3.3 Sense of Belonging: Personal Reflection by

PROMPT: We invite you to reflect upon the following questions before moving to the other components of this module. -- Please sign your name to your post, so we can respond to you!

innovativepedagogy1 — 2024-01-30 17:37:18 UTC

What was your college experience like? In what ways did you feel like you belonged in the greater campus community? Who or what do you think was mainly responsible for that? If you didn’t feel like you belonged, what do you think could have been supportive for you?
Consider now, your proximity and relationship to the students you teach. What is their overall general college experience like? In what ways is it similar or different from your own? (Consider demands on their time, commuting versus living on-campus, and other key components of college life.)
Finally, to what extent do you feel comfortable sharing your college experience with your students? What makes you comfortable or uncomfortable to do so?

2024-06-05 14:17:59 UTC

Something that could have been supportive is to know that other students were struggling too and also that there were other students who were first-generation/immigrants not quite knowing how things worked. I did not really feel part of the campus community and spent most of the time in the library, focused on doing homework!
It is probably very different commuting vs. not commuting (my experience). I do need to learn more.
I sometimes share about struggling to figure out a major. I don't share as much about struggling to find a sense of belonging and making new friends.

Belonging and Identity are both important

2024-06-22 12:02:38 UTC

I wound up transferring schools after 6 months because my first College experience was not good at all. The school which will remain nameless was more like an extension of the local HS's in the area. I did not hail from that county and did not study the major that the school was famous for. The school also did not have the best reputation then but now it's much better (hats off to them). But, transferring schools made all the difference. I did not really fit in right away because I can in during the spring semester and the school did not have a big cohort. But, the video touched upon something essential. There was an orientation and there were activities that went well with my introverted personality (I've since become more of an extrovert). The transfer students that I see for advisement need me to listen to them maybe more than they need to hear my story. But if it's relevant I will share it with them.

The second prompt - The students that I teach are graduate students. We have a strong sense of belonging in my program because they are in a cohort model. Even in the traditional program that I also teach in the students bond easily because the program is small. They always give that as feedback at the end of the class. They feel a sense of belonging and support. When I attended Hunter for my graduate and post-grad work, I felt the same sense of belonging even though times were different and we did not have a cohort model. I do recognize that COVID has done a number on relationships at the graduate level. Even with the cohort model, there are some students who do not want to be a part of the group. I think that this is an area to build upon as a program leader. I can do many activities in the classroom, but as program leader I am not sure how to increase participation in school events or our department events. Most of my students learn online and do not want to show up at campus. This is a challenge area.

Prompt Three - I only share what is relevant to each advisee. It's about them, not me. If it's something that can help, I'll share it.