A strong sense of belongingness is crucial for student motivation, engagement, perseverance, and achievement (Dewbury & Brame, 2019; Freeman et al., 2007; Walton et al., 2012; Zumbrunn et al., 2014). There are many things that instructors can do to help students feel as though they belong in the class and the field as a whole. Fortunately, there are many things that instructors can do to help students feel as though they belong in the class and the field as a whole. The most prominent methods, which are further discussed below, include increasing student-instructor rapport, using student names, encouraging participation, using a belongingness intervention, showcasing counter-stereotypical scientists, and addressing the imposter phenomenon.

Student-Instructor Rapport and Instructor Immediacy

Establishing a good student-instructor rapport has been shown to increase student feelings of belongingness, reduce their anxiety, and increase positive attitudes towards the instructor (Wilson et al., 2010). Establishing a good student-instructor rapport has been shown to increase student feelings of belongingness, reduce their anxiety, and increase positive attitudes towards the instructor. There are many simple things instructors can do to increase their rapport with their students so that students see them as warm, approachable, supportive, and willing to listen. Instructors can increase their rapport and warmth by using language that is friendly, understanding, and welcoming (Freeman et al., 2007). For example, instead of saying “I expect all students to attend every class” instructors could say, “Students should attend most class sessions; please let me and your team know if extenuating circumstances prevent you from attending on a particular day”. In addition to showing warmth towards students, instructors can increase student belonging by being more open to student thoughts and ideas (Freeman et al., 2007); this could involve listening to student suggestions, soliciting anonymous student feedback, allowing students to vote on different project options, or allowing students to collectively draft rubrics through which they will be assessed. Another simple way to increase instructor-immediacy is to greet students and talk to them before class begins. These informal conversations help instructors and students get to know each other; sharing personal stories can also help to humanize the professor, help establish a growth mindset, and counter negative preconceptions about the instructor or class (Hsu & Goldsmith, 2021).

Using Student Names

Perhaps the most important word that a person can hear is their own name. Using students’ names has been shown to increase student belonging (Reinholz et al., 2020). Memorizing student names can sometimes be a daunting challenge (especially for large courses), but it is made easier by using photo rosters, student introduction videos, or name tents. Using video or sound recording options are especially helpful for pronouncing names properly, which is crucial as mispronouncing names can increase student anxiety (Kohli & Solórzano, 2012). Student names are even easier to use in an online setting where names are listed under each students’ video-feed. Using student names has been shown to increase positive student attitudes, behaviors, and their perceptions about the course (Cooper et al., 2017); it also helps improve student-instructor communication and relationships (Cooper et al., 2017). Lastly, name usage helps students to feel valued and invested in the course and increases the likelihood that they will ask for help (Dewbury & Brame, 2019).

Encouraging Participation

Encouraging student participation in the class is strongly correlated with student belonging (Freeman et al., 2007). Instructors should acknowledge that contributing can be hard and emphasize that they nonetheless really appreciate hearing questions, ideas, and answers from all students (Reinholz et al., 2020). Provide time for students to write and think before asking them questions (Tanner, 2013); this especially helps students who take longer to think, are introverted, or who are non-native speakers. Thanking students for their answers can make it clear that their contributions were valued regardless of whether they were right or wrong.

Group Projects Encourage Cooperation

Instructors can increase students’ sense of belonging by having them work in groups (Elliott et al., 2016). Group work allows students to get to know each other, helps them to learn from their peers, and helps encourage all students to participate. Group projects also promote cooperation and teamwork, while discouraging competition (Elliott et al., 2016).

Belongingness Intervention

Belongingness interventions have shown great promise in helping students feel more connected with the classroom. Walton and Cohen created a short (~1 hour) belongingness intervention where they explained that students commonly question whether they truly belong in college, but that these worries are normal, short-lived, and dissipate over time. Students in the intervention also wrote an essay for next year’s incoming students about how their own feelings of belonging changed over time. This intervention disproportionately increased the grades of Black students from their sophomore through senior years and halved the Black/White student achievement gap (Walton & Cohen, 2007, 2011); it also improved self-reported physical health, happiness, and sense of belonging of Black students. The intervention works by cutting the negative relationship between experiences of adversity and feelings of belonging. The intervention works by cutting the negative relationship between experiences of adversity and feelings of belonging such that Black students no longer construe difficulties as being diagnostic of their belonging (Walton & Cohen, 2011). Another belonging intervention which also sought to normalize social adversity was found to decrease the attrition gap and the GPA gap for less advantaged students, while simultaneously increasing social and academic integration on campus during their first year of college (Yeager, Walton, et al., 2016).

Scientist Spotlight Intervention

Encouraging students to visualize themselves doing research can increase feelings of belonging, especially for AHN student belonging (Dewbury & Brame, 2019). Additionally incorporating homework related to counter-stereotypical examples of scientists can help to signal an inclusive and identity-safe environment. The scientist spotlight intervention is an activity that presents counter-stereotypical examples of scientists engaged in research related to course topics. The scientist spotlight intervention is an activity that presents counter-stereotypical examples of scientists engaged in research related to course topics (Schinske et al., 2016). This activity asks students to review resources about scientists’ research (i.e., journal article or popular science article) and personal history (i.e., an interview, podcast, website, TED Talk etc.) and then write a 350-word reflection about what they found most interesting, what they learned, what questions they have, and what their research says about the types of people who do science. Essays are not graded and only take about 5-10 minutes to complete. Students completed ten scientist-spotlight assignments over the course of the semester. Doing this activity helped to decrease scientist stereotypes and increase students relating to scientists for at least six months after the class ended. This intervention also showed small but significant increases in students’ interest in science and student grades. In a similar intervention, Yonas et al. assigned students to listen to and reflect on nine podcasts featuring scientists discussing a “true, personal story about science” (Yonas et al., 2020). Students found these podcasts to be valuable, engaging, and relatable, and they felt that the podcasts changed their perceptions about scientists.

Address the Imposter Phenomenon

Addressing the imposter phenomenon is challenging, but a number of suggestions have been proposed in the scientific and popular literature. One option is to validate the person’s doubts and fears and suggest they consider group therapy (Matthews & Clance, 1985). Alternatively, those with imposter syndrome may be able to alter or reframe thought processes that make them feel like a fraud (Abrams, 2018). People suffering from imposter syndrome may also benefit from treating any comorbid afflictions (e.g., anxiety or depression) and visiting a psychologist (Bravata et al., 2020). In any case, treating any form of mental illness is beyond the scope of a university instructor’s duties; consequently, it is recommended that instructors refer any student experiencing imposter syndrome to campus resources including counselors or mental health advocates. Instructors can also help by increasing awareness about imposter syndrome and by sharing mental health resources in their classrooms (Le, 2019).