According to Academic Council expectations, classes not originally scheduled to be taught online shall provide live engagement during scheduled meeting times. At least half of course time should be structured learning opportunities for students. Structured synchronous time can take the form of anything you would spend class time doing including mini-lectures, group discussions, and active learning activities.
As you think about how to make the most of “live” time with students, we offer general advice and sample lesson plans.
General principles
Chunk content
Break-up presentation of content into short sections (5-15 min) with opportunities for student activities in between.
Create space for student interaction
Students are missing interaction and engagement. Create more space for student-student interaction and opportunities for student-instructor interaction (like one-on-one meetings or office hours)
Structure group work
Be explicit about group expectations and rules for student dialogue. Create time for structured social interaction if students are working in new groups. Have students assign roles, like reporter or recorder.
Take breaks
Zoom fatigue is real – give students a 5-10 min break in the middle of your 2-hour class.
Have a backup plan
Technology and connectivity issues will occur for you and your students. Record synchronous meetings so students can participate even if their connections don’t work in the moment. Have a backup strategy for what to do if you have connectivity issues.
We recommend lesson-planning in two columns: one for what the instructor will be doing and one column for what you expect students to be doing.
An 80-minute hybrid lecture that uses both a Zoom meeting and a pre-recorded video lecture. The alternating format helps keep students focused and prevents the instructor from the exhaustion that inevitably accompanies an 80-minute non-stop Zoom lecture.
(The lesson plan below uses a 300-level world music class as an example.)
Preparation:
- Prepare slides for a lecture of ca. 30 minutes. Example: The Chinese Orchestra: characteristics, history, political context, issues of (national) identity.
- After about 15 minutes, include a prompt, problem, question(s), or discussion starter.
Example: “The Chinese Orchestra emerged in the early 20th century. How is the music different from the Teahouse Music we discussed last week? Why do you think it developed that way?” - Record a video lecture that includes your slides up to the slide with your prompt. Make the slide with your prompt the last slide.
- Upload your video to Panopto.
- Prepare Zoom breakout rooms.
- Inform your students through Canvas Announcements about your intended lecture format and ask them to have Canvas Panopto open when they join your Zoom room.
Lesson plan:
| Activity | Time (in minutes) | Instructor doing | Students doing |
| Administrative stuff | 0:00 – 0:05 | Welcomes students, makes announcements, explains today’s lecture format | Watch and listen, ask questions |
|
Warm-up: Low stakes Zoom Chat brainstorming |
0:05 – 0:10 |
Poses question and types it into Zoom Chat window. Reads replies out loud, without commenting too much. Example: What do you associate with the term “national music”? In your opinion, what music genre would be the national music of the U.S.? |
Type into the chat window |
|
Introduction: Video lecture |
0:10 – 0:20 |
Instructs students to open and watch the recorded video lecture and to log back into Zoom immediately after completing the lecture. Helps students who have trouble accessing the video. |
Open video lecture, leave Zoom room |
| 0:12 – 0:28 | Keeps Zoom room open. | Watch the video and log back into Zoom | |
|
Problem posing: Breakout groups |
0:28 – 0:30 |
Shows prompt from video lecture through screen share, reads it out aloud and explains if necessary. Then moves students into breakout rooms.
|
Join breakout rooms |
| 0:30 – 0:45 | Moves through breakout rooms to facilitate discussion or help with solving the problem. Keeps email open in case students in breakout room have an urgent question. If there are TAs, the instructor can move them around to join different breakout rooms. | Work in their breakout group. Contact instructor per email in case of problems. | |
|
Exchange: Share the ideas and results from the breakout rooms with the entire class |
0:45 – 0:46 | Convenes students in main room again. | Join main room. |
| 0:46 – 1:00 | Calls on students and comments on their ideas, thoughts. Facilitates discussion. | Listen. Talk when called on. Raise virtual hand when they want to respond to a classmate’s comment. | |
|
Bigger picture: Zoom lecture. Leads students to correct solution of the problem or connects their discussion to lecture topic and overall course topic. Circles back and makes connection to chat question at the beginning.
