Imagine you are preparing for your upcoming remote class. As you review your lesson plan you realize student participation has been low, and discussions don’t flow. The class feels hard --- for your students and for you. You start to wonder if your lessons are translating well in an online space. You pause and ask yourself:
- What could I do differently?
- How can I help my students feel more connected and engaged in an online space?
- How could introducing more variety in how I teach impact my students' learning experiences?
This resource includes a variety of ways to help students actively participate in remote classes using features available in videoconferencing software. Even persuasive teaching techniques, if overused, may become ineffective or boring. While you should not select methods for the sake of variety alone, consider how to vary the ways you teach during each remote class. Using varied teaching methods can help reach more students and support them in their conversion to Jesus Christ and His restored gospel. As you explore these teaching methods, consider which of these you would like to try in your next remote class.
For additional information on remote class quality practices, see: Developing as an Online Teacher: Remote Gathering Quality Practices. For Zoom Help Guides, see: Zoom Support. Zoom help guides are available in multiple languages. Once inside a Zoom help guide, at the top of the page, select the “Language” drop-down menu and choose the appropriate language.
Breakout Rooms
Most video conferencing software includes breakout rooms. This feature allows the class to be broken up into smaller groups for group work and discussion. Breakout rooms help students get to know each other and encourage participation from quieter students because of the smaller group setting.
If your class uses Zoom as its remote class software, click here for instructions on using breakout rooms, Managing Meeting Breakout Rooms Tutorial. If your class uses a different remote class software, reach out to your local S&I representative for help on how to use breakout rooms.
Ideas for Variety
- Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge: Break students into groups of three and assign them to breakout rooms. Each student in the group will review a different principle of Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge. Give students a few minutes to silently study and prepare to share with their group one way their principle can help someone who is facing a difficult question or circumstance.
- Most Important Truth: When students are studying a scripture chapter that includes multiple truths they might identify, you could have them begin by studying on their own. Each could decide what they believe are the three or four most important truths or ideas in the block and write them down on a shared whiteboard or online document. Students then could be organized into smaller groups of two in breakout rooms. Have each group compare the truths they identified. Each group of students determines what they feel are the two most important truths and records them. Each pair then joins another pair to form a group of four; together, the four students share and compare their ideas and work as one team to determine the single most important truth in the text.
- Role-play: In pairs or small groups, students role-play a scenario in breakout rooms. Or you could play the part of a person with questions and have the whole class address your questions or concerns.
- Scenario Starter: Give students an incomplete scenario and invite them to add to the details to make it more relevant and relatable. Divide students into breakout rooms to collaborate and discuss. For example, you might say something such as “Let’s create a scenario about someone close to your age, named Julia, who is facing some life challenges. What might some of these be?” As students share, help them suggest details to make Julia, or another name you chose, seem like a real person.
Chat
Most remote gathering software offers an in-meeting chat feature that allows students to communicate during class. Chat messages may be sent to everyone in the class, individual participants, or the teacher.
If your class uses Zoom as its remote class software, click here for instructions on using the chat feature, Chatting in a Zoom Meeting. If your remote class uses a different remote class software, reach out to your local S&I representative for help on how to use the chat feature.
Ideas for Variety
- Chat Reactions or Reply: When students share meaningful posts in the chat, give class members time to read the posts and encourage them to share a reaction/emoji or reply with an encouraging comment to provide positive feedback.
- Emoji Share: After students study a scripture block, you could have them summarize a truth they are learning using emojis. Students post their emojis in the Chat.
- For the Strength of Youth Connections: In the chat, share a link to For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices. Invite students to read a section of the booklet and find statements that reinforce the truth they have discovered from a scripture block. Have students share what they’re learning in the chat.
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Power Phrases: Post power phrases in the chat to train your students to share and promote a discussion in class. This is a helpful tool for remote classes that are quiet or uncertain of how or what to share. Post the list of phrases below to help students frame what they might share. Have them study a block of scripture and prepare to share using one or more power phrases. Facilitate the discussion or have a student facilitate it.
