Foreword
Lumen Circles are asynchronous faculty professional development experiences that use virtual learning communities to connect faculty with peers, helping them refine their expertise as student-centered educators. Grounded in evidence-based teaching practices and self-reflection, Lumen Circles are designed to benefit faculty members across disciplines and career stages.
Dr. Iona Ringgold and Dr. Katherine Orlando participated in the Lumen Circles Belonging and Inclusive Teaching Fundamentals Circle, where they embraced teaching strategies that foster engagement and belonging. The foundational knowledge gained through their Lumen Circles experience empowered them to extend these practices into their campus community, encouraging other faculty to engage in belonging work through their own learning collective.
This blog shares their journey and the transformative impact Lumen Circles had on their work, demonstrating how Lumen Circles faculty professional development experiences can inspire meaningful change in higher education.
Authors: Dr. Iona Ringgold and Dr. Katherine Orlando
At Towson University in Maryland, we have been applying what we learned during our time as Lumen Circle fellows to two different professional learning series for faculty and staff. The Lumen Circles program provided the foundational knowledge and collaborative environment that inspired us to create our own space to foster student belonging. With the support and framework provided by Lumen Circles, we established The Inclusive Teaching Collective—a community aimed at engaging faculty and staff in enhancing students’ sense of belonging in their learning spaces.
For this post, belonging will be defined as a subjective feeling of deep connection with social groups, physical places, and individual and collective experiences as a fundamental human need (Allen et al, 2021). Our approach to fostering belonging has been deeply influenced by the evidence-based practices and collaborative methods we learned through Lumen Circles. Research shows that when higher education students do not feel a sense of belonging, this negatively impacts academic and social success, persistence, and mental health, and is especially true for students from marginalized groups (Davis, Hanzsek-Brill, Petzold, & Robinson, 2019; Gopalan & Brady, 2019). In contrast, Gopalan & Brady’s (2019) findings suggested that a greater sense of belonging might have a positive longitudinal impact on academic performance and persistence and is protective for mental health in year three for undergraduate students.
Recent research findings reveal that professors are uniquely situated to advance social justice issues in higher education learning spaces (Liera & Dowd, 2019). However, some do not see themselves as agents of change regarding student belonging. In addition, some faculty may have different experiences based on the intersectionality of their own identities (Pittman & Tobin, 2022). In our work, we also found that many who are working on inclusive and affirming practices also seek support and new learning in these efforts. In addition, just saying that students “belong” is not enough according to Walton (2021). Showing students through intentional conversations about learning and growth, modeling that belonging is a process, supporting students’ diverse identities, letting students know that they are not alone, and allowing space for these exchanges is essential (Gopalan, Linden-Carmichael, Lanza, 2022; Walton, 2021).
Belonging and Inclusive Teaching Fundamentals Lumen Circle: Circle Activities
We created S.P.A.C.E. (Semester-Long Intensity, Participant and Identities-Centered, Awareness and Agency for Creating Cultures of Belonging, Collective Responsibility and Accountability, Engagement and Empowerment for Equity: Belonging Matters) to provide faculty with a supportive, collaborative environment focused on fostering student belonging.
Here are our top 5 tips for increasing faculty agency and awareness to create inclusive spaces where students truly feel they belong. We’ve also included powerful quotes from members of the Collective, sharing their personal experiences in this transformative journey.
Semester-Long Intensity
The members of the Collective committed to the project for an entire semester. Following the principles of the Lumen Circles program, we created a semester-long commitment for the participants. Our series was based on the effective professional learning communities model of Lumen Circles. Lumen Circles are 9-week asynchronous virtual communities of practice with faculty peers and coaches engaging in weekly activities to explore, apply, and reflect on effective teaching practices.
- Grounded in adult learning theory, much time and effort were made to create and sustain community across and between participants in the professional learning series. Our goal was to co-create a semester-long, cross-university collaboration, and inclusive space that would allow time for critical inquiry, conversation, and reflection. Applying principles of effective professional learning communities and Lumen Circles, we knew that a “one and done” workshop would not suffice as it would not permit the learning and reflection cycle that adults need. In his work with K-12 principals, DuFour found that student outcomes improved when educators collaboratively engaged in inquiry-based improvement efforts at their work site (McLaurin, 2021).
- Participants had the opportunity to learn, plan, apply to student interaction, and assess in “real time” during the semester. Others used the time to plan and strategize to implement for an upcoming semester or a bigger project.
Reflection from Collective Member
I really appreciate hearing the ideas that other people have in terms of what they’re doing in their classrooms and the projects that they’re working on because it really sparks, you know, my own sense of wonder.
Participant and identities-centered
The design of The Inclusive Teaching Collective was influenced by Lumen Circles’ focus on identity and inclusivity. We emphasized understanding diverse identities and their impact on learning environments, encouraging participants to reflect on their own identities and those of their students.
- “Inclusive Teaching Collective,” signifies the importance of focusing on belonging in the professional learning series. We worked with diverse university participants from nearly every college, and our participants are representative of different tenured (or not) ranks, course instructors or staff, and more.
- Based on the professional learning we provided, participants were asked to name a goal to “start” or “stop,” something that they felt would assist with fostering an inclusive environment of belonging in their learning spaces.
