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Abstract BackgroundA predictor of student success, sense of belonging (SB) is often inhibited for minoritized students in engineering environments and difficult to foster in online courses. A shift to remote learning formats necessitated by COVID‐19, therefore, posed an additive threat to SB for engineering first‐year students, especially those with minoritized identities. Research is needed to understand impacts of online learning to SB for engineering students. Purpose Hypothesis(es)The study examined factors that promoted or detracted from SB in engineering in remote courses and ways in which identity related to SB. Design MethodPart of a larger mixed‐methods study, this article examines focus group data from 31 first‐year engineering students in 2020 to characterize student experiences in engineering courses moved online during COVID‐19. ResultsIn addition to the mutually reinforcing nature of SB and learning, findings reveal that the major factors of (a) peer interactions, (b) instructor behavior and course design, (c) environmental identity cues, and (d) personal and psychological factors influenced SB. Examples of factors that positively contributed to SB in remote‐delivery courses included platforms for open communication with peers, “live” ability to ask complex questions, and a critical mass of peers of similar identity; example factors hindering SB included limited use of cameras in synchronous classes, elitist peer interactions, instructor focus on academic performance (vs. growth), and feelings of self‐doubt. ConclusionsBoth identity and COVID‐19 impacted SB for students, with results showing four pathways to support SB and learning for diverse students in engineering across course formats.
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How do Teaching Practices and Use of Software Features Relate to Computer Science Student Belonging in Synchronous Remote Learning Environments?
When faculty behaviors foster students’ sense of belonging in class, students report better learning experiences and are more likely to remain in the major. Sense of belonging is the feeling of being a valued and legitimate member of a community. Understanding teacher immediacy behaviors that cultivate belonging in postsecondary synchronous remote classrooms is important for retaining students in computing, where remote coursework is increasingly used to address increases in enrollment. This paper reports on an exploratory, survey-based study on the relationship between instructor immediacy behaviors and use of conferencing software features (e.g., chat, breakout rooms) with student sense of belonging in synchronous remote learning environments. Responses from 125 computing students from approximately 53 courses across the US show that students feel a moderate sense of belonging in their courses, with no differences found across demographic groups. Belonging was found to have a strong relationship with students' overall opinions of their courses and their likelihood of completing the major. Students’ camera preferences and instructor camera requirements had no effect on belonging. A regression analysis showed that no tool use variables predicted student sense of belonging. However, two teacher immediacy behaviors, setting aside class time to talk about upcoming course content and use of humor, were significantly associated with an increase in sense of belonging.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2216561
- PAR ID:
- 10523626
- Publisher / Repository:
- ACM
- Date Published:
- ISBN:
- 9781450394314
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 771 to 777
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Belonging Synchronous Remote Learning Undergraduate Computing Education
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Toronto ON Canada
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.1145/3545945.3569876
