SMARTeaching Series: Fostering Student Belonging in Prison-Based College Courses

SMARTeaching Series: Fostering Student Belonging in Prison-Based College Courses, Wednesday, April 9, 2:30 PM - 3:50 PM (EST) Zoom

Research on students’ sense of belonging in academic environments has garnered increased attention in higher education for several years; see, for example, Indiana University’s Equity Accelerator research group’s public and scholarly output over the last year. Corresponding professional development opportunities, like the P3’s Student Belonging Institute, emphasize increasing students’ positive sense of belonging by making conscious instructional efforts to combat stigmatizing language and classroom policies and encouraging students to adopt a growth mindset. This workshop situates the research on student belonging and growth mindset in college within the context of prison-based higher education programs, such as Rutgers’ NJ-STEP. Presenters will outline how belonging-enhancing teaching practices can be adapted to meet the specific needs of incarcerated learners and discuss three evidence-based teaching strategies that can be used to support both “inside” and…