Toward Belonging in the College Classroom: Lessons From the Learning for Equity Ascend Research Network

• In Event: Student Perceptions and Feelings of Belonging Across COVID and Beyond

Abstract

Purpose: This session will highlight early lessons learned from a promising faculty professional development effort (also known as Ascend) to improve student success and belonging within the community college classroom during the COVID-19 pandemic. This presentation will highlight insights from a 2-year pilot in which professors at two community colleges administered a survey within their classrooms to learn how students experienced their classroom along several learning conditions (ex. identity safety, social belonging). Participating faculty were interested in using student feedback to promote social belonging and connectedness during an especially challenging time for the development of classroom belonging.

Theoretical Perspectives: Social psychologists in recent years have operationalized belonging as “Students with a sense of belonging in school feel socially connected, supported, and respected. They trust their teachers and their peers, and they feel a sense of fit at school. They are not worried about being treated as a stereotype…” (Romero, C., 2015, p. 1). This perspective highlights that a lack of belonging disrupts a student’s learning cycle also referred to as a “recursive process…as students study and learn and build academic skills and knowledge, they are better prepared to learn and perform well in the future. As students feel more secure in their belonging in school and form better relationships with peers and teachers, these become sources of support that promote feelings of belonging and academic success later” (Yeager, D. S., & Walton, G. M., 2011, p. 283).

Data sources and methods: The findings are derived from multiple sources of data collected during the implementation of the pilot. Specifically, a survey of faculty participants (n=35) captured self-reported motivation for participating, faculty’s experiences with Ascend, the impact they believed the use of Ascend had on their students’ classroom experience, and how they observed the classroom culture and their own development as instructors. I also conducted observations of the community of practice (CoP) meetings where participants reflected on their experiences with Ascend and the strategies they were implementing in their classrooms. Notes from these observations were analyzed through an iterative process to identify themes. These themes along with the survey shaped the findings.

Findings: Insights focus on efforts to institutionalize Ascend at these community colleges. I found that faculty were motivated to engage with Ascend by their desire to improve teaching and collaboration with colleagues to better serve students in their classroom; a desire to learn new strategies alongside colleagues, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Faculty were energized to engage with communities of practice (CoPs) and developed a greater awareness of students’ needs and implemented new classroom strategies to improve students’ classroom experiences. Compared to prior semesters, faculty self-reported greater engagement with students when they used Ascend. Faculty viewed Ascend as a valuable tool to support their development as instructors and student success efforts.

Scholarly Contribution: This study documents the institutional conditions, incentives, and supports that can help faculty improve teaching strategies to create learning environments that promote student engagement and sense of belonging and thus increase student learning and academic success.

Author

• Claudia Escobar, MDRC