Community & Belonging
Academic belonging refers to students’ sense of being accepted, valued, and encouraged by others in the academic classroom as well as their sense of connection to the discipline (Rainey et al., 2018). The syllabus can support a sense of belonging by highlighting the relevance of the coursework and by communicating opportunities for students to build relationships with peers and with the instructor(s) and teaching staff. When students feel that they belong in an academic context, they are more likely to show up for class, engage with classmates and instructors (Wilson et al., 2014; Zumbrunn et al., 2015), feel academic confidence, and be motivated to persist in challenging learning tasks (Walton & Cohen, 2011).
Learning Outcomes & Assessments
Describing how the skills and concepts gained relate to students’ everyday lives and/or careers increases students’ motivation in the class. This is especially helpful for students in required and introductory courses, such as the GIRs, as students may not always intuit the “bigger picture” or grasp the purpose of learning on their own.
A syllabus that supports community and belonging…
Example: Relevance in course description (16.001 Unified Engineering)
16.001 Unified Engineering
The basic objective of Unified is to give a solid understanding of the fundamental disciplines of aerospace engineering, as well as their interrelationships and applications. […]
A second objective of Unified is to guide you to an understanding of the fundamental skills, knowledge and sensitivities that are the traits of a successful engineer. These include the skills necessary to work successfully in a group (including technical and graphical communication) and those of self-education (reading, research, and experimentation). Professional engineers have the knowledge and confidence to make estimates of poorly known parameters, create conceptual models of systems, and design new solutions to meet technical challenges. Engineers in positions of leadership are sensitive to the interaction of technical solutions with the economic, political, social and environmental needs, and constraints of society.
(M. Drela, et al. 16.001 Unified Engineering. Fall 2005. MIT OCW. CC BY-NC-SA)
Example: Relevance in course description (CMS.631 Data Storytelling Studio: Climate Change)
CMS.631 Data Storytelling Studio: Climate Change
Course Description
We are swimming in data — “Big” and small, global and personal. And we are also facing complicated problems like climate change and inequality whose stories can only be told with data. The need for public understanding of data-driven issues is higher than ever before. But raw data doesn’t make a good story… and that’s where you come in.
This class is focused on how to tell stories with data to create social change. We will learn through case studies, examples and hands-on work with tools and technologies. We will introduce basic methods for research, cleaning and analyzing datasets, but the focus is on creative methods and media for data presentation and storytelling. We will consider the emotional, aesthetic and practical effects of different presentation methods as well as how to develop metrics for assessing impact.
(R. Bhargava. CMS.631 Data Storytelling Studio: Climate Change. Spring 2017. MIT OCW. CC BY-NC-SA)
Class Activities & Participation
Collaborative learning activities provide opportunities for students to interact as peers and identify shared interests in subject content. Acknowledging the value of students learning from one another helps to increase students’ sense of belonging.
Example: Value of collaborative activities (8.01 Classical Mechanics)
8.01 Classical Mechanics
Group Work
Scientists and engineers work in groups as well as alone. Social interactions are critical to their success. Most good ideas grow out of discussions with colleagues. This subject encourages collaborative teamwork. As you study together, help your partners, ask each other questions, and critique your group homework and lab write-ups. Teach each other! You can learn a great deal by teaching others.
(D. Chakrabarty, et al. 8.01 Classical Mechanics. Fall 2016. MIT OCW. CC BY-NC-SA)
Example: Coming soon!
Student-Instructor Interaction
A syllabus that supports community and belonging…
Encouraging opportunities for students to engage with instructors and receive additional support helps students build key relationships with the teaching staff, supports their sense of academic belonging, and communicates care for student learning (Felten & Lambert, 2020; Rainey et al., 2018).
See examples from transparency: How to contact instructors, purpose of office hours (which also include invitations to engage with instructors and easily accessible opportunities beyond office hours)
Throughout Syllabus
A syllabus that supports community and belonging…
Example: Affirming students’ differences (8.011 Introduction to Classical Mechanics)
8.011 Introduction to Classical Mechanics, R. Milner, Spring 2023
Classroom Community
Every MIT student belongs at MIT—period. Our intellectual community is enriched and enhanced by diversity in race, gender identity, ethnicity, geographic origin, sexuality, socioeconomic background, religion, age, ability, life experience, and many other dimensions.
The 8.011 instructors, staff, and TAs strive to create an environment that fosters the success of all our students and in which all of our students feel welcome, and we expect you to do the same.
However, the field of physics historically has been – and, to a great extent, still is – dominated by white men. This lack of diversity is due not to any inherent qualities that make some people better at physics than others. Rather, it reflects the discrimination and inequality of opportunity that pervades our society, including academia.
A lack of diversity in physics harms not only those who are excluded; excluding members of marginalized and minoritized groups also harms the field of physics itself by preventing many brilliant minds from contributing to the field and by narrowing the range of perspectives from which we approach problems.