USING SRES AND OTHER STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE BELONGING AND CONNECTION

Abstract

Joanne Castelli^a, Ifeoluwa MacKenzie^b, Stephanie Vialle^a, Tommy Woodward^a, Alexandra Yeung^a , Chen Zheng^c

Presenting Authors: Joanne Castelli ([email protected]) and Alexandra Yeung ([email protected])

^a Faculty of Science and Engineering, Curtin University, Bentley Western Australia 6152, Australia

^b Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley Western Australia 6152, Australia

^c Faculty of Business and Law, Curtin University, Bentley Western Australia 6152, Australia

KEYWORDS: Belonging, Connection, Student Relationship Engagement System

SUBTHEME: Belonging

A sense of belonging and connection among students and between students and the teaching team is essential for the student experience and has impacts on student success and retention. Challenges to the wellbeing of both students and staff are exacerbated in predominantly online units and in units with large cohorts. For staff there can be a lack of connection with students, often coupled with a lack of feeling supported in the teaching and administration of large units. The prevalence of online learning has meant the use of technologies to provide online “pedagogies of care” has become even more important (Burke & Larmar, 2021).

The Student Relationship Engagement System, or SRES, is an online tool that can be used to facilitate personalised engagement through features such as “getting-to-know-you” and “pulse checks”. Through surveys and focus groups, we expect to assess the features of SRES that have the most impact on the promotion of inclusion, connection, belonging and wellbeing for both students and staff. We will also gather information about the other tools, strategies and pedagogies that are effective for positive student and staff engagement and support, and that have the potential to alleviate staff workload and stress and enhance work efficiency.  

Student and staff perceptions are being investigated using separate surveys. Validated surveys that focus on belonging and the three constructs of student engagement: cognitive, behavioural and emotional, combined with bespoke surveys (Wester, Walsh, Arango-Caro & Callis-Duehl, 2021) are being used to gather information. Staff and students are also invited to participate in focus groups modelled on a semi-structured interview approach utilising focused questions whilst allowing further exploration of ideas (Adeoye-Olatunde & Olenik, 2021). Quantitative analysis of student attendance, performance, retention and progression data from the targeted units will inform the findings, with these parameters all being indicators of student engagement, sense of belonging and feelings of self-efficacy (Kahu & Nelson, 2018).

We present examples of the use of SRES and other strategies that promote belonging and connection from undergraduate chemistry teaching and from a STEM international experiences unit. We also present results from the surveys targeting staff and students across Curtin campuses who are currently teaching and enrolled in large, online units, comparing the strategies used by those who incorporate SRES in their teaching, with those who don’t use SRES.

REFERENCES

Adeoye‐Olatunde, O. A., & Olenik, N. L. (2021). Research and scholarly methods: Semi‐structured interviews. Journal of the American college of clinical pharmacy, 4(10), 1358-1367.

Burke, K., & Larmar, S. (2021). Acknowledging another face in the virtual crowd: Reimagining the online experience in higher education through an online pedagogy of care. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 45(5), 601-615. 

Kahu, E. R., & Nelson, K. (2018). Student engagement in the educational interface: Understanding the mechanisms of student success. Higher education research & development, 37(1), 58-71.

Wester, E. R., Walsh, L. L., Arango-Caro, S., & Callis-Duehl, K. L. (2021). Student engagement declines in STEM undergraduates during COVID-19–driven remote learning. Journal of microbiology & biology education, 22(1), 10-1128.

Proceedings of the Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education, The University of Canberra, 18 – 19 September 2024, page X, ISSN Number TBA.