6.4 Effective synchronous teaching practices

Synchronous online teaching can occur through the use of tools like Collaborate Ultra or Zoom, which allow the instructor to connect with students (and for students to connect with one another) in a virtual classroom experience. Many new online instructors default to synchronous teaching because they feel it is closest to the teaching experiences they had previously. The immediacy of this communication helps to bridge the sense of distance students in online courses may feel and allows instructors to disseminate specific information quickly and broadly. However, synchronous teaching can also limit flexibility for learners since all students must be online at the same time. Here we share effective teaching practices to help you prepare for synchronous online teaching.

General strategies

Orient students to the synchronous environment. Students may be new to using synchronous software and the lack of comfort and familiarity with the program can be a barrier to effective participation. During your first class session, orient your students to the environment and share your expectations for online participation (e.g., join early, stay on mute, raise your hand, etc.). The LT Hub website has some information on student support that you can share with them. You may also want to create an open session in your course that students can go into on their own time to practice using the software.
Be clear about your expectations for a synchronous session. Let students know if they should have their cameras or microphones on or if you only want them to use the chat for questions.
Make eye contact with the camera, not the screen. Position your camera so that it is near eye level and look at the camera while you are talking in order to create the illusion that you are making eye contact with the students. If you are using slides, begin by displaying your video so students can see you in the full window before switching over to your slides.

Strategies for scheduled class sessions

Many of the same general principles of effective face-to-face classroom teaching apply equally well when you’re teaching synchronous class sessions. Actively engaging students, sharing examples, eliciting questions, encouraging peer interaction, providing opportunities to check student understanding and facilitating discussion are all part of the online classroom. The difference is that many of the techniques you use in your face-to-face classroom may need to be adjusted. These techniques can help you engage students in your synchronous class sessions:

Utilize ice breakers and community building activities. Students in synchronous sessions may be reluctant to participate because they don’t have the same informal opportunities to get to know their peers as in a classroom. Start the term with an icebreaker activity to help students become more comfortable participating in the synchronous sessions and give them an opportunity to interact with each other. As the term progresses, consider beginning each session with an activity that encourages students to participate and engage in some way, such as a quick breakout room discussion, a check-in through the chat tool or a poll question.
Break up your lecture. To encourage student engagement, break your lecture content into 10-15 minutes sections divided by brief active learning techniques (see 4.4 Engaging students through active learning techniques in Module 4 for examples). If your scheduled session is longer than 60 minutes, include a break for students to stretch, rest their eyes or to use the washroom.
Make connections to asynchronous activities. If you are using online discussions or journals, take some time in your synchronous sessions to summarize key points, highlight meaningful contributions or clarify common misconceptions you see in the student posts. This works especially well in large classes where you may not have time to give detailed individual feedback.
Utilize chat as a channel for engagement. Students may be reluctant to speak out in live sessions or turn on their cameras in front of the whole class. A simple, low-barrier way to get students to participate is to encourage the use of the chat window to ask questions, share examples or provide answers. As students are posting you can pick certain posts to read out loud in order to make students feel they are being heard.
Use polling to get feedback on how well students understand key concepts. Polling allows you to post a question to all students and quickly get a summary of their feedback. You might use polling in place of visual cues you would have in a classroom (e.g. asking “Am I going fast?”) or to assess student understanding of key concepts to determine if you should elaborate or move on.
Make use of breakout rooms. Breakout rooms are a valuable tool for facilitating small group discussions and are particularly useful for active learning strategies. As the instructor, switch between breakout rooms during the group activity to check in on the groups and help encourage participation if the conversation is stalled.
Empower Teaching Assistants (TAs) to help moderate sessions. Managing the logistics and technical considerations of synchronous sessions while trying to present content and engage students can be challenging, particularly in larger courses. Utilizing TAs to help moderate questions students post to the chat or organizing and facilitating break out group discussions can be a helpful strategy to provide more interactions with students and alleviate stress.
Host Q&A sessions. Before major assignments or exams, schedule a synchronous question and answer session so you can answer student questions all at once instead of having to respond to individuals. Students can either submit questions ahead of time through a discussion board thread or during the session using the chat or by voice. A synchronous session allows students to ask follow up questions or for more detail. Be sure to record sessions for students who are unable to attend (Lowenthal, Dunlap, & Snelson, 2017).