Bichronous Online learning: Is blending asynchronous & synchronous the best approach?

Covid-19 has underscored the critical importance of online teaching and learning. While some instructors were indeed ready for online teaching, others had to quickly transition to a remote model to adapt instructional content. 

The student experience has varied widely. Some instructors teach asynchronously online with no real-time meetings, while others rely on the real-time live online meetings to teach synchronously online. Martin and Oyarzun¹Martin, F. & Oyarzun, B. (2018). Distance Learning. In R. E. West (Ed.), Foundations of learning and instructional design technology. EdTech Books. https://edtechbooks.org/lidtfoundations/distance_learning (2018, p. 1) define asynchronous online learning as “a course where most of the content is delivered online and students can participate in the online course from anywhere and anytime. There are no real-time online or face-to-face meetings.” They define synchronous online learning as “a course where most of the content is delivered online and students can participate in courses from anywhere. There are real-time online meetings and students login from anywhere but at the same time to participate in the course.” 

Several advantages are unique to asynchronous online learning. These include students learning at their own pace and without any scheduling conflicts. Asynchronous online learning also includes limitations, however, such as no immediate feedback and low levels of participation. 

Conversely, in synchronous online learning, advantages such as real-time interactions, increased accountability, the opportunity to structure time, and immediate feedback encourage greater student engagement and participation. Its limitations include possibilities of technical issues, scheduling conflicts, and requirements for access to the internet and devices  at specific times. Anyone who has ever suffered from ‘Zoom fatigue’ also can attest to the inherent challenges of learning exclusively in synchronous online sessions. 

Several global studies comparing these two online learning modalities resulted in mixed findings.²Buxton, E. C. (2014). Pharmacists’ perception of synchronous versus asynchronous distance learning for continuing education programs. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 78(1).³Chen, C. C., & Shaw, R. S. (2006). Online synchronous vs. asynchronous software training through the behavioral modeling approach: A longitudinal field experiment. International Journal of Distance Education Technologies (IJDET), 4(4), 88-102.⁴Cleveland-Innes, M., & Ally, M. (2004). Affective learning outcomes in workplace training: A test of synchronous vs. asynchronous online learning environments. Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education, 30(1).⁵Peterson, A. T., Beymer, P. N., & Putnam, R. T. (2018). Synchronous and asynchronous discussions: Effects on cooperation, belonging, and affect. Online Learning, 22(4), 7–25.  Peterson, A. T., Beymer, P. N., & Putnam, R. T. (2018). Synchronous and asynchronous discussions: Effects on cooperation, belonging, and affect. Online Learning, 22(4), 7–25. This leads us to examine whether both  synchronous and asynchronous delivery methods have their place in online courses.

Blending Synchronous and Asynchronous Online Learning

University course schedules advertise online courses as either synchronous or asynchronous online and not usually a combination of both. A few questions arise: 

• Is there room for online courses to include both asynchronous and synchronous aspects? 
• Can instructors combine asynchronous and synchronous online delivery methods to result in a happy medium that benefits students with both  flexibility and immediacy? 
• Will students be interested in taking a course that uses both aspects of asynchronous and synchronous online learning? 

Currently, no term exists to describe this blend of asynchronous and synchronous online learning. 

After much thought as a team, we⁶Martin, F., Polly, D., & Rithzaupt, A.D. (2020). Bichronous Online Learning: Blending Asynchronous and Synchronous Online Learning. EDUCAUSE Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/9/bichronous-online-learning-blending-asynchronous-and-synchronous-online-learning developed the term bichronous online learning to denote the “blending of synchronous and asynchronous online learning” (p. 1). (See Figure 1.) We have been asked: Does blended or hybrid learning not capture it? Blended or hybrid learning describes the blending between online and face-to-face online learning, while “bichronous” captures the blending between two online environments. In an EDUCAUSE Review article, we define bichronous online learning as “the blending of both asynchronous and synchronous online learning, where students can participate in anytime, anywhere learning during the asynchronous parts of the course but then participate in real-time activities for the synchronous sessions. The amount of the online learning blend varies by the course and the activities included in the course” (p.1).⁷Martin, F., Polly, D., & Rithzaupt, A.D. (2020). Bichronous Online Learning: Blending Asynchronous and Synchronous Online Learning. EDUCAUSE Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/9/bichronous-online-learning-blending-asynchronous-and-synchronous-online-learning

Bichronous online learning provides students the best of both online delivery methods, where they can participate in anytime, anywhere learning during the asynchronous parts of the course but also engage in real-time conversations for the synchronous sessions. This gives them the flexibility to learn at their own pace while  also providing them the opportunity for immediate feedback and interaction.  Instructional materials (eg. readings, videos) can be shared in the asynchronous online format, and the more interactive activities such as real-time discussions, student presentations, exam review, Q&A sessions, or office hours can occur during online synchronous sessions.

