Chapter 1
Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning

Hannah Solomonand Beth Verrilli

Not all remote lessons are the same, but in general, remote learning takes two forms: asynchronous learning and synchronous learning.

Asynchronous learning happens when the work of learning occurs at different times and in different places-say, when your students fill in a graphic organizer you've posted online and email it back to you, or when you videotape a lecture for your students to watch on their own time. Synchronous learning is the kind that happens at the same time, but in different places. Any kind of class that takes place over Zoom, Google Meet, or any number of platforms qualifies.

Each type of remote instruction has its benefits and limitations. In this chapter, we'll look at each, and offer a few ways to get the most out of both.

ASYNCHRONOUS LEARNING: BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS

If synchronous lessons are live TV, asynchronous lessons are Netflix (or, more accurately, YouTube). With that difference comes all the benefits of having control over the final product. Since teachers can refilm or edit a video when they find they want to improve some turn of phrase, or wait to begin taping until their own children are napping, asynchronous lessons can produce a higher-quality presentation.

Students, too, have a bit more control in an asynchronous setting. Maybe they need to wait until a sibling is finished with a shared laptop, or log in around their family's work schedules (or their own, in the case of a high school student). They can also watch asynchronous lessons at their own pace, pausing when they need more time to complete a question, or rolling back to hear an explanation a second time.

Asynchronous lessons are also scalable: one teacher can tape a lesson that multiple teachers can use, dividing the content workload among staff and freeing teachers up for other tasks. And asynchronous learning lends itself to more complex assignments, since students can take the time to be more reflective and to put more sustained thought into their work.

We've seen many different ways asynchronous lessons can support student learning. Students might watch a history lecture asynchronously, then use the information to answer a writing prompt offline. Math scholars could watch their teacher demonstrate how to find the average of a series of numbers, then move to practice problems. Asynchronous lessons allow teachers to play with time, too. Lessons can have an "expiration date" or be "evergreen."

Expiration-date lessons are designed to be watched within a specific time frame-as narrow as a few hours or as broad as several days or more. Assigning deadlines is the most common approach ("Watch the lesson and upload the accompanying HW packet before Wednesday at noon," or "Watch the lesson, complete the problem set, and email it to me. When I get it, I'll send you part 2!"), though teachers may also experiment with referring to specific world or community events to bind lessons to a specific point in time. Basing a vocabulary lesson around a class birthday, for example, or selecting news articles to supplement novel study could be included in expiration-date lessons. These types of lessons are especially helpful in establishing and reinforcing responsible work habits in students and in building a strong sense of community.

Unlike lessons with an expiration date, "evergreen" lessons live forever and students can watch them whenever they need to. For example, a teacher might record a quick video on incorporating citations from a primary source if students need a refresher before end-of-unit essays, or simply capture a lesson about three-dimensional prism cross sections without specifying when or how many times to watch it. Students might watch an asynchronously taped science experiment several times.

The internet, too, is full of evergreen videos-famous authors reading their texts aloud, Bill Nye presenting scientific concepts, and Khan Academy coursework-which teachers can use to create a bank of helpful video content. We think as a rule that evergreen videos should be short and pithy, and used primarily for reference, homework, or as introductions to new content (ideally followed up by a video with clearer student accountability and community). Though it may be tempting to imagine recording one video to introduce polynomials every year, student attention and engagement may decrease without those personal and timely touch points.

Asynchronous learning has its downsides, too. For teachers, without the ability to assess the engagement or understanding of their students, even the strongest asynchronous lesson can feel like teaching into a void. And the pressure to make the asynchronous "perfect" might translate into hours of refilming.

On the other side of the screen, students may lose a sense of connectedness to teachers and peers-and feel little accountability during asynchronous learning. We fear that students may watch and politely ignore all of the requests to "Stop and Jot," "add this to your notes," or "complete this problem," and instead wait for the teacher to feed them the right answer as the camera rolls. Or they might industriously complete every task but emerge not having mastered much-and without our knowing it. Without some component of synchronicity or accountability, there is no way of knowing if students are engaged at all. They may press play on the video, doodle on their paper while munching a snack, and then work on the assignment as if they'd never seen it.

For these kinds of engagement challenges, history teacher George Bramley from Brigshaw High School in Leeds, England, shared an elegant solution. George requires students to have a lesson-specific Google Doc open as they watch his prerecorded lecture. Throughout the lesson, he asks students to jot down time-specific notes and answers. Because his questions are set up to be embedded within the content as it is explained (e.g. "What happened before?" "What should King Harold do next?" "What really did happen next?") and are formative in nature, students can't simply fill in the chart after half-listening. George can tell how attentive students were throughout and assess their lasting takeaways after the video has ended.

George also "checks in" with students during this asynchronous lesson by reminding students where they should be and what they should be doing: "Please make sure you are taking notes about this in that second row of boxes," and "You can type this next bit of information into Box #5." George may not be in the room with the students, but his thoughtful supporting document and verbal reminders ensure that students are processing the information step by step, efficiently and effectively.

There is also the risk that an asynchronous lesson may have asymmetric outcomes: the strong students continue to flourish; the struggling students continue to struggle. Multiple factors can influence those asymmetric outcomes: the attention span of the individual student, how much the student perceives themselves to like or "be good at" the subject, the preexisting relationship with the teacher, and of course the ability and availability of family support.

Consider Sarah, who watches her Spanish lesson while her three siblings run around nearby; she's supposed to help watch them while her mom is out. Amelia, on the other side of town, sits at the kitchen with her mom nearby, keeping a warm but watchful eye on her and helping her stay organized. Who gets more out of that lesson?

As we know from years of making seating charts for our brick-and-mortar classrooms, where you are when you are learning can make a big difference on the outcome. In watching remote learning from around the world, we've seen students "attend" virtual school while wearing pajamas in bed, while buckled in the back of a moving car, and while seated amongst siblings at a crowded kitchen table. We've seen homes where an adult or older sibling is able to sit nearby and refocus a student, and we've peeked into learning environments where it's clear the ninth grader is simultaneously "in algebra class" and managing her much younger siblings.

Both watching a video and completing asynchronous work can require a fair amount of familial support (and internet bandwidth), which we know is particularly challenging for all families-and it's a particularly asynchronous challenge. In asynchronous learning, students are learning in whatever circumstances they may find themselves-supported or independent, confident or insecure.

Finally, too much screen time can increase fatigue and decrease attention. Think of the seven-year-old whose second-grade classroom once burst with song and projects now trying to learn multiplication from two-dimensional Ms. Smith. Or the student whose pull-out classroom gave her the scaffolding and support she needed to succeed in algebra and is now on the same video as all of her classmates. Dwindling attention spans and lack of engagement can seem impossible to manage or monitor online. How do we know the difference between video rolling in the background and students doing the work?

Given the downsides, why even tape asynchronous lessons? Why not just send kids to...