what my learning experience might have been like had my teachers had access to and used the many interactive tools that are available today to enhance classroom discussion. During every single workshop I facilitate, I have participants in both peer and randomly selected groups engage in face-to-face conversations on numerous question prompts. It is during this time that they get to share their ideas on the topic, discuss implementation strategies, reflect on what others have said, or provide positive reinforcement.  I am always inspired when I eavesdrop on these conversations. There is no substitute for real human interaction as this is the ultimate relationship builder.  After a set amount of time, they are then all asked to share their responses using one of many different digital tools. 

Let me take a step back now and share some insights on why classroom discussion is so meaningful. As I was researching for some solid pedagogical links, I came across this wonderful article that Todd Finley wrote for Edutopia titled Rethinking Whole Class Discussion. It is not only a great read but also what he cites aligns with the strategies that I described previously in this post.  Here is one piece that he shared:

Quality discussion, according to the University of Washington's Center for Instructional Development and Research, involves purposeful questions prepared in advance, assessment, and starting points for further conversations. Teachers are also advised to:

• Distribute opportunities to talk
• Allow discussants to see each other physically
• Ask questions that "may or may not have a known or even a single correct answer.”
• Foster learners talking to peers
• Encourage students to justify their responses
• Vary the types of questions

Below are some strategies to enhance classroom discussion. For even more research-based ideas click HERE. 

Research supports the importance of discussion when backed by the purposeful use of technology.  Smith et al. (2009) found the following:

When students answer an in-class conceptual question individually using clickers, discuss it with their neighbors, and then revote on the same question, the percentage of correct answers typically increases. Our results indicate that peer discussion enhances understanding, even when none of the students in a discussion group originally knows the right answer.

As a supplement to traditional discussion strategies technology can serve as a catalyst to increase engagement by getting more learners actively involved during lessons.  It can also take conversations to new levels of interactivity and expression.  There are so many great tools to choose from, but we have to be focused first on the improved outcomes that can result from purposeful use.  Digital discussion: 

• Allows creativity in responses (video, images, online research citations)
• Provides an avenue for open reflection
• Affords more learners an opportunity to answer and ask questions
• Better meets the needs of shy and introverted students
• Can extend conversations and learning beyond the traditional school day
• Welcomes participation from others beyond the brick and mortar classroom
• Can be used to show parents and stakeholders the learning that is taking place
• Works to create a culture grounded in trust and responsibility

Now that I have covered the many ways digital discussion serves as a sound pedagogical strategy, the next step is to begin implementing various tools into daily lessons and learning activities.  Some of my favorites include Mentimeter, Gsuite, GoSoapBox, Yo Teach!, and Padlet (check out the backchannel option). Many learning management systems (Google Classroom, Schoology, Microsoft Teams) have opportunities to facilitate digital discussion as well.  Harness the power of digital to take conversations to the next level while empowering both students and adult learners in the process.


Smith, M. K., Wood, W. B., Adams, W. K., Wieman, C., Knight, J. K., Guild, N. & Su, T. T. (2009) Why peer discussion
     improves student performance on in-class concept questions. Science 323 (5910):122–24.