ABSTRACT
The Zoom application has become increasingly popular for online and hybrid teaching since the COVID-19 pandemic started in the spring of 2020. However, Zoom cannot simply replace all of the teaching techniques traditionally used during in-person lectures. In particular, student group problem solving and discussion is often replaced with a virtual version via the Zoom breakout room feature. This paper will investigate the effectiveness of these breakout rooms on student performance in engineering courses. A variety of breakout room strategies were conducted over the course of the fall 2020 semester in four engineering classes. Students were surveyed at the end of the semester to determine what strategies/factors most improved their individual comfort level, group productivity, and ability to learn the material. The results of this paper indicate that having small breakout room groups (i.e., 2-3 students), assigning specific tasks to the groups and individual students, and visiting the breakout rooms periodically have the most positive impact on the student's perception of the session. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021