Pathways to Belonging and Engagement: Testing a Tailored Social Belonging Intervention for University Students

Background Prominent theories of motivation suggest that belonging plays a critical role in student success (Connell & Wellborn, 1991). Social-belonging interventions have been shown to improve student belonging, well-being, engagement, and more—especially those from traditionally disadvantaged backgrounds (Walton & Brady, 2017). The current study aimed to explore the effects of a tailored social-belonging intervention delivered in introductory classes at VCU on students’ belonging, engagement, persistence, and achievement. Methods A diverse sample of first-year undergraduate students at VCU participated. To create authentic intervention materials, we collaborated with a diverse group of upper-level undergraduate student researchers who wrote narratives to present vivid stories of how they personally experienced and overcame struggles to belong. Prior to and following the intervention, students completed a survey that assessed student belonging, engagement, and social and academic fit. We also collected student demographics, achievement, and additional data from institutional records. Results Following the implementation of the belonging intervention, data was collected on students’ sense of belonging, their social and academic fit at the university, and other related outcomes. While most students felt as though they belonged at VCU and had the potential to succeed, there were still some students who worried whether they belonged in college. Conclusions From students’ responses, faculty and advisors of first-year students were given an overview on students’ current states of belonging at VCU. As an implication for future research, we argue that including diverse upper-level students as fellow researchers in this work strengthens the authenticity and effectiveness of the belonging intervention.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1171/thumbnail.jp

Remote sensing-based determination of boreal spring phenology in Alberta

Bibliography: p. 86-97.A few pages are in colour

Evaluating Potential of MODIS-based Indices in Determining “Snow Gone” Stage over Forest-dominant Regions

“Snow gone” (SGN) stage is one of the critical variables that describe the start of the official forest fire season in the Canadian Province of Alberta. In this paper, our objective is to evaluate the potential of MODIS-based indices for determining the SGN stage. Those included: (i) enhanced vegetation index (EVI), (ii) normalized difference water index (NDWI) using the shortwave infrared (SWIR) spectral bands centered at 1.64 µm (NDWI1.64µm) and at 2.13 µm (NDWI2.13µm), and (iii) normalized difference snow index (NDSI). These were calculated using the 500 m 8-day gridded MODIS-based composites of surface reflectance data (i.e., MOD09A1 v.005) for the period 2006–08. We performed a qualitative evaluation of these indices over two forest fire prone natural subregions in Alberta (i.e., central mixedwood and lower boreal highlands). In the process, we generated and compared the natural subregion-specific lookout tower sites average: (i) temporal trends for each of the indices, and (ii) SGN stage using the ground-based observations available from Alberta Sustainable Resource Development. The EVI-values were found to have large uncertainty at the onset of the spring and unable to predict the SGN stages precisely. In terms of NDSI, it showed earlier prediction capabilities. On the contrary, both of the NDWI’s showed distinct pattern (i.e., reached a minimum value before started to increase again during the spring) in relation to observed SGN stages. Thus further analysis was carried out to determine the best predictor by comparing the NDWI’s predicted SGN stages with the ground-based observations at all of the individual lookout tower sites (approximately 120 in total) across the study area. It revealed that NDWI2.13µm demonstrated better prediction capabilities (i.e., on an average approximately 90% of the observations fell within ±2 periods or ±16 days of deviation) in comparison to NDWI1.64µm (i.e., on an average approximately 73% of the observations fell within ±2 periods or ±16 days of deviation)

The Student Experience Project: Authentic Social Belonging Intervention

Materials reported in Zumbrunn et al. (2024) used to test an adapted version of the social-belonging intervention (Walton & Cohen, 2007, 2011) using a participatory, explanatory sequential mixed methods design

Embracing the Complexity of Situated Belonging: Possibilities and Responsibilities for Intervention Design

Evidence suggesting that the social-belonging intervention (Walton & Brady, 2020) can improve belonging and academic success for minoritized college students has captured the attention of researchers and practitioners alike. However, findings across studies are mixed and very little is known about the specific mechanisms underlying the effectiveness of the intervention in contexts as complex as institutions of higher education. In this paper, we review recent studies of the social-belonging intervention, highlighting limitations and areas of concern related to design aspects and theoretical and contextual underpinnings across the studies. Then using a critical reflection approach, we describe the development, implementation, and findings of participatory, mixed-methods social-belonging intervention case study. We illustrate how partnering with students as key stakeholders can influence research designs and inquiry approaches in meaningful ways. We also detail how the pairing of mixed methodologies (i.e., quantitative, qualitative) and methods (e.g., drawings, campus maps, campus resource use) can reveal important contextualized aspects of student belonging. Ending the discussion with possibilities and responsibilities for belonging intervention research, we join scholars across the field in arguing for situated approaches that challenge the status-quo