|
1:00 – 1:15 |
Shares screen and presents rest of slide show as live lecture. Example: The Chinese Orchestra is an “invented tradition” that contributed to forming and establishing national identity in early post-imperial China. We think of music that people all over the country listen to when we are asked about a possible national music genre for the US. Similarly, Chinese authorities sought to avoid too much regional character in Chinese national music. Through its stylized elements of more traditional (regional) genres, the music played by the Chinese Orchestra promoted – proclaimed – a unified and homogenous Chinese national identity. |
Watch and listen, take notes, ask questions. |
|
Summary: Slide with today’s main points and insights. |
1:15 – 1:20 | Answers last questions. Gives last clarifications, makes last announcements. | Listen, ask questions. |
| 1:20 | Ends Zoom meeting |
This lesson plan would be appropriate for a STEM or other class where demonstrations and simulations can be used to help introduce and explore concepts. The 5E model used here is aligned with the learning cycle. (Tanner, K.D., 2010)
Preparation:
- Make a slide about a scholar who has conducted research in the area of the day’s topic. Consider showcasing scholars from underrepresented groups to ensure students see the diversity of the discipline.
- Prepare an introductory problem or discussion prompt drawing on students’ prior knowledge or preparatory reading.
- Prepare a demonstration, find one on video, or choose a simulation to use.
- Prepare material for a series of mini-lectures and poll questions to prompt engagement and formative assessment.
- Find or create a worksheet or a short case study with a few associated questions. Post it in Canvas.
- Create a Canvas assignment for the Muddiest/Most Surprising Point or 3 Most Important Concepts formative evaluation.
Lesson Plan:
| Time | Activity | Instructor doing | Students doing |
| 0:00 – 0:05 | Researcher of the day slide | Fielding questions in chat. | Reading slide, asking questions in chat. |
| 0:05 – 0:10 | Recap of last class session (by students) | Monitoring the recap, guiding, correcting, and supplementing. | Leading the recap, listening. |
| 0:10 – 0:15 | Housekeeping, plan for the day | Talking, showing slides. | Listening |
| 0:15 – 0:25 | Engage: Interesting problem/discussion prompt drawing on prior knowledge or course readings and opening the topic of the day | Introducing the problem.
Visiting and facilitating breakout groups. Managing whole group sharing. |
Breakout groups: Discussing problem.
Whole group: Sharing out. |
| 0:25 – 0:40 | Explore: Demonstration or simulation – live or on video – related to the topic of the day | Carrying out demonstration or simulation or showing video.
Prompting students to predict, observe, compare, and tentatively explain. Visiting breakout rooms Leading discussion |
Individual: Writing down prediction, observing demo or simulation.
Whole group: articulating what happened. Small group: Generating tentative explanation |
| 0:40 – 1:05 | Explain: Mini-lectures interspersed with poll questions | Talking.
Facilitating polls, perhaps using breakout groups. |
Listening.
Engaging with poll questions. |
| 1:05 – 1:15 | Stretch break | Break, optional talk with students | Break, optional talk with instructor |
| 1:15 – 1:40 | Elaborate: Worksheet or case study to apply and extend concepts | Introducing worksheet or case study and questions to grapple with.
Visiting breakout groups. Facilitating discussion. |
Listening.
Working with small groups to answer questions. Participating in large group discussion of problems. |
| 1:40 – 1:45 | Summary | Talking | Listening |
| 1:45 – 1:50 | Evaluate: Muddiest/most surprising point or three most important ideas of the day | Introducing activity.
Waiting. |
Thinking, writing.
Submitting in Canvas. |
Tanner, K. D. (2010). Order matters: using the 5E model to align teaching with how people learn. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 9(3), 159-164.
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