How To: Create and manage breakout rooms during class meetings (educators)

Tags teams

Use breakout rooms during class meetings to divide students into smaller groups for discussions, group projects, and more. Open and close rooms more than once during a session or move individuals between rooms. Only meeting organizers using the desktop versions of Teams (Windows or Mac) can create and manage breakout rooms.

Participants can join breakout rooms from Windows, Mac, mobile, or web browsers including Chrome, and others. 

Checkout the printout of Breakout Rooms in Teams for a quick overview.

In this topic

Create breakout rooms before meeting

  1. Go to your Teams meeting and open the meeting invite. 

  2. Go to Breakout rooms ​​​​​​ and select Create rooms.

  3. From the dropdown, choose how many rooms you'd like to create.

  4. Select Assign participants and choose whether you'd like students to be assigned to rooms Automatically or Manually.

As soon as the meeting starts, you can open the breakout rooms.

Select Breakout rooms

Create breakout rooms before meeting.

 

Create breakout rooms during meeting

  1. Join your meeting at its scheduled time and wait for your students to join. 

    Important: Make sure you join your meeting from the Teams desktop app (Windows or Mac) so you can create breakout rooms.

  2. When your students have joined and you are ready, select Breakout rooms Breakout rooms icon from your meeting controls.

  3. From the dropdown, choose how many rooms you'd like to create.

  4. Choose if you'd like students to be assigned to rooms Automatically or Manually.

  5. Select Create Rooms.

 

Select Breakout rooms

Image showing how to create breakout rooms.

 

Assign participants to rooms

If you chose Automatically, participants will be assigned to different breakout rooms.

If you chose Manually, you'll be able to sort participants into specific rooms:

  1. Select Assign participants. From this window, organize participants by selecting the down arrow next to Name or Room.

  2. Group students together to place in a particular breakout room by selecting the checkboxes next to their names.

  3. Select the down arrow next to Assign and choose a room for them.

  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until each student has been assigned to a room.

  5. Select Confirm.

    If students join the class meeting late, you can still assign them to a room by selecting Assign participants.

Note: For recurring class meetings, the same rooms and room assignments will be available for the next meeting.

 

Image shows how to assign people to breakout rooms

Image showing how to select breakout rooms for participants.

 

Rename rooms

Name your breakout rooms to represent smaller student groups or projects.

  1. Select Breakout rooms Breakout rooms icon.

  2. Hover over the room and select More options More options button > Rename room.

  3. Type in the new name and select Rename room.

Image showing how to rename a breakout room.

 

Set a time limit for the breakout session

Keep your class on schedule and aware of the time they have left by setting a timer. A timer will be visible in each breakout room. When time is up, breakout rooms will close automatically, and your students will return to the main class meeting.

  1. In the meeting controls, select Breakout rooms Breakout rooms icon.

  2. Select Rooms settings Settings button.

  3. Select Set a time limit. Select the down arrow and choose a session length.

  4. When you're done, select the back button to save your changes.

 

Image shows how to set time limit for breakout rooms.

 

Start breakout rooms

First, select Breakout rooms Breakout rooms icon.

To start rooms individually:

  • Hover over the room and select More options More options button > Open room.

To start rooms all at once:

  • Select Open.

You'll know rooms have successfully opened when their status changes to Open.

 

Image shows how to open a single breakout room.

An opened Breakout Room.

 

Join a breakout room

To join a room and check on its progress:

  1. Select Breakout rooms Breakout rooms icon.

  2. Hover over the room and select More options More options button > Join room.

  3. Select Return when you're ready to leave the breakout room and return to the main meeting.

 

Send an announcement to breakout rooms

Once breakout rooms have started, send announcements to share time updates or prompts.

  1. In the meeting controls, select Breakout rooms Breakout rooms icon.

  2. Select Make an announcement Announcement icon..

  3. Type in your announcement and then select Send.

  4. Students will receive a notification in their meeting chat for your announcement.

 

Move students to different rooms

Move participants to different breakout rooms individually.

  1. In the meeting controls, select Breakout rooms Breakout rooms icon.

  2. Select Assign participants and select the checkbox next to the person's name you want to move.

  3. Choose a new room for the person and select Assign, then Move.

 

Chat with participants in a breakout room

Each breakout room will have its own chat. You and your students will be able to access it from your chats list and from Chat in the breakout room, just like regular meetings.

  • Students will be added to a breakout room chat when you open the room and removed when the room is closed.

  • You will have access to all breakout room chats.

  • After a breakout room is closed, so is the chat; no more messages can be sent.

  • You and your students can still access chat history and shared files after the breakout room is closed.

 

Breakout Room toolbar

 

Chat from main Chat area

 

Add or delete a breakout room

To add an additional breakout room:

  • In the meeting controls, select Breakout rooms Breakout rooms icon.

  • Select Add room Add button.

  • Add participants to the room using the instructions above.

To delete an individual breakout room:

  • In the meeting controls, select Breakout rooms Breakout rooms icon.

  • Hover over the room, select More options  More options button> Delete room.

To delete all breakout rooms at once:

  • In the meeting controls, select Breakout rooms Breakout rooms icon.

  • Select Remove rooms Delete button > Remove.

 

Close breakout rooms

When you close a breakout room, the participants will automatically return to the main meeting.

To close rooms individually:

  • Select Breakout rooms Breakout rooms icon .

  • Hover over the room, then select More options More options icon > Close room.

To close rooms all at once:

  • Select Breakout rooms Breakout rooms icon.

  • Select Close.

You'll know rooms have successfully closed when their status changes to Closed.

  • Select Resume when everyone is back from their breakout rooms and you're ready to meet as a larger group again.

Tip: If you reopen rooms later on, room assignments will remain the same unless you reassign participants or recreate rooms from scratch.

 

Save files, recordings, and notes from breakout rooms

Files, recordings, and notes from a breakout room can be accessed in its chat. You and your students will be able to access these materials after the room has closed, but students will not be able to continue chatting or add additional materials.

 

Edit breakout room settings

To edit settings, select Breakout rooms Breakout rooms icon > Rooms settings Settings button.

  • Automatic room setting

By default, breakout rooms will be set to automatically move students into opened rooms. If you'd like to change this setting, switch the toggle for Automatically move people into opened rooms to off.

When the automatic setting is turned off, students will receive a message asking them to join a breakout room. They will need to select Join room before being moved.

  • Allow students to return to main meeting

By default, this setting will be off. To turn it on, switch the toggle next to Participants can return to the main meeting on.

This will allow students to leave their breakout rooms and return to the main meeting.

 

Breakout rooms settings in Teams

 

Recreate rooms from scratch

Reconfigure rooms and assignments by returning to the meeting controls and repeating the breakout room creation process.

  1. In the meeting controls, select Breakout rooms Breakout rooms icon.

  2. Select Recreate rooms Recreate breakout rooms icon and confirm your decision.

  3. Follow the instructions mentioned in the beginning of this article to create new breakout rooms and assign students to rooms.