Taking Barometer Online

The barometer teaching strategy can be used to structure online class discussions where students are asked to take a stand on an issue. This strategy helps students share their opinions by asking them to identify with the space along a continuum based on their position on an issue. Barometer is especially useful for discussing an issue about which students will have a wide range of opinions.

This strategy is best completed synchronously within a single virtual class meeting though it can be adapted for an asynchronous conversation to be completed during a defined time period. Planning and facilitating student discussions when not physically present together can be challenging. So it's important to consider these questions before doing a barometer activity online with your students.

What visual digital collaboration tools do I want to use to facilitate barometer online? How am I going to deliver instructions to students for completing the activity? How do I want to contract with my students for creating a brave and safe online space for this activity? And how will I facilitate the take a stand portion of this activity?

An important first step for preparing students to participate in an online barometer activity is to set a contract. This is because barometer asks students to literally put their opinions on the line. To begin the activity, give students a few minutes to reflect on a prompt or prompts that call for agreement or disagreement with a particular statement.

After having time to formulate an opinion, students share their opinions by marking a space along a continuum based on their position on an issue. You can use a collaboration tool such as Google Docs, Mural, or Zoom annotate features. Depending on the tool you use, students might be able to mark their space anonymously and/or include a text response with their mark.

Once students have marked their places on the continuum, facilitate a conversation where they explain why they have chosen to stand where they placed their mark. Depending on your class size and digital tools, you can either use the chat feature in a video conference tool or have students share verbally or you can use a combination of the two. After about three or four viewpoints are shared, offer students the opportunity to change their stance.

Continue the activity until you think that most or all voices have been heard making sure that no one student dominates the conversation. Throughout the activity, encourage students to refer to evidence and examples when defending their stance and keep an open mind as they listen to others. There are many ways you can debrief an online barometer exercise.

You can have students reflect in their journals about how the activity changed or reinforced their original opinion or you can chart the main for and against arguments on a shared document. You could also have a synchronous conversation as a whole group using the chat or having students unmute and share their reflections. Taking barometer online provides an opportunity for students to share their position on an issue in written or spoken form and creates a visual record of students' ideas and positions that you and your students can refer back to at any time. Let us know how you are using the barometer teaching strategy with your students. Share your ideas and ask questions in Facing History's digital lounge.