Fostering Social Belonging in Formative Assessment
Social and Emotional Learning
T
o
S
upport Formative
Assessment
Social Belonging
Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
•
Define social belonging
•
Understand the importance of belonging for
formative assessment
•
Feel familiar with the research base in this area
•
Use actionable strategies to implement belonging
interventions with students
•
Train other adults using the materials provided
Belonging: What Is It?
Feeling like an accepted, valued, and
legitimate group member
How Does Social Belonging Relate to Formative
Assessment?
Vulnerability
How Does Social Belonging Relate to
Formative Assessment?
How Does Social Belonging Relate to
Formative Assessment?
Safe space of trust,
respect, and comfort
How Does Social Belonging Relate to
Formative Assessment?
Social belonging in classrooms helps create safe,
collaborative environments in which formative
assessment can take hold.
Formative assessment practices also leverage the social
aspect of learning in which students maximize their
growth through feedback from teachers and peers.
An implicit message behind efforts to build social belonging
and formative assessment is: “We’re all in this together!
Let’s work together so everyone learns!”
Belonging Is a Fundamental Need
•
We constantly monitor belonging status
•
We are sensitive to even very subtle indicators
that belonging is threatened
•
Have you ever observed a student who is
struggling with belonging?
Exclusion Is Painful
•
Psychological consequences
–
Sadness, anger
–
Decreased self-esteem
–
Impaired self-regulation
–
Poorer cognitive functioning
•
Physical consequences
–
Loneliness poses the same health
risks as smoking, drinking, and obesity
Belonging Matters for Everyone
•
Particularly key moments
–
Adolescence
–
Transitions to a new school, grade level, or classroom
–
Other times of transition
•
Belonging is particularly important for people from
marginalized groups, such as English learners,
economically disadvantaged students, and students of
color
Do I belong here?
Do I Belong Here?
I’m not sure …
More vigilant
Do I Belong Here?
I’m not sure …
Classmate
doesn’t say
“hi” in hall
More vigilant
Bad
grade
on quiz
Teacher
canceled
meeting
Assume the
worst
Yes!
Less vigilant
Do I Belong Here?
Yes!
Less vigilant
Classmate
doesn’t say
“hi” in hall
Benefit of
the doubt
Do I Belong Here?
Belonging in School: So What?
Increased:
•
Self-efficacy
•
Motivation
•
Attendance
•
Persistence
•
Achievement
School
Belonging
Positive
Academic
Outcomes
Positive Health
Outcomes
Decreased:
•
Substance use
•
Early sexual initiation
•
Violence
•
Suicidal ideation
•
Disordered eating
Belonging as a “Psychological Hub”
Belonging and Identity
•
Belonging
–
Perceived fit within a group
•
Identity
–
Importance placed on being a member of a group
Belonging
Identity
Classroom Strategies To Promote
Social Belonging
•
Emphasize similarities between yourself and your
students
•
Try a Jigsaw Classroom: Initially designed to reduce
racial conflict, but has also been shown to increase
belonging more globally
•
Create formal and informal ways for teachers and
students to learn about each other’s interests,
aspirations, and the good things going on in their
lives outside of school
Exercise To Normalize Belonging
Uncertainty
•
Help young people frame setbacks and worries
about belonging as
common
and
transitory
instead
of proof that they don’t belong
I’ve been there, too.
It gets better.
Normalizing Belonging Uncertainty
Normalizing Belonging Uncertainty
•
Reflective reading and writing exercise
–
Part 1: Students read example letter(s) from more
advanced students that convey the message:
I
t’s
typical to worry
about belonging but over time
these concerns fade
Letter from an eighth-grader to a sixth-grader
So, if you’re like me when I started at ______ Middle School,
you have a lot of worries. It was so hard to find all of my classes
and to get to know my teachers at first! Worst of all, I was really
worried that I didn’t fit in. I thought I was just different from
everyone else. The other students all seemed so sure they were
right for this school. But then after my first year, I figured out
that most students didn’t think they fit in, either. It’s so funny,
right? We all felt we were different and didn’t fit in. I guess
we’re more alike than we thought, at least in some ways.
Good luck,
_______________
Normalizing Belonging Uncertainty
Normalizing Belonging Uncertainty
•
Reflective reading and writing exercise
–
Part 1: Students read example letter(s) from more
advanced students that convey that it’s
typical to
worry
about belonging but over time
these
concerns fade
–
Part 2: Saying-is-believing: Writing exercise to
give students the opportunity to internalize the
message
Values Affirmation Exercise
Values Affirmation Exercise
•
Writing exercise in which students reflect on values
that are important to them
–
Students are presented with a list of possible values
–
Students select the ones most important to them
–
Students write an essay describing why those values
are important to them
•
Please write down your top five values from the list above
and rank them in order of importance.
•
Spend the next 15‒30 minutes writing about the two values
that are most important to you. Write about why that value
is important to you and when and how you experience this
value in your life.
