Small Synchronous Online Discussions (SSODs)

Bridging the Digital Divide

Eric van Holm, PhD

One of the most common assignments used in online classes are asynchronous discussion boards.

Why have discussion boards become nearly ubiquitous? They can be more democratic than a classroom, allowing all students to share their views in a setting that may feel safer. They allow students to be more thoughtful in their response by providing more time to prepare comments and use whatever materials necessary to back ones argument. And they add increased flexibility and convenience, being available all hours of the day for students to share and comment.

However, the jokes about discussion boards aren’t wrong.

On the typical discussion board, the student responses are done in the final hours of whatever deadlines are set, which limits the level of engagement students display. Many of the posts are overly verbose, detached from the assigned readings, and lack analytic rigor. What’s further, discussion boards provide limited sense of community or shared engagement for students. Some of these issues can be addressed by more thought being put into the grading and construction of discussion boards, but ultimately they are an imperfect educational tool.

That isn’t said to shame anyone for using them, I’ve used them recently in my own classes. Like a powerpoint lecture, discussion boards have become something of a default option in teaching online.

In their place, I propose the use of Small Synchronous Online Discussions (SSODs).

Overview

SSODs allow students to meet online with a small group of their classmates to discuss the materials throughout the semester. In order to implement them, at the beginning of the semester the teacher provides students a list of potential meeting times during a week. Students select into the times that work best for their schedule, and once some number select that time that meeting time is closed.

Meeting Structure

Groups typically meet for an hour every week or every two weeks over the course of the semester. One piece of feedback received from students is that meeting every two weeks makes it difficult to remember the readings from the earlier week. Meetings could be set weekly to alleviate this concern, but that becomes more of a time burden for students. There’s a lot of flexibility in how the meetings are established for your classes, based on the needs of students and the content you assign.

Meetings are conducted online using whatever software students prefer (Google Hangouts, Skype, Zoom, etc). During non-pandemic periods students are also welcome to meet in person if they prefer, but that is at their discretion.

Each meeting will have a set of reading questions or prompts provided by the instructor (not unlike the questions provided for a discussion board). During the meeting students discuss those questions, and anything else that interested them from the readings.

Roles

For each discussion, the groups assign each person one of the following roles: Facilitator, Note taker, and Contributors. These roles should rotate throughout the semester and each member should take on each role at least once.

Facilitator: The facilitator does just that: facilitates the conversation. They are responsible for setting up the chat on the chosen platform and sending out the appropriate invite / group links. They are responsible for starting off the conversation, making sure that all prompts and assigned readings are covered by the group, pick-up the conversation when it wanes, and keeping the conversation on topic. Facilitators are also responsible for keeping track of time and wrapping up the conversation with a quick summary at the end before everyone signs off.

Note Taker: Note-takers should take detailed notes of the conversation, including the date and time of the conversation (start and end), who was present and their role, who was absent or late, and what readings and material was discussed. These notes do not need to be formal (bullet point okay) but they should capture the depth and breadth of the conversation. These notes should be typed up and submitted to the instructor on behalf of the group.

Contributors: All group members should prepare for discussion the same way they would for an in-class discussion. Students are expected to have reviewed all of the readings, noted important themes, quotations and page numbers, and thoughtfully reflected upon reading prompts provided at the beginning of each week’s content.

Grading

There are two components of grading SSODS as they’ve been implemented in the past. Each group submits one set of notes from the meeting (taken by the note taker), and each member receives the same grade based on the quality of the notes. The critical components here are seeing that students addressed the discussion prompts, used the readings, and give evidence of having a conversation.

The bulk of the points come from a self and group reflection done at the midpoint and end of the semester. In these reflections students evaluate their own contributions, and that of all their group members. These evaluations help to keep everyone accountable

The assignment guide attached to this document provides more details about the grading structure of SSODs as they have been implemented in the past.

Benefits

SSODs give students the opportunity to process the course material in a verbal (rather than written) informal environment. These groups function as a space to reflect upon the readings, connect them to overarching course concepts, and to clarify difficult passages. In this way, SSODs are intended to increase the overall comprehension of the material in a way that individual online learning experiences do not.

Small groups, rather than large lectures, also encourage all students to participate in a low- stakes conversation with peers. In this environment, students who have thoughtful reflections but may not feel comfortable speaking up in a large lecture will have a way to meaningfully contribute.

SSODs also creates an environment in which students are held accountable for course engagement. Students are expected to read and reflect on the course materials each week. While not fully understanding the material and asking questions during group discussions demonstrates attempted comprehension, it will be apparent to their peers if a group member does not complete the assigned reading or prepare for the discussion.

In addition to ensuring that students keep up with the readings and comprehension, the groups are designed to foster a sense of community and provide a peer group within which students will support one another throughout the semester. These peer groups are an excellent resource for clarifying details about course assignments, keeping each other on task, and providing built-in study groups.

Additional Resources

With this document you’ll find a few helpful guides to get you started running SSODs in your own classes.

1. An assignment guide given to students (note: this introduction draws heavily from the TILTed rubric used for the assignment)
2. A checklist to give your students
3. An example of the notes students submit