- A verse I love is…
- A phrase that was insightful was…
- A lesson to take away from this is…
- I found a principle…
- A word I found interesting/confusing is…
- Something a teen needs to know from this is…
- Something I know to be true from this is…
- Something I’m uncertain about is…
- One thing I feel I should do with this today is…
- One thing I learn about the Savior in this is…
- Social Media Post: Invite students to create a social media post to share their personal beliefs or experiences related to the principles discussed in class. This could be something they post online, or something they share in the chat. Or they could imagine someone posted a question related to what was studied in class and craft a response in the chat using knowledge they have learned. Or students could study a recent social media post of a Church leader and write a response or encouraging note on the post. For an article that helps students make meaningful social media posts see “Social Media: Power to Change Lives,” For the Strength of Youth, April 2022.
- Translate a Verse: After students read a scripture block, you could have them select a verse to translate or write each line in their own words, using the chat feature. Help them practice finding definitions or using other scriptures and scripture study tools to understand difficult words and phrases.
- Write before you share: Give students time to record answers to important questions in the chat before inviting them to answer aloud.
Meeting Reaction
The meeting reaction feature allows participants to express themselves non-verbally during a meeting using small emoji-like icons that appear briefly on their video window or in the participant list. Meeting reactions:
- Provide quick, visual feedback without interrupting the speaker.
- Helps maintain engagement and interaction in a non-disruptive way.
If your class uses Zoom as its remote class software, click here for instructions on using meeting reactions, Using Non-verbal Feedback and Meeting Reactions. If your remote class uses a different remote class software, reach out to your local S&I representative for help on how to use meeting reactions.
Ideas for Variety
- Icebreakers: Start class with icebreaker questions and have students respond using reactions. For instance, ask what their favorite food is and let them choose an emoji that represents their favorite food.
- Indicate Understanding: When explaining instructions for an activity, ask participants to use reactions to indicate their understanding or agreement. For example, use thumbs up for "I understand" or a question mark for "I have a question."
- Interactive Polling: Use reactions to create an interactive, visual vote. For example, if you're asking the class to choose between two options (like two scripture activities), you could ask them to use reactions—like the thumbs up for one option and thumbs down for the other—to make the vote feel more dynamic and engaging.
- Mood Check-In: At the beginning or end of class, ask students to use reactions to express how they're feeling. For example, you could prompt, "How are you feeling today about the lesson?" and let students choose an emoji that best represents their mood. This can help gauge the emotional state of the class and provide insight into how to approach the remote class.
- Real-time Feedback: When students share meaningful truths or personal experiences, invite class members to use reactions like thumbs up, clapping, or heart to provide instant positive feedback.
Polls
The poll feature allows teachers to create questions with multiple answer options to quickly gather feedback from students or make group decisions during remote class,
If your class uses Zoom as its remote class software, click here for instructions on using polls, Conducting Polls in Meetings. If your remote class uses a different remote class software, reach out to your local S&I representative for help on how to use polls.
Ideas for Variety
- Decision-Making Activities: Use a poll to involve students in making decisions about the direction of the lesson or a group activity. For instance, if you're discussing an upcoming activity, you can let students vote on which idea they prefer, making them feel more engaged in the learning process.
- Icebreaker Polls: Start the class with a light-hearted poll to help students get to know each other better or build connections. Ask fun questions like “What’s your favorite book/movie?” or “If you could have any superpower, what would it be?”
- Opinion Polls: Pose an open-ended question related to a current lesson or scripture block and use the poll to gauge the students' opinions. For instance, “Do you agree with the following statement?” or “How would you respond to the following scenario?” Use the poll results to encourage a deeper class discussion afterward.
- Poll the Class: Create and launch a poll. Polls give every student a voice and students can respond anonymously. You could collect their thoughts about a principle, question, or a decision someone might make in a scenario. You’ll be able to see the responses and you can display them in class.
- Quiz or Trivia Competitions: Create a fun, competitive quiz using polls. You can ask students questions based on the principles and truths they’ve learned in the scriptures. Display the results live to motivate students and generate friendly competition.
Screen Share
The screen share feature allows teachers to display their device screen in real time to students during a remote gathering. This allows students to view the same content as the teacher, simultaneously. Screen sharing also makes the remote learning experience interactive by using the Annotations feature.
If your class uses Zoom as its remote class software, click here for instructions on screen sharing and using annotations.
If your class uses a different remote class software, reach out to your local S&I representative for some help on how to use the screen share and annotation features.
Ideas for Variety
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Art Critic: Share an image on your screen from the Church’s Media Library. Invite students to study the verses depicted in the image Ask students:
- What would you change?
