Nuances: Facilitated Virtual Debrief

Certain features of an in-person debriefing do not translate very well to virtual debriefings. To ensure that the debriefing continues to be efficient and meaningful, educators need to carefully consider factors such as timing, communication, environment and technology. Learners will perceive a debriefing positively or negatively depending on how well those factors are addressed in the virtual debrief ​​(Cheng et al., 2020; Verkuyl et al., 2018).

Timing of Debrief after the Simulation

Many educators hold the debriefing almost immediately or as soon as possible after the simulation. During an in-person simulation it is common practice to conduct the debrief immediately after the simulation when emotions are strong and thoughts about the simulation are fresh in the learner’s mind. Virtually, this can be achieved when the enactment is completed synchronously, however, it is not possible when learners enact the virtual simulation asynchronously. Learners often find an immediate debriefing beneficial, particularly if the simulation topic was sensitive (Verkuyl et al., 2020). One way to provide an immediate debrief when the virtual simulation is conducted asynchronously is through a self-debrief or facilitated asynchronous debrief. While the debriefing may be delayed by time or scheduling constraints, or by waiting for analytics, the debrief should be held within two weeks of the simulation.

Communication

Non-verbal cues such as body language, facial expressions and eye contact play an important role in day-to-day conversations, and even more so in debriefings. Non-verbal communication aids in the expression of emotion and can provide subtleties about communication that are essential. Communication can be a challenge in a virtual debrief. For example:

• Eye contact can help provide validation, sympathy, or empathy. It may be difficult to evaluate eye contact during a virtual synchronous debrief and, therefore, may impede or undermine its significance (Cheng et al., 2020).
• The way people present themselves in a virtual environment may be different from their inherent personality. An extroverted person may come across as shy because of the different social cues (Cheng et al., 2020).
• Brief utterances, and acknowledgements such as “yeah, uh huh” may be missing or not heard in the online environment. This may negatively impact learner engagement and group cohesion (Cheng et al., 2020).
• Some learners may decide to turn off their cameras which can negatively impact the group. Some learners may feel reluctant to talk because they cannot actively see their peers’ expressions. This can make it more difficult to facilitate the group because the facilitator cannot ‘read’ the group (Verkuyl et al., 2018).

Environment

When learners join the virtual synchronous debriefing from a private space, such as their home, it may help them to focus and to express themselves freely (Verkuyl et al., 2018). Learners who join the debriefing from public spaces may limit their participation and information-sharing for fear of being overheard. Privacy concerns may also hinder open communication. Effective management of interruptions in a facilitated virtual debrief is the responsibility of both the educator and the learners (Cheng et al., 2020).

Recommendations for learners that will help to create an environment conducive to learning include:

• Minimize visitors entering and leaving your screen as this may prevent other learners from sharing their thoughts and emotions.
• Access the virtual environment from a quiet, well-lit room with a good light source, preferably coming from the front.
• Sit in front of a neutral or plain background.
• Place the camera at eye level (by placing books/stand under a laptop if needed) and position the head centrally on the computer screen.
• Face the camera and look into it frequently to ensure eye contact is made. Wired headphones may help learners and educators to speak and hear clearly (Cheng et al., 2020).

Technology

Technology may prove to be a boon or a bane to debriefing. Although it allows learners to attend the debrief from different parts of the world, and from the comfort of their homes with options such as break out rooms, screen sharing, and chat functions, technical challenges may negatively impact the quality of debriefing. Educators, and learners need a reliable internet connection. A poor connection resulting in a sub-optimal video may interfere with reading facial expressions and poor-quality audio may influence learner responses or their interpretation of the discussion. Technical problems may also interfere with the screen sharing function which will limit sharing of important information or resources.

It can be rather overwhelming for educators to deliver content on new, unfamiliar platforms (Cheng et al., 2020). Educators may not be able to see all the participants at once which may limit dialogue and conversation. To avoid  technology glitches, it is essential that educators familiarize themselves with the technology prior to using it. A solid orientation and ample practice with the platform is essential. Additionally, educators should set up their cameras and check lighting to ensure a clear picture and test their audio in advance of a session (Goldsworthy et al,. 2021).

Chat Options on or off, and Managing the Chat during the Debrief

In a facilitated virtual debrief, the facilitator can either ask a question or post it in the chat box (Verkuyl et al., 2018). The chat allows learners to read the question over again at any time, reflect, and respond. Similarly, the learner can either use the chat box or microphone to respond, whichever they find more comfortable (Verkuyl et al., 2018 & Goldsworthy et al., 2021). When using the chat box function, the facilitator or another member of the team needs to continually monitor the chat and address the comments posted (Goldsworthy et al., 2021). If you are not able to monitor the chat function, it should be disabled. If you are monitoring the chat function, disable the private chat function so that all comments are viewed by the group.

Record Options

While it might be useful to record sessions in certain cases for participants who miss a session, most educators do not advise doing so; recording may negatively affect learner engagement and raise concerns regarding confidentiality (Goldsworthy et al., 2021) .

Remove Distractions

Learners and educators should limit distractions by turning their phones off prior to the debriefing and using the chat to interact only with the educator rather than with each other. Participants should keep themselves muted unless they are talking. Educators should advise learners to use technical features such as hand raising when they wish to speak. Multitasking, such as browsing the internet, checking email, or performing any other task during virtual debriefing should be discouraged. Participants should limit environmental distractions such as family members entering their room or excessive background noise (Cheng et al., 2020).

Limitations of Debriefing for Virtual Simulation

Conducting a debrief when the facilitator is not present, as in a virtual simulation, means that the facilitator cannot comment on hesitations or pauses during the simulation. The facilitator can only comment on forced decision points (See Chapter 1) and content, for example: “What were you thinking when this question came up?”, and, “What were you thinking when you got it wrong?”

For an effective debrief, the facilitator needs an intimate knowledge of the simulation content and all decision pathways to understand learners’ perspectives and optimize learning.