FEATURING
Dr. Alice Kim, Founder and Managing Director of Teaching & Learning Research in Action; Interim Assistant Program Head, Psychology, University of Guelph-Humber.
TITLE
Fostering community and connection in the classroom: Insights from research on online, in-person, blended, and hybrid flexible learning contexts.
ABSTRACT
Given the importance of education, a considerable amount of research has been focused on identifying factors that influence students’ academic achievement. The research that I’ve conducted collaboratively on remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with that of others, suggests that students valued and felt encouraged by a sense of community in the classroom. Community has been conceptualized in various ways, and has been broken down into multiple dimensions, including connectedness, interaction, trust, and common expectations and goals. In subsequent studies, my colleagues and I found that students’ sense of connection is predictive of their final grade in the course, demonstrating the importance of fostering connection and community in the classroom to support students’ learning. In this session, I’ll share the findings of research that I’ve conducted with my colleagues on factors that students have reported to support and detract from their experiences of community in a mix of online, in-person, blended, and hybrid flexible learning contexts.
BIO
Dr. Alice Kim is the Interim Assistant Program Head, Psychology, University of Guelph-Humber and Founder and Managing Director of Teaching and Learning Research In Action, a non-profit research organization focused on conducting and disseminating research on effective teaching and learning practices.
Dr. Kim’s formal training is in experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience of memory and learning. Dr. Kim’s current research is focused on factors that impact students’ learning trajectories, including student engagement, experiential education, and application of cognitive learning principles in course design. Much of Dr. Kim’s research also explores student-faculty partnerships that foster the co-creation of learning and teaching.
Annually the Department of Psychology hosts a Colloquia Series throughout the academic year. This exciting program brings us together outside of the classroom to have conversations with the speakers we’ve invited to our campus to share their ideas. You’ll have the chance to hear from international speakers on a wide range of provocative topics.
