Fostering Belonging in the Classroom: Strategies for Instructors

Fostering a sense of belonging is a critical part of supporting student learning. When students feel that they belong, they are more likely to engage deeply, persist through challenges, and take intellectual risks. Research demonstrates that even brief, low-effort interventions can significantly improve students’ academic motivation, performance, and persistence. As classrooms are increasingly made up of and shaped by students with varied experiences and expectations, creating a sense of belonging is foundational to effective and inclusive teaching.

This resource introduces four practical, evidence-based, and timely strategies that instructors can implement to foster a learning environment where all students feel they matter and can succeed.

The Science of Belonging and Inclusion

Belonging is a basic human need, and the extent to which that need is satisfied can have significant impacts on students’ performance and well-being. Even momentary threats to one’s sense of belonging can result in a diminished sense of self-worth, decreased motivation, increased incidence of impulsive behaviors, and a greater tendency to view others as hostile (Cohen 2022). Conversely, a strong sense of belonging improves performance, engagement, motivation, and mental health (Zumbrunn et al. 2014). 

In the college context, belonging broadly refers to one’s “perceived social support on campus, a feeling or sensation of connectedness, and the experience of mattering or feeling cared about, accepted, respected, valued by, and important to the campus community” (Strayhorn 2018, p. 4). While a sense of belonging on the broader campus is important, classroom belongingness is shown to have an even greater impact on students’ academic success (Wilson et al. 2015). This suggests that the extent to which instructors take steps to promote classroom belonging has significant implications for the success and well-being of students.

Fostering belonging in the classroom is also central to a successful inclusive teaching practice. Promoting belonging in the classroom has measured benefits for all students, but it is especially important for those from historically underrepresented backgrounds who may experience greater belonging uncertainty, or doubts about one’s sense of belonging (Kirby and Thomas 2015, Cohen 2022). 

Intentional and timely teaching practices aimed to affirm students’ belonging and their capacity to succeed can help close these gaps. Throughout the semester, there are key moments when supporting students’ sense of belonging can have especially strong impacts. Below are four such interventions you can implement throughout the semester to help foster classroom belonging.

Timely Interventions to Promote Belonging

1. Before the Semester: Use Warm and Inclusive Language on your Syllabus 

A syllabus doesn’t merely communicate information about the structure and expectations of a course, it also communicates information about the instructor’s attitudes and approach to teaching. Research suggests that instructors’ approach to syllabus design can support or hinder students’ sense of belonging. When the tone of a syllabus is unfriendly, students are likely to perceive the instructor as cold, unapproachable, and unmotivated to teach the course. In contrast, if the tone is positive and friendly, humorous, and conveys compassion, students are more likely to perceive the instructor as warm, approachable, and motivated to teach the course (Harnish and Bridges 2011). Research finds that students who perceive their instructors to be approachable, positive, and enthusiastic about teaching rate report a stronger sense of belonging in the classroom (Kirby and Thomas 2022).

Before a new semester, review your syllabus for tone. Punitive language, lists of prohibited behaviors, and a strict tone can convey to students inflexibility and a lack of trust. To better foster a sense of belonging early on, explicitly welcome students to the class, adopt a friendly tone, and convey that you are approachable and eager to provide support. In reviewing the sample below, consider how minor changes to syllabus language can convey a more welcoming, student-focused approach to teaching.

Example of cold versus warm syllabus language, adapted from Harnish and Bridges (2011)

2. Beginning of Semester: Encourage and Provide Opportunities for Students to get to Know Each Other 

Students who are encouraged by their instructors to get to know their classmates report a stronger sense of classroom belonging, especially if this occurs at the beginning of the semester (Zumbrunn et al. 2014, McKinney et al. 2006). Social bonds on campus are critical for students’ sense of belonging and instructors can help foster these relationships in the classroom by offering opportunities for peer interaction. Low-stakes activities such as icebreakers and think-pair-shares can foster belonging and help make students comfortable with engaging with their peers, setting the tone for productive active learning throughout the semester. 

While offering opportunities for students to interact with each other is a good practice to use throughout the semester, strategically timing efforts can have especially pronounced effects. At the beginning of the semester, students may feel a heightened sense of doubt about their belonging (Cohen 2022). Timing interventions to support students during this critical time of the semester can have long-lasting effects. 

