"Belonging" in the Classroom

(Sent to faculty, Sept 2017)

A long-tenured but now retired teacher described to me during my orientation the grading system at our school is one that “comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable.” The teacher used this quote to explain our strange quiz grade system, but I think it works to describe our school overall. Additionally, I think it can be used to describe two pivotal concepts in the science of learning: a sense of belonging and “desirable difficulty” (a term from Make it Stick).

We know that a student’s sense of belonging leads to improved academic and social outcomes. And while it may seem difficult to actually increase a students’ belonging, Yeager et al. (2013) point out two stunning findings: the interventions to increase a sense of belonging can be incredibly “stealthy” and “subtle,” and the effects are long-lasting—3 years from one study! One way to consider potential interventions are to take the view of the student in your class: what might a student be thinking about when she enters your classroom? How are the students’ viewing themselves in your classroom activities? Do students see feedback as “a sign of [your] high standards” (described in the article as increasing the student’s self-belief)? What stereotype threats might unintentionally exist in the classroom (see Steele, 2010)? How can we comfort the afflicted?

As we enhance the students’ sense of belonging in the classroom, we can’t look to making learning easy. That is not the role of a teacher. In fact, as Brown et al. (2014) put it, “the more effort required to retrieve (or, in effect, relearn) something, the better you learn it” (p. 82).  Simply re-reading class notes is a great example of easy learning and creates a false “illusion ofknowing.” Instead, a learner needs to forget a little, followed by attempted recall in order to strengthen our knowledge. This process is frustrating, but must be afflicted on our students. However, combined with a sense of belonging above, students should be more comfortable and confident despite this frustration. That’s where we come in.

My request(s):
- Consider the study strategies you recommend. Are you providing desirable difficulties or the illusion of knowing?
- Look at a past set of grade comments. What might a student think while reading this comment? Are you recommending appropriate strategies in your comment?