Developing a Peer Academic Support Network, Online

By Sophia Abbot and Josh Kinchen, George Mason University Higher Education Program

Feeling alone in a new virtual world? We are right there with you. Starting a semester virtually this Fall may feel disorienting and isolating; starting in a new program or school this way is even more so. How will I find friends and colleagues through learning management systems and video classes? Who is responsible for facilitating those connections? As first-year Ph.D. students, we have some ideas to share about how we’ve navigated these challenges.

Photo Credit: Startup Stock Photo

Importantly, we made intentional efforts to reach out to classmates, so we’d have a familiar face and friend as we launched on this new educational path. While we come from a particular graduate perspective, our advice is likely applicable across online learning environments.

Tips for developing a virtual academic support network:

1. Reach out to at least one person in your program or class and schedule a time to chat. Cold-calling someone can be intimidating, but just about any opener can work: perhaps you noticed someone’s dog in the background during your virtual orientation; maybe you know someone who went to or works at their prior college (that’s how we found each other!) or is from the same geographic region; Find something, however small, to connect the two of you and reach out to talk more. Once you’re in conversation, you’ll likely find many other points of connection.
2. Start a virtual study group. Many people have the image of students slogging along in isolation. This is not how it needs to be. Talking through readings and concepts together can both clarify and reinforce our learning. Consider starting a study group with that first friend and then inviting more people as you get to know your peers through course discussion boards and virtual face-to-face components of your class.
3. Be sure to seek out people who are different from you. It can be easy to find the other students from similar backgrounds or with similar goals and bond together, but if your group is too homogeneous, you will miss out on perspectives that can enhance your learning. For graduate school especially, don’t hesitate to form cross-generational friendships. Reach out to that full-time professional who is in class with you, even if they are years or decades older than you. Likewise, contact that one undergrad in your course or that full-time student fresh from an undergraduate or a master’s program for a virtual chat.
4. But balance that difference with affinity as needed! Perhaps you’re one of just a few people of color in your program or class and you’d like to connect to your colleagues about being in a predominantly white space. Forming a support network can be critical for persisting and succeeding in your program! We (Sophia and Josh) connected over our shared queerness. While our classmates are thoughtful and welcoming, it’s nice for us to create a space of our own to think about what it means to be queer in our intended work and research both in and beyond our doctorate.
5. Talk together to combat isolation and imposter syndrome. If you feel less academically prepared for the course, have been out of school for a while, come from a high school or prior college with limited opportunities, or are entirely unfamiliar with the campus, it can be easy to start feeling imposter syndrome and comparing your experience and abilities to your peers. It’s even easier to feel out-of-place when you’re only interacting with your peers in highly structured academic spaces like course discussion boards. That’s why forming a network is important: each of you was accepted into your college or program for a reason and will bring some much-needed perspective and experience to the group. Talking explicitly about what you bring will help all of you know how best to support each other. And discussing what you find challenging will make space for everyone to share their own challenges — both shared and unique.

Tools for Connecting
There are many options for facilitating virtual get-togethers. Sophia and Josh have used Zoom for meetings and texting for in-between conversation and updates. Below are just a few other options.

1. For “face-to-face” talking: Zoom, Webex, Skype, Microsoft Teams, Facebook Video Messenger, and Facetime are just a few of your options.
2. For sharing PDF, images, links, and documents for virtual collaboration: Google Drive, One Drive, Dropbox, Basecamp, and Microsoft Teams all have sharing and storage options.
3. For chatting more casually and in real-time: GroupMe, WhatsApp, Slack, and Facebook Messenger work well.

Finally, sometimes speaking together frankly can be difficult. Educators and online-learning scholars have developed some tools for building online community which you may find useful to use in your group.

Our Experience

We met twice over the summer to get to know one another better and talk with each other about our excitements and fears for starting in a new graduate program. Soon after we began meeting weekly to discuss readings and concepts for some of our shared foundational classes. We’ve just invited others in our program to join those weekly study groups and are excited to form more connections. Having the security of our own connection, however, has made all of this possible. Josh has been working professionally post-Master’s for over six years. He brings institutional context and people to know at the university to their connection. Sophia worked for several years before her Master’s, then went straight into this Ph.D. program. She brings research experience and a fresh memory of some of the concepts that are arising in the early weeks of classes. Together, we are supporting each other’s transition into this new environment, both academically and socially.

Finally, while many of our discussions are associated with translating program requirements, analyzing course content, and parsing out the meaning of complex new terms, having a support group also means having a social connection. We make time to share the new music we’re listening to, trade home office improvement tips, and exchange pet updates. We encourage you to check out what others have written about socializing online while fighting off “zoom fatigue.” Virtual learning and social/physical distance should not erase our humanity! Starting a new program or semester in this context is undeniably challenging, but we can take individual steps to recreate the learning communities that we’re missing. You can do this and you are certainly not alone!