Using learning analytics to measure a sense of belonging of learners in higher education

Ram Ramanathan

This presentation will aim to demonstrate how a sense of belonging can be induced in students in higher education where I will describe the interventions that I have applied in my teaching. It is understood that learners from non-English speaking backgrounds and generally students who are commencing the first year of an undergraduate program feel a lack of sense of belonging. A sense of belonging is an outcome of engagement. Student engagement is a multi-faceted approach and it involves academic engagement (participating in assessments), social engagement (peer-to-peer interactions and socialising whilst in class), cognitive engagement (going above what is required academically), and affective engagement (feeling a sense of affiliation with the study environment). By engaging students, we induce a sense of belonging in them. I am enrolled in a PhD and would like to share my understanding of the literature and teaching strategies on how to measure the sense of belonging through interventions that can keep learners engaged, reduce attrition and improve academic achievements. Research showed that social engagement appears more salient than academic engagement when relating to belonging. Categories such as network, solidarity, living space, geographical and cultural location, life attitudes, and personal interest played a big part in the inferences from the data analysis. Negative data such as stress and unhappiness were also considered to classify the sense of ‘non-belonging’ and were related more to personal space and life satisfaction. The surroundings and personal spaces played a significant role in the definition of belonging when the higher education provider is a home away from home, and natural and cultural factors add to the sense of wellbeing. Personal space belonging was reflected in the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM), and Sense of Belonging (SB) instruments. There is evidence as identified in the study that belonging has multi-dimensional aspects that influence academic engagement (Ahn & Davis, 2020). Ahn, M. Y., & Davis, H. H. (2020). Students’ sense of belonging and their socio-economic status in higher education: a quantitative approach. Teaching in Higher Education, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2020.1778664

Using learning analytics to measure a sense of belonging of learners in higher education

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Using learning analytics to measure a sense of belonging of learners in higher education

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