While current research has mostly compared the two types of online learning environments, we need more research to examine the blending of these two online environments. Some researchers have studied the blending of synchronous and asynchronous online learning without using the term bichronous online learning. They have found that adding synchronous sessions to asynchronous online courses benefits learning outcomes⁸Farros, J. N. (2019). Online learning: The effect of synchronous discussion sessions in asynchronous courses (Doctoral dissertation, Endicott College)., increases grades, and reduces withdrawal rate.⁹Fowler, R. C. (2019). The effects of synchronous online course orientation on student attrition. (Doctoral dissertation, University of South Carolina).

The learners themselves also seem to favor this dual approach. Students valued the inclusion of a few synchronous sessions with flexibility still baked into their courses.¹⁰Zotti, R. (2017). The implementation of web conferencing technologies in online graduate classes. (Doctoral dissertation, Stevens Institute of Technology). Yamagata-Lynch (2014) recommends that to meaningfully integrate synchronous learning environments into asynchronous online learning, “The instructor/designer needs to balance the tension between embracing the flexibility that the online space affords to users and designing deliberate structures that will help them take advantage of the flexible space” (p.189).¹¹Yamagata-Lynch, L.C. (2014). “Blending online asynchronous and synchronous learning,”International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning 15(2), 189–212.

What’s Next for Bichronous Online Learning Research?

We will have to wait for more research to see if bichronous online learning is a happy medium, if universities will consider offering courses embracing both modalities, and if more instructors will be willing to teach using this blended approach to online learning.  

We are in the process of interviewing award-winning online instructors who teach bichronously online. We hope the findings from our research will benefit online instructors at institutions around the world. Meanwhile, we encourage instructors to think about ways they can effectively blend both asynchronous and synchronous online learning. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it takes time and effort to blend asynchronous and synchronous online course content and activities, but the aforementioned award-winning online instructors also concluded that such endeavors have undoubtedly been worth it.

References

References

• 1
  Martin, F. & Oyarzun, B. (2018). Distance Learning. In R. E. West (Ed.), Foundations of learning and instructional design technology. EdTech Books. https://edtechbooks.org/lidtfoundations/distance_learning
• 2
  Buxton, E. C. (2014). Pharmacists’ perception of synchronous versus asynchronous distance learning for continuing education programs. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 78(1).
• 3
  Chen, C. C., & Shaw, R. S. (2006). Online synchronous vs. asynchronous software training through the behavioral modeling approach: A longitudinal field experiment. International Journal of Distance Education Technologies (IJDET), 4(4), 88-102.
• 4
  Cleveland-Innes, M., & Ally, M. (2004). Affective learning outcomes in workplace training: A test of synchronous vs. asynchronous online learning environments. Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education, 30(1).
• 5
  Peterson, A. T., Beymer, P. N., & Putnam, R. T. (2018). Synchronous and asynchronous discussions: Effects on cooperation, belonging, and affect. Online Learning, 22(4), 7–25.  Peterson, A. T., Beymer, P. N., & Putnam, R. T. (2018). Synchronous and asynchronous discussions: Effects on cooperation, belonging, and affect. Online Learning, 22(4), 7–25.
• 6
  Martin, F., Polly, D., & Rithzaupt, A.D. (2020). Bichronous Online Learning: Blending Asynchronous and Synchronous Online Learning. EDUCAUSE Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/9/bichronous-online-learning-blending-asynchronous-and-synchronous-online-learning
• 7
  Martin, F., Polly, D., & Rithzaupt, A.D. (2020). Bichronous Online Learning: Blending Asynchronous and Synchronous Online Learning. EDUCAUSE Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/9/bichronous-online-learning-blending-asynchronous-and-synchronous-online-learning
• 8
  Farros, J. N. (2019). Online learning: The effect of synchronous discussion sessions in asynchronous courses (Doctoral dissertation, Endicott College).
• 9
  Fowler, R. C. (2019). The effects of synchronous online course orientation on student attrition. (Doctoral dissertation, University of South Carolina).
• 10
  Zotti, R. (2017). The implementation of web conferencing technologies in online graduate classes. (Doctoral dissertation, Stevens Institute of Technology).
• 11
  Yamagata-Lynch, L.C. (2014). “Blending online asynchronous and synchronous learning,”International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning 15(2), 189–212.