Most educators have observed that students learn better when they feel safe and valued. However, many students are coping with the lingering effects of the pandemic, the stress of turbulent political climates and current events, and the demands of their university study: learning either online or in person (or both) from widespread locations and backgrounds, juggling work and family commitments and participating in their new communities of learning and practice. Educators may wonder how to make their classrooms (whether virtual or real-life) a place where students feel free to learn and belong.
UNSW researchers A/Prof. Karin Watson (Director, Educational Excellence), Dr Nicole Saintilan (Educational Evaluation Specialist) and Collins Fleischner (Lead, Academic & Education Focussed Development) began work on Fostering Student Belonging at the end of 2021, when student surveys began to reflect a downward turn in measures of belonging. Students had initially enjoyed working from home, but by the end of 2021 they were missing their peers, and some were becoming isolated in the online learning environment. Interestingly, however, not all students were experiencing this isolation, and some staff were successfully creating learning communities in their online teaching.
To explore this further, the team began by conducting a review of the literature examining student belonging, then identified courses at UNSW that survey results suggested had helped students develop a strong sense of belonging. They designed an interview-based study to gain insights from the teachers of those courses.
In 2022, the project team received an Explorance Faculty Grant, which they used to fund research-assistant positions for Felipe Balotin Pinto and Nathan Jackson and conference travel to present the findings, which received significant interest. In response to this interest, the team realised they could apply the study finding to make a real difference for academics seeking to build community in the classroom.
Dr Saintilan said:
“We’d already discussed that we did not want to make the learning resource another online module, because not all clear thinking is done behind a computer screen.”
Based on her suggestion, the team began to develop what would become the Fostering Student Belonging card game, with the two research assistants bringing their gaming expertise to the idea to ensure that it would be engaging to play. The team found that trying to summarise the teacher interviews lost nuance and complexity, the very qualities that had been the most valuable results of the study. They realised instead that they wanted to encourage the people playing the game to explore, discuss, and debate all the seeming contradictions and complexities that had emerged from the interview data.
The cards are of two types: verbatim cards, which contain quotes from educators about ways they help create a sense of belonging amongst their students, and activity cards, which ask participants to discuss a particular aspect of the quote; for example, why they think the technique might be effective, or an instance of where they’ve seen that technique in practice and how it went. Through the course of play, the cards guide reflection and planning for teachers exploring ways to help their students feel welcome and included.
The project team ran a game session as a pre-conference workshop at the 2024 annual conference of the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA). One participant, Tina Barclay (Senior Manager, Education Design, Innovation & Assessment, University of Sydney), commented:
“I think the thing I enjoyed the most is that the ideas were strongly debated. When I played the card game, I was captivated by the conversations and perspectives and the differing ways teachers engage students in learning. Each person around the table shared rapid-fire information and experiences. Interestingly, their contrasting perspectives and provocations created excellent conversation and sharing of practice.”
As a result of the HERDSA workshop, interest in the game has been growing, with the University of Otago and Western Sydney University buying cards, implementing the game, and providing feedback UNSW, and the University of Sydney is planning to incorporate it into teaching retreats and curriculum-design workshops.
To find out more about the Fostering Student Belonging card game, or to purchase game cards, contact Dr Nicole Saintilan here or Collins Fleischner here.
Article written by Laura E. Goodin