How our classrooms and departments signal opportunities for learning and inclusion

A sense of belonging and beliefs about intelligence are predictors of college students' experiences in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses and equity gaps in academic performance (e.g., Canning et al., 2019; Walton et al., 2014). A growing evidence base points to the situational cues in the classroom and other campus spaces that can signal to students the opportunity to feel a strong sense of belonging and supported in the belief that they can grow in their skills and knowledge to succeed. These cues can be communicated verbally in instructors' and administrators' speech and highlighted in course content and exemplar scholars in the field (e.g., Cundiff et al., 2011; Kroeper et al., 2022). Course structures and departmental policies additionally serve as powerful signals of belonging and growth-minded practices. Understanding the content of these cues in one's local environment and their consequences for students' persistence and achievement is critical then to developing classroom and campus interventions that foster belonging and growth for students. In this talk, insights from a multiple university project, the Student Experience Project, will be shared as a case study for how instructors, departments, and campuses can assess their current contexts and integrate evidence-based, field-tested practices in their work advancing inclusion.