Sample icebreaker questions/prompts to use in the first week of the semester: 

• Why did you decide to enroll in this class? 
• What are three things you have in common with your classmate(s)? 
• What questions do you have about the syllabus?

3. During the Semester: Provide Opportunities for Students to Co-Construct the Learning Environment 

Cohen (2022) finds that democratic processes constitute one of the most effective ways to promote belonging. In the classroom, opportunities to co-construct the learning environment can empower students and instill a sense of membership in the classroom community. 

One way students can co-construct the learning environment is by collaboratively developing community norms. Community norms are a set of shared guidelines and values that guide behavior in the classroom. By inviting students to participate in the construction of community norms, they are offered an opportunity to share and have their values and preferences heard. An added benefit to setting community norms is that it can set the tone for respectful and kind interactions, helping to foster students’ belonging. 

Watch: Teaching Talk on Community Agreements 

4. After Exams and Major Assignments: Offer Wise Feedback and Support

Much like the beginning of the semester, students may experience heightened belonging uncertainty after receiving results on exams and major assignments, especially in cases where students performed below their expectations. For instructors, this can make the task of providing feedback daunting: how can feedback be both instructive and encouraging? 

Research on wise feedback shows that small changes to how instructors offer feedback can have profound impacts on students’ feelings of belonging, performance, and motivation. Wise feedback refers to feedback that conveys 1) the instructor’s high standards for their students, 2) the instructor’s belief that their students can achieve their high standards, and 3) provides concrete and actionable steps for improvement. For example, Yeager et al. (2014) find that students who received written feedback accompanied with a note stating “I’m giving you these comments because I have very high expectations and I know that you can reach them” were less likely to view negative feedback as indicative of their potential to succeed and were more motivated to revise their work. Explicitly reaffirming your belief in students’ capacity to succeed is a simple way to foster belonging and mitigate the threat to belonging that poor performance or critical feedback may pose. Additionally, reminding students of other resources available to them, such as office hours or campus resources like the Writing Center, can provide students with additional support during times of high belonging uncertainty. 

When offering student feedback, provide instructive feedback that focuses on strengths and areas for growth. Hold students to high standards while reaffirming your belief that students can meet or exceed expectations.

The CTL is here to help!

Want to discuss implementing these or other strategies to foster belonging in your research lab? Email CTLfaculty@columbia.edu to set up a consultation.

References and Additional Resources

Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning, Teaching Talks: Community Agreements.

Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning, Community Building in the Classroom.

Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning, Designing an Inclusive Syllabus.

Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning, Feedback for Learning.

Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning, Getting Started with Active Learning. 

Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning, Guide for Inclusive Teaching. 

Cohen, G.L., (2022). Belonging: The science of creating connection and bridging divides. WW Norton & Company.

Harnish, R. J., & Bridges, K. R. (2011). Effect of syllabus tone: Students’ perceptions of instructor and course. Social Psychology of Education, 14(3), 319–330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-011-9152-4

Kirby, L. A. J., & Thomas, C. L. (2022). High-impact teaching practices foster a greater sense of belonging in the college classroom. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 46(3), 368–381. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2021.1950659

McKinney, J. P., McKinney, K. G., Franiuk, R., & Schweitzer, J. (2006). The College Classroom as a Community: Impact on Student Attitudes and Learning. College Teaching, 54(3), 281–284. https://doi.org/10.3200/CTCH.54.3.281-284

Strayhorn, T. L. (2018). College students’ sense of belonging: A key to educational success for all students. Routledge.

Student Experience Research Network, Belonging-Supportive Learning Environments. 

Walton, G. M. (2014). The New Science of Wise Psychological Interventions. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23(1), 73–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721413512856

Wilson, D., Jones, D., Bocell, F., Crawford, J., Kim, M. J., Veilleux, N., … & Plett, M. (2015). Belonging and academic engagement among undergraduate STEM students: A multi-institutional study. Research in Higher Education, 56(7), 750-776. 

Zumbrunn, S., McKim, C., Buhs, E., & Hawley, L. R. (2014). Support, belonging, motivation, and engagement in the college classroom: A mixed method study. Instructional Science, 42(5), 661–684. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-014-9310-0