Attributes of Blended Learning Environments Designed to Foster a Sense of Belonging for Higher Education Students

Abstract

Aim/Purpose: This article seeks answers to the following: (1) What describes a ‘sense of belonging’, inclusiveness, and well-being for students? (2) Which aspects of blended learning, synchronous and asynchronous, promote students’ ‘sense of belonging’? and (3) What are the state-of-the-art best practices for creating inclusive curriculum design for blended learning? Background: For university students, experiencing a strong ‘sense of belonging’ with their learning communities is a reliable predictor of academic adjustment and program success. The disruption to usual teaching modes caused by the COVID pandemic has diminished opportunities for social engagement among students and their teachers, intensifying the need to encourage students’ belongingness as being ever more important. Methodology: This article surveys the literature, pre- and post-COVID, using two complementary search techniques: (1) a systematic scoping review, a top-down strategy, and (2) snowballing, a bottom-up approach, seeking the answers to the three research questions above. Contribution: The synthesis presented in the paper provides answers to these questions influenced, in part, by the Community of Inquiry framework and the Universal Design for Learning guidelines. Further, based on our findings from this investigation we offer a set of salient attributes of best practices in designing curriculum for blended learning environments, that is inclusive and fosters a sense of belonging for higher education students Findings: We discovered that belongingness is different for various cohorts. Further, many interventions to improve student wellbeing, and learning experiences on and offline, were built around social, teaching, and cognitive presences. Additionally, our investigation found that blended learning, regardless of the proportion of online versus offline instruction, was generally a positive influence on academic outcomes and student learning. Recommendations for Practitioners: The set of attributes presented offers practical and helpful approaches to improve curriculum design to promote higher education students’ sense of belonging. Recommendation for Researchers: We highlight the lack of specificity in the literature regarding synchronous versus asynchronous learning pedagogy that promotes inclusiveness and a sense of belonging, and we detail our plans for future work will attempt to address this omission. Impact on Society: As a result of the COVID pandemic, many higher education institutions made a sudden and rapid transition to online learning exclusively. As institutions start the move back to more traditional modes of learning, this paper highlights the considerations to be made in using blended learning environments. Future Research: Our plans include seeking student and academic advice and feedback on approaches that foster a sense of belonging for higher education students.

Relationship Between Distributed Leadership and Self-Efficacy of Catechists in Catechetical Schools within the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur

“…They nurture a dedicated team of catechists, igniting their passion and equipping them with effective instructional tools (Hermanto & Srimulyani, 2022). More than educators, they curate welcoming sanctuaries where catechists and learners connect in a vibrant tapestry of community fostered by inclusivity and belonging (Joseph et al, 2021;Mendoza & Venables, 2023). Resourceful stewards, they navigate budgets and logistics, ensuring programs run smoothly (Kwarteng, 2018).…”

A Technology-Supported Course Throughline

“…Both the opportunity structure model and CoI model give a guided mindset to rely on when planning a belonging context. The crux of the matter is that with intentionality, instructors can design courses rich with belonging opportunities by applying well-researched practices (Mendoza & Venables, 2023). For example, Mendoza and Venables' systematic review of the literature found that the CoI model and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) (CAST, 2018) were widely used approaches to facilitate a belonging context.…”