This chapter outlines a rationale and best practices for humanizing online learning by implementing strategies for cultivating belonging. These strategies are rooted in the community of inquiry framework and the importance of intentionally cultivating students' social presence in order to enhance opportunities for cognitive presence and deep critical thinking. Culturally responsive teaching practices also guide these strategies for designing and facilitating inclusive online learning spaces where belonging is intentionally centered in the instructor's teaching presence. The strategies in this chapter include ways to design and develop courses with belonging in mind from the start as well as strategies for maintaining a sense of belonging and community throughout a course after it has been initially established.
TopIntroduction
As online education continues to evolve, so does our understanding of how best to create meaningful and effective learning experiences. This understanding requires us to consider not only the content we deliver but also the environment in which it is delivered. In this chapter, we consider this through the lens of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework (Garrison et al., 2000), a model that suggests effective online learning experiences are framed by an interplay of cognitive, social, and teaching presence. Within this discussion, we will explore how students build and validate their understanding through introspective reflection and thoughtful dialogue (i.e., cognitive presence), how students project their personal characteristics into the online community (i.e., social presence), and how the design and facilitation of cognitive and social presences are integrated to realize meaningful learning outcomes (i.e., teaching presence).
This exploration serves a dual purpose: It underlines the importance of creating a human connection within the digital learning environment and introduces the idea of cultivating a sense of belonging among students. Such a sense of belonging can significantly enhance student engagement (Chiu, 2022), persistence (Peacock et al., 2020), and overall learning experience (Peacock & Cowan, 2019).
We will further discuss how the sense of belonging can be integrated into course design and maintained throughout the learning journey. The aim is to provide educators and course designers with practical strategies for creating online learning experiences that are engaging, supportive, and ultimately, more effective. The discussion will have less emphasis on content itself and more on creating an online space that feels welcoming, inclusive, and engaging. By bringing in principles from the CoI framework and the concept of belonging, rooted in culturally responsive teaching practices, we hope to paint a clear picture of how online education can be both rigorous and deeply humanized. Through this lens, we can begin to refine our approach to online course design and delivery.