Values Affirmation Exercise
To alleviate “tunnel vision” remind students
that there are many aspects to their identities
Values Affirmation Exercise
Values Affirmation Exercise
Thank You
SEL for Formative Assessment by Davidson, S., Bates, L., McLean, C. and Lewis, K. is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Explore the intersection of social belonging and formative assessment in educational settings. Understand the critical role of belonging for student success and learn actionable strategies to cultivate a sense of acceptance and value among students. Discover how building safe and collaborative environments enhances the effectiveness of formative assessment practices, ultimately contributing to a supportive learning community.
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Presentation Transcript
Social and Emotional Learning To Support Formative Assessment Social Belonging
Learning Objectives By the end of this session, participants will be able to: Define social belonging Understand the importance of belonging for formative assessment Feel familiar with the research base in this area Use actionable strategies to implement belonging interventions with students Train other adults using the materials provided
Belonging: What Is It? Feeling like an accepted, valued, and legitimate group member
How Does Social Belonging Relate to Formative Assessment? Teacher delivers instruction Teacher provides feedback and/or adjusts Student responds Teacher interprets student response Vulnerability
How Does Social Belonging Relate to Formative Assessment? Teacher delivers instruction Teacher provides feedback and/or adjusts Student responds Teacher interprets student response
How Does Social Belonging Relate to Formative Assessment? Safe space of trust, respect, and comfort Teacher delivers instruction Teacher provides feedback and/or adjusts Student responds Teacher interprets student response
How Does Social Belonging Relate to Formative Assessment? Social belonging in classrooms helps create safe, collaborative environments in which formative assessment can take hold. Formative assessment practices also leverage the social aspect of learning in which students maximize their growth through feedback from teachers and peers. An implicit message behind efforts to build social belonging and formative assessment is: We re all in this together! Let s work together so everyone learns!
Belonging Is a Fundamental Need We constantly monitor belonging status We are sensitive to even very subtle indicators that belonging is threatened Have you ever observed a student who is struggling with belonging?
Exclusion Is Painful Psychological consequences Sadness, anger Decreased self-esteem Impaired self-regulation Poorer cognitive functioning Physical consequences Loneliness poses the same health risks as smoking, drinking, and obesity
Belonging Matters for Everyone Particularly key moments Adolescence Transitions to a new school, grade level, or classroom Other times of transition Belonging is particularly important for people from marginalized groups, such as English learners, economically disadvantaged students, and students of color Do I belong here?
Do I Belong Here? I m not sure More vigilant
Do I Belong Here? I m not sure More vigilant Classmate doesn t say hi in hall Assume the worst Bad grade on quiz Teacher canceled meeting
Do I Belong Here? Yes! Less vigilant
Do I Belong Here? Yes! Less vigilant Classmate doesn t say hi in hall Benefit of the doubt
Belonging in School: So What? School Belonging Positive Academic Outcomes Positive Health Outcomes Decreased: Substance use Early sexual initiation Violence Suicidal ideation Disordered eating Increased: Self-efficacy Motivation Attendance Persistence Achievement
Belonging as a Psychological Hub Persistence Belonging Performance Interest Motivation
Belonging and Identity Belonging Perceived fit within a group Identity Importance placed on being a member of a group Belonging Identity
Classroom Strategies To Promote Social Belonging Emphasize similarities between yourself and your students Try a Jigsaw Classroom: Initially designed to reduce racial conflict, but has also been shown to increase belonging more globally Create formal and informal ways for teachers and students to learn about each other s interests, aspirations, and the good things going on in their lives outside of school
Exercise To Normalize Belonging Uncertainty
Normalizing Belonging Uncertainty Help young people frame setbacks and worries about belonging as common and transitory instead of proof that they don t belong I ve been there, too. It gets better.
Normalizing Belonging Uncertainty Reflective reading and writing exercise Part 1: Students read example letter(s) from more advanced students that convey the message: It s typical to worry about belonging but over time these concerns fade
Normalizing Belonging Uncertainty Letter from an eighth-grader to a sixth-grader So, if you re like me when I started at ______ Middle School, you have a lot of worries. It was so hard to find all of my classes and to get to know my teachers at first! Worst of all, I was really worried that I didn t fit in. I thought I was just different from everyone else. The other students all seemed so sure they were right for this school. But then after my first year, I figured out that most students didn t think they fit in, either. It s so funny, right? We all felt we were different and didn t fit in. I guess we re more alike than we thought, at least in some ways. Good luck, _______________
Normalizing Belonging Uncertainty Reflective reading and writing exercise Part 1: Students read example letter(s) from more advanced students that convey that it s typical to worry about belonging but over time these concerns fade Part 2: Saying-is-believing: Writing exercise to give students the opportunity to internalize the message
Values Affirmation Exercise Writing exercise in which students reflect on values that are important to them Students are presented with a list of possible values Students select the ones most important to them Students write an essay describing why those values are important to them
Values Affirmation Exercise Please write down your top five values from the list above and rank them in order of importance. Spend the next 15 30 minutes writing about the two values that are most important to you. Write about why that value is important to you and when and how you experience this value in your life.
Values Affirmation Exercise To alleviate tunnel vision remind students that there are many aspects to their identities Student
Values Affirmation Exercise Friend Mentor Pianist Student Worker Runner
Thank You SEL for Formative Assessment by Davidson, S., Bates, L., McLean, C. and Lewis, K. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
