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The COVID-19 outbreak spurred unplanned closures and transitions to online classes. Physical environments that once fostered social interaction and community were rendered inactive. We conducted interviews and administered surveys to examine undergraduate STEM students’ feelings of belonging and engagement while in physical isolation, and identified online teaching modes associated with these feelings. Surveys from a racially diverse group of 43 undergraduate students at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) revealed that interactive synchronous instruction was positively associated with feelings of interest and belonging, particularly for students of color, while noninteractive instruction reduced social belonging, but was related to more cognitive engagement. Small group and one-on-one interviews with 23 of these students suggest that students derived feelings of connectedness from their instructors, peers, and prior experiences and relied on their sense of competency to motivate themselves in the course and feel a sense of belonging. Two embedded cases of students in physics classrooms are compared to highlight the range of student feelings of connectedness and competency during the lockdown. Findings reaffirm that social interaction tends to support belonging and engagement, particularly for under-represented (Black or African American and Hispanic) racial groups in STEM. STEM instructors who aim to support feelings of belonging and engagement in virtual learning environments should consider increasing opportunities for student–student and student–teacher interactions, as well as taking a flexible approach that validates and integrates student voice into instruction. Future research is needed to further explore the themes of relatedness and competency that emerged as aspects of course belonging. 

The COVID-19 outbreak spurred unplanned closures and transitions to online classes. Physical environments that once fostered social interaction and community were rendered inactive. We examined undergraduate STEM students’ feelings of belonging and engagement while in physical isolation and identified online teaching modes associated with these feelings. Interviews with a racially diverse group of 21 undergraduate students suggest that students derived feelings of connectedness from their interactions with instructors, peers, and from their prior experiences. Findings suggest that personalized, often synchronous online interactions tend to support students’ feelings of connectedness and belonging in STEM. 

The COVID-19 outbreak spurred unplanned closures and transitions to online classes. Physical environments that once fostered social interaction and community have been rendered inactive. We examined undergraduate STEM students’ feelings of social connectedness, interest, and engagement while in physical isolation and identified online teaching modes associated with these feelings. Surveys from a racially diverse group of 43 undergraduate students revealed that interactive synchronous instruction was positively associated with feelings of interest and belonging, particularly for students of color, while noninteractive instruction had the opposite relation. Curiously, asynchronous individual assignments were associated with negative emotions but also greater cognitive engagement and interest. Findings reflect the complexity of interpersonal interaction yet reaffirm that live interaction supports feelings of belonging for minoritized groups. 

Interventions are often deployed in different populations and varying contexts with a “one-size fits all approach.” In this poster, we underline the importance of mindfully adapting social psychological interventions for specific contexts and populations (Yeager & Walton, 2011). Without careful tweaks to contextualize some interventions, uncontextualized interventions may not be as successful. For instance, we report a study testing (uncontextualized) a social psychological intervention (values affirmation) at Cal Poly Pomona, which did not replicate significant findings for closing achievement gaps among underrepresented minorities and first-generation students. The intervention may not have resonated within the Cal Poly Pomona’s context and population of predominately Hispanic and Latinx students. We will discuss lessons learned and delineate an iterative intervention design and contextualizing methodology that may augment intervention success and exemplify our approach through our work contextualizing the Social Belonging intervention (Walton, Murphy, Logel, & Yeager, 2017) to more adequately address the needs of Cal Poly Pomona’s Hispanic and Latinx population.