- Participants were asked to identify a specific focus for the goal (for example, mitigating bias or pedagogical partnership). They were partnered with another collective member to work with for the semester. In addition, Drs. Ringgold and Orlando held individual conferences with each participant in addition to holding regular “Collective” meetings each semester.
- We were intentional in having our initial meetings in person to provide greater opportunities to connect to others. Subsequent meetings were hybrid to provide convenience and flexibility.
Reflection from Collective Member
…allows the students to have a voice in the class and hopefully not only give them a sense of belonging but engage them more with the class content and the university as a whole… that experience in the classroom permeates other places during their experience here.
Awareness and Agency for Creating Cultures of Belonging
Grounded in cultural responsiveness, we sought to see and hear students, the intended beneficiaries of our “Inclusive Teaching Collective” efforts. This integration of student voices was a key takeaway from our Lumen Circles experience, reinforcing the need to listen and adapt based on student feedback.
We included student input in the professional development process by taking the following steps:
- Graduate and undergraduate students were invited into the Collective to share their experiences and voices about what instructors did to help them feel a sense of belonging. Examples shared were connections to student identities, involving the students as pedagogical partners, and more.
- Participants shared that these first-hand accounts of students’ perceptions of belonging and the conditions instructors created were incredibly insightful and made a significant impact. From these experiences, many of the Collective looked to replicate some of their colleagues’ strategies and efforts and make space for listening to students’ perspectives in their classrooms.
- Participants were also encouraged to share their goals with their own students and elicited student feedback as part of their reflective process.
In the discussion forum, one faculty member reflected on her learning by stating:
So, I think sometimes it can feel like belonging can feel very theoretical… hearing students actually explain what belonging means, and how their professors can actually make them feel like they belong, has really been helpful.
Collective responsibility and accountability
Lumen Circles’s emphasis on ongoing collaboration and empowerment influenced how we structured our activities, encouraging participants to engage across departments and work collectively towards equity and belonging. None of us are experts; however, together we learn, are inspired, and seek to do better.
- Collectively, we provided opportunities for reading, discussion, inquiry, reflection, learning and un-learning. Participants shared their ideas, efforts, and risks with each other as they sought to create inclusive spaces. Because participants had their own lived experiences, and not all participants were at the same level of development, collective space was essential.
- Participants were transparent in goal setting, progress, reflection, and outcomes.
- Members of the collective celebrated their efforts, inviting department members and chairs, family members and others to our end of semester events:
In the discussions, faculty reflected
…it’s easy to feel really isolated and it’s sometimes feels like, you know, struggling to meet these goals by myself.
…appreciate the opportunity to interact with faculty from a range of disciplines and colleges and programs at the university.
Engagement and Empowerment for Equity: Belonging Matters
Continuous engagement, a cornerstone of Lumen Circles, was crucial in our series. The program’s emphasis on ongoing collaboration and empowerment influenced how we structured our activities, encouraging participants to engage across departments and work collectively towards equity and belonging.
- Some Collective members formed collaborative projects that crossed departments and other colleges within the university, effecting change beyond their classrooms or spaces.
Reflections from Collective Members on Change Beyond their Classrooms or Spaces
What I really appreciate about the Inclusive Teaching Collective is just knowing and being able to identify and name and wave at people on campus who share the same goals as me and who want to transform the culture of higher education in a positive direction.
It just really helps me think about how I am being inclusive. So, I do appreciate this group for that reason and just giving me a greater sense of belonging.
Our participation in Lumen Circles was instrumental in shaping our teaching and inspiring us to pursue similar collaborative and evidence-based approaches. The impact of Lumen Circles on our work underscores the value of asynchronous professional development programs that emphasize community, inclusivity, and continuous growth. We encourage you to consider joining Lumen Circles, as it was foundational in allowing us to bring the teaching strategies that foster engagement and belonging to Towson University.
Resources
Allen, K.A., Kern, M.L., Rozek, C.S., McInherney, D.M., & Slavich, G.M. (2021). Belonging: A review of conceptual issues, an integrative framework, and directions for future research. Australian Journal of Psychology, 73(1), 87-102. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049530.2021.1883409
Davis, G. M., Hanzsek-Brill, M. B., Petzold, M. C., & Robinson, D. H. (2019). Students’ sense of belonging: The development of a predictive retention model. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.14434/josotl.v19i1.26787
Gopalan, M., Linden-Carmichael, A. Lanza, S. (2022). College students’ sense of belonging and mental health amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Journal of Adolescent Health, 70(2), 228-233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.10.010
Liera, R., & Dowd, A. C. (2019). Faculty learning at boundaries to broker racial equity. The Journal of Higher Education, 90(3), 462-485.
McLaurin, J. (2021). The principal’s playbook on instructional leadership: 23 things that matter most for improving student achievement [pdf]. Archway Publishing. https://www.theprincipalsplaybook.com/
Pittman, C., & Tobin, T. J. (2022). Academe has a lot to learn about how inclusive teaching affects instructors. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Walton, G. (2021). Stop telling students, “You belong!. Education Week, 9. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-stop-telling-students-you-belong/2021/11