Finding a Place to Belong: Understanding the Role of Place in Developing Learner Identity Among Students Returning to In-person Learning

Catherine Horn; Diana De La Rosa-Pohl

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: ERM: Lessons Learned from COVID (COVID Part 1)
Page Count: 11
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--40983
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/40983
Download Count: 271

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Paper Authors

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Diana De La Rosa-Pohl University of Houston

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Diana de la Rosa-Pohl is an Instructional Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Houston. She is also currently the Director of the Endeavour S-STEM Program. Her areas of interest are motivation and engagement and how they relate to the success of low-SES STEM students in higher ed.

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Catherine Horn

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Abstract

This research paper describes the experiences of freshman STEM students arriving on a college campus for the first time after nearly a year and a half of online learning in high school. Fall 2021 marked the return of in-person learning in higher education, grown from a belief in and commitment to the value of interactions only achieved in such context (Sabella, 2021). First-year programs across the country welcomed first-time-in-college (FTIC) freshmen, many of whom experienced lower levels of social, emotional, and academic well-being due to extended periods of online learning in their final years of high school (Duckworth, et al., 2021). This reality, for some students, represented an unfamiliar learning environment to be negotiated in understanding their multiplying and evolving spaces as learners (e.g., Sequeira & Dacey, 2020).

This qualitative study sought to understand the aspects and ways in which FTIC freshmen in a STEM student success program experienced a face-to-face first semester of college following an extended period of online learning, and how these experiences shaped a sense of belonging toward identity development, both as a college student in general and as a STEM major in particular. To explore these ideas, longitudinal qualitative data were collected through a series of focus groups in the fall of 2021. Participating students had substantial identified financial need and received scholarship support as part of the program. They also had the opportunity to participate as a cohort in intentionally designed curricular and co-curricular activities aimed at supporting their academic journey toward successful completion of a STEM degree.

Findings suggest that physical space (e.g., the library and other specific locations on campus) played a disproportionate role in creating a sense of belonging for students. The results of this project add important nuance to the sense of belonging and identity development literature by expanding our understanding of the ways place, context, and prior experiences may uniquely intersect to ultimately influence belonging and identity in college.

Keywords: STEM Identity, COVID, First-Year Experience, Sense of Belonging

Citation
Format

De La Rosa-Pohl, D., & Horn, C. (2022, August), Finding a Place to Belong: Understanding the Role of Place in Developing Learner Identity Among Students Returning to In-person Learning Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40983

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This research paper describes the experiences of freshman STEM students arriving on a college campus for the first time after nearly a year and a half of online learning in high school. Fall 2021 marked the return of in-person learning in higher education, grown from a belief in and commitment to the value of interactions only achieved in such context (Sabella, 2021). First-year programs across the country welcomed first-time-in-college (FTIC) freshmen, many of whom experienced lower levels of social, emotional, and academic well-being due to extended periods of online learning in their final years of high school (Duckworth, et al., 2021). This reality, for some students, represented an unfamiliar learning environment to be negotiated in understanding their multiplying and evolving spaces as learners (e.g., Sequeira & Dacey, 2020).  

This qualitative study sought to understand the aspects and ways in which FTIC freshmen in a STEM student success program experienced a face-to-face first semester of college following an extended period of online learning, and how these experiences shaped a sense of belonging toward identity development, both as a college student in general and as a STEM major in particular. To explore these ideas, longitudinal qualitative data were collected through a series of focus groups in the fall of 2021.  Participating students had substantial identified financial need and received scholarship support as part of the program. They also had the opportunity to participate as a cohort in intentionally designed curricular and co-curricular activities aimed at supporting their academic journey toward successful completion of a STEM degree.  

Findings suggest that physical space (e.g., the library and other specific locations on campus) played a disproportionate role in creating a sense of belonging for students. The results of this project add important nuance to the sense of belonging and identity development literature by expanding our understanding of the ways place, context, and prior experiences may uniquely intersect to ultimately influence belonging and identity in college.  

Keywords: STEM Identity, COVID, First-Year Experience, Sense of Belonging 
AU  - Diana De La Rosa-Pohl
AU  - Catherine Horn
CY  - Minneapolis, MN
DA  - 2022/08/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Finding a Place to Belong: Understanding the Role of Place in Developing Learner Identity Among Students Returning to In-person Learning
UR  - https://strategy.asee.org/40983
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--40983
ER  -