This article focuses on group work principles to emphasize the importance of collaboration and community as an effective pedagogical approach to teaching in online higher education. Online communities can serve as support groups by bringing together people going through the shared experience of higher education and providing the opportunity for…

As colleges moved to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, many instructors found it difficult to maintain student engagement and classroom community in the virtual environment. We developed a semester-long activity for a molecular biology research methodology course where students created, and shared original memes related to course…

Technology has expanded the landscape of higher education. The ability to learn almost anything from anywhere at any time has impacted educational attainment, particularly for those who lacked access in the past. Many who enter the virtual classroom, however, do not stay. Completion rates for online learning fall short, especially when compared to…

Beginning in the summer of 2019, the College of St. Scholastica endeavored to build a flexible, adaptable EdD program grounded in the guiding principles of CPED. This meant establishing a welcoming and safe program dedicated to cultivating justice-minded change makers. It also meant constructing a curriculum that would accommodate differing…

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in changes to higher education, including how campus spaces are used and defined. Institutional pivots to meet health and safety protections impacted the way we think about public and private spaces in lasting ways. The end of the acute emergency presents an opportunity for colleges and universities to reflect about…

This brief is rooted in the purpose and findings of a qualitative study that explored the experiences and perspectives of African-American/Black community college students in asynchronous online learning environments. A growing number of African-American/Black students are enrolling in California community colleges and online courses. However,…

The growth in online education has prompted a focus on ensuring students are engaged, persistent, and successful in their studies. A recognized challenge with online learning is developing a community of learners, where students feel connected to their peers and instructor and experience a sense of belonging. In this article, we highlight using…

This essay shares experiences related to graduate student well-being in the transition from face-to-face to virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and amid global social unrest. The unexpected and rapid changes due to the preventive measures taken created challenges for both educators and students in the middle of the Spring 2020 semester.…

Building community in online EdD programs can be a challenge, and the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of doing so. In this essay, we will situate community building within the larger Community of Inquiry framework and focus on the element of social presence. By understanding more about the various aspects of social presence,…

Belonging, or the feeling of being a valued member of a community, has been linked to numerous positive outcomes in higher education. Although creating a sense of belonging at the campus level is important, equally important is fostering belonging in the classroom. Research has shown that belonging is more likely to occur in classes where students…

Among many consequences of the pandemic was an abrupt switch to virtual instruction coupled with feelings of isolation around mandated lockdowns. This situation pushed us to humanize our mathematics classes in ways we had not done previously. Our takeaway from this experience is that community building must be done intentionally and actively. The…

The COVID-19 pandemic has created not only an unprecedented public health crisis but also significant challenges for educators and educational institutions. In response, professionals must reassess current restrictions on assembly and mobility as well as imagine new means for meeting goals. All familiar educational routines--for example, meeting…

This article invites scholars of teaching and learning in higher education to consider the ways in which instructors can use practices of inviting inclusion to create an environment in which students can feel -- and be -- included in online classrooms, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the analogy of a "block…

In this article the authors describe a professional learning initiative focused on joyful teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and the techniques that were used to foster a culture of belonging. The authors utilize an integrative framework for understanding, cultivating, and assessing belongingness to suggest implications for…

The purpose of this paper is to consider new possibilities for higher education, where the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provide a framework for creating digital and physical environments that honor every learner's unique lived experiences and support the expectations of learners for their individual life goals. Each learner…