The Benefits of Belonging: Undergraduates' Online Learning Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic

• In Event: Creating Inclusive and Welcoming Online Learning Environments

Abstract

Learning environments that support a sense of belonging have been shown to help students meaningfully participate in their learning. Less is known, however, about the social organization of online learning environments that support a sense of belonging in postsecondary contexts. With an attention to issues of equity, this mixed-methods study examined what makes U.S. undergraduate students (N = 4,544) feel included in online learning environments during a global pandemic. Survey responses were analyzed through a sociocultural learning theory framework, and responses revealed that students’ sense of belonging varied by race, gender and instructional modality. Opportunities for discussion, and peer interaction were among the environmental affordances that supported a sense of belonging.

Authors

• Daniela Kruel DiGiacomo, University of Kentucky
  Presenting Author

• Ellen L. Usher, Mayo Clinic
  Presenting Author

• Jaeyun Han, University of Illinois at Chicago
  Presenting Author

• Jill Abney, University of Kentucky
  Presenting Author

• Anastacia Emily Cole, University of Kentucky
  Presenting Author

• Jaylene Patterson, University of Kentucky
  Presenting Author