(197d) Turbocharging Classroom Sense of Belonging Using the "Conocimiento Activity": Implementation Strategies, Assessment Results and Lesson's Learnt

In any chemical engineering classroom, fostering a strong sense of belonging is paramount. This intangible yet powerful feeling significantly impacts students’ academic experiences, well-being, and overall success. There are several classroom and longitudinal studies that show that an increased sense of belonging fuels intrinsic motivation, encouraging students to invest time and effort in their studies^a. Sense of belonging is positively associated with academic performance, retention, and persistence, and it is particularly important for college students from marginalized groups^b. Professors play a crucial role in creating a sense of belonging. Encouraging open communication, providing mentorship, and acknowledging students’ diverse backgrounds contribute to a positive classroom atmosphere.

The process of Conocimiento^c was developed in early 1970’s. It is rooted in the inspiration from Paolo Freire, a Brazilian educator who believed that we could teach each other through dialogue. It is a basic tool for developing group connections. At Ohio State University, in senior chemical engineering classes, we use the process of Concimiento as a starting point to foster dialogue while also providing foundation that provides professors and students a reference point to build their scholarly community. The use of Conocimiento activity as a tool for improving a sense of belonging in classroom is driven by two basic paradigms:

• We as engineers depend on each other and the insights that we all contribute to better navigate Ohio State University, the college, and beyond. We also depend on each other to reach our professional goals. We must learn who we are so that we have a context for the individuals who make up our community of colleagues
• Sharing our stories and listening to others is essential for developing strong discussions.

In this talk, we will initially present a comprehensive literature search on various methods and assesment measures for sense of belonging in a classroom. We will then provide details of implementation of the "Conocimiento activity". Following the details, we will provide assessment measures and formative feedback results that were obtained regarding student sense of belonging. Specifically, we will provide a pre- and post- measure of class-room sense of belonging (obtained by adapting the PSSM tool^b). We will present the adaptation of Python's NLTK library and Microsoft Azure tools for student sentiment analysis (as shown in the Figure attached). Finally we will provide "what worked", "lessons learnt" and "reflections" for instructors that are interested in adapting this activity and working on improving a "Sense of belonging" in their chemical engineering classroom.

References

a) Hansen, M.J., Palakal, M.J. & White, L. The Importance of STEM Sense of Belonging and Academic Hope in Enhancing Persistence for Low-Income, Underrepresented STEM Students. Journal for STEM Educ Res (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41979-023-00096-8

b) Freeman, Tierra M., Lynley H. Anderman, and Jane M. Jensen. "Sense of belonging in college freshmen at the classroom and campus levels." The Journal of Experimental Education 75.3 (2007): 203-220.

c) Bridging and Breaking dialogues of belonging (https://belonging.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/dialogues_of_belongin...)