- What scripture verses are represented?
- Meaningful Markings: The teacher navigates to the scripture block on their device and shares their screen, so the scripture block is displayed for the rlass to see. As students read the scripture verses, they are invited to use the Annotation tool to underline important phrases, circle meaningful words, or write principles on the displayed scripture verses.
- Reading Aloud: The teacher navigates to the scripture block on their device and shares their screen, so the scripture block is displayed for the class to see. The whole class could be invited to read verses together. Multiple student volunteers can read aloud to the class. Assure students they can “pass” if they do not feel comfortable reading. Invite students to follow along.
- Silent Reading: The teacher navigates to the scripture block on their device and displays it for the class to see. The teacher plays the audio of it and invites students to follow along.
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Video Pause: Share a video from the Church’s Media Library that illustrates or teaches about a gospel principle. Pause at different moments to create intrigue or to help students analyze what they are watching. You could ask students questions such as:
- “What might you be thinking or feeling or what questions might you have if you were in this situation?”
- “What scriptures have you studied today that could help?”
- “What do you hope this person could understand about the Savior?”
- “Where do you see yourself in this story today?”
Webcam or Mobile Camera
The webcam or mobile camera allows a teacher to capture video and transmit it to the class, enabling real-time visual interaction with other participants. It can be built into a laptop or mobile phone or connected externally via USB (for desktop computers).
When students and teachers have cameras on, it:
- Allows classmates to read body language, facial expression, and other visual cues.
- Increases feelings of belonging and connection.
- Encourages students to stay focused and avoid distractions, as they know they are visible to others.
- Invites student interaction. Students can be invited to raise their hand, respond with an expression, or give a verbal response. Students can also showcase their work by holding objects or drawings up to the camera.
Ideas for Variety
- Make a Meme: Each student identifies a principle from their study and creates a catchy phrase that illustrates the principle. Ask them to draw a picture that illustrates the principle. Be sure they include the scripture reference. Have them share and explain their meme to the class by holding their meme up to the camera. You may want to show some examples from a recent For the Strength of Youth magazine.
- Rewrite the ending: Invite students to rewrite the ending of a scripture story or a story that you share as if the person had made better/different decisions. Ask a few students to unmute their microphone and share their ending with the class.
- Show and Tell: Invite students to choose an object in their home that can be used to help teach a principle or doctrine. Invite them to hold the object up to the camera and share how they would teach someone what they learned using the object.
Whiteboard
The Whiteboard is a collaborative tool that allows the teacher and students to draw, write, and share ideas on a digital whiteboard during a remote class. The teacher and students can edit and interact on the whiteboard simultaneously
If your class uses Zoom as its remote class software, click here for instructions on using the whiteboard, Using the Zoom Whiteboard. If your remote class uses a different remote class software, reach out to your local S&I representative for help on how to use the whiteboard.
Ideas for Variety
- Acrostic Poem: Open the Whiteboard and invite students to click the ‘pen’ icon. Use the letters of a name, location, or doctrine to create an acrostic poem using what they learned in class. For example, a student might write an acrostic poem using the word faith as follows:
F – Following the example of Jesus Christ.
A – Acting on promptings from the Holy Ghost.
I – Including our questions or concerns in our prayers.
T – Trusting God’s prophets.
H – Hoping to receive His promised blessings.
- Image Collage: Students could find pictures on electronic device or in Gospel Library that relate to the truths they are learning. Using the Whiteboard, they could create a digital collage and share it with the class.
- Sticky Notes: After students read a scripture block, open the whiteboard and invite students to click the ‘sticky note’ icon and write a question the verses could help answer. Challenge students to write meaningful, relevant questions for a teenager, rather than simple search questions. For example, instead of asking “What does Alma say faith is? What does he say faith is not?” students could ask “What do I need to do to know for myself that something the Savior taught is true?”
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Image Upload: Upload a few images of the Savior to the Whiteboard. Invite students to look slowly at the color, focus, and layout of the images and identify what each teaches about who Jesus Christ is. After identifying a principle, you could ask questions such as:
- Which picture of Christ do you feel represents the principle you found and why?
- Which of these pictures of Jesus helps you feel the importance of this truth?
- What would you want a friend to know about Jesus Christ when thinking about this truth?