The impact of rotating summarizing roles in online discussions: Effects on learners’ listening behaviors during and subsequent to role assignment

• Students in online discussions were assigned summarizing roles on a rotating basis.
• Log-file data was collected to examine effects on attending to others’ posts.
• In-role, students increased breadth of listening and sometimes depth as well.
• Post-role, breadth effect was weakly sustained but depth effect was not.
• Other post-role behavior changes suggest negative side effects of role-rotation.

This study investigated whether assigning students summarizing roles in online discussions during specific weeks affects how they attend to the posts of others while playing the role, and in subsequent discussion weeks. Thirty-three students in a large undergraduate course on educational psychology were assigned one of two summarizing roles (Synthesizer, Wrapper) on a rotating basis during six week-long small-group online discussions; demographic and log-file data were collected (N = 198 student-weeks). Multilevel, cross-classification modeling revealed that assigning students summarizing roles increased the breadth of their listening during in-role weeks, but the effect was only weakly sustained after the role was completed. Students taking the Synthesizer role showed some increased depth of listening during in-role weeks but not post-role weeks. Other post-role behavior changes (a reduced number of sessions and review of posts) suggest unintended negative side effects of a role-rotation strategy, possibly due to post-role abdication of responsibility.