Flipped consensus-building: An online, anonymous approach

Session Description
The speed of technological advancement and innovation has pushed higher education to innovate and redesign for efficiency. In order to make input equitable and maximize time spent in face-to-face meetings, one academic department experimented with a flipped approach to their meetings, utilizing an online, anonymous, consensus building process prior to the face-to-face meeting.

This presentation will share reflections from the two faculty members who designed the online activities. Online settings have been found to mediate the participation inequalities found in face-to-face meetings caused by the dominance of higher status and higher expertise group members (Dubrovsky, Kiesler, & Sethna, 1991). The advantages of using an anonymous, online consensus building process will be discussed. These include participants’ ability to “express facets of themselves without fear of disapproval and sanctions by those in their real-life social circle” (Bargh, McKenna, & Fitzsimons, 2002, p. 34), or not speaking up to avoid upsetting leaders or supervisors (Bryant & Cox, 2006).

The Delphi method that inspired the procedure will be briefly described, and the online tools used to facilitate the process will be shared. A summary of the results from the process will be provided. Findings indicate that consensus was achieved and inclusiveness experienced, but questions arose regarding efficiency and ongoing group communication. Opportunities and challenges with online tools and anonymity in groups will be discussed. An on-going prototype of this flipped meeting approach with on-going formative evaluation will also be briefly described. A discussion with session attendees will follow.

Presenter(s)
Ariana Eichelberger
Ariana Eichelberger, University of Hawaii at Manoa, HI
Dr. Ariana Eichelberger is an Associate Specialist and Instructional Designer in the College of Education. Eichelberger manages the Instructional Support Group of the College and coordinates the College’s faculty professional development program. As a faculty member of the Department of Learning Design and Technology, Eichelberger teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in instructional design and technology integration. She is also an instructional designer with the COE’s Distance Course Design and Consulting group (DCDC).
Meng-Fen Grace Lin
Meng-Fen Grace Lin, University of Hawaii at Manoa, HI
Dr. Meng-Fen Grace Lin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Learning Design and Technology (LTEC) in the College of Education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She teaches graduate-level courses on mobile learning, design thinking, and research and evaluation of LTEC. Her recent research interests center on applying design thinking, creativity, and problem-solving in real-world education contexts.
Session Type
20-Minute Session
Audience
All Audiences

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