“I felt I belonged because I felt confident in what I was doing. I felt there was no having to force me to do my job. I enjoyed going to work, I enjoyed doing what I do. I felt like I belonged because I was good at what I was doing as well.
Kaneisha, qtd in Stickel, 2021
Examples: Playing on a sports team, working with others on a job, participating in a learning project/activity
Key components of connection pathway:
Recognition: Students being recognized for positive actions. Ideas might include recognizing
- Exceptional Work
- Helping others
- Engagement in class
Significance: Establishing value for learning or experience.
- Using prior experience(s) or interests to connect students with materials
- Underscoring why something matters outside of the classroom. Ideas might include:
- Utilizing stories and lectures to illustrate when content might be utilized in the “real world”
- Bringing in primary artifacts, such as news stories, to connect to class content
Purpose: Connecting to students’ larger goals
- Identifying larger motivations for class, degree, and/or overall success
- Helping students connect content to objectives or roles in the future. Ideas might include:
- Utilizing “real world” objects, content, or examples
- Having students set goals at the beginning of the semester and then regularly check-in on them throughout the semester
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