-
Building Belonging: 5 Tips to Boost Student Engagement and Success in Mason Core Courses
- Mason Core Assessment
- Mason Core Instructor Certification Program
- Faculty Resources
|
|
|
Building Belonging: 5 Tips to Boost Student Engagement and Success in Mason Core Courses |
As the semester begins, we encourage you to consider new ways to increase student success in your Mason Core courses through building student belonging. When students feel seen, valued, and connected in their courses, they’re more likely to persist, perform, and thrive.
In Mason Core courses, which serve as foundational experiences for all undergraduates, fostering belonging can have a ripple effect across a student’s entire academic journey.
Research shows that students who feel a sense of belonging are more likely to:
- Stay enrolled through their first year
- Have higher GPAs and graduation rates
- Report greater satisfaction with their college experience
Creating inclusive, engaging environments in Mason Core courses can directly support George Mason’s goals for student success.
|
5 Tips to Boost Belonging |
-
Collect Personalized Information: Send out a survey at the beginning of the course to collect information about students, their familiarity with the course material, and their interests, and refer back to this when communicating with individual students.
-
Use Check-in Surveys: Quick, anonymous check-ins about the course and material throughout the semester can gauge understanding and foster engagement.
-
Cultivate a Growth Mindset: Openly endorse effort and hard work, and scaffold larger assignments with low stakes assignments graded on completion/participation to develop students’ confidence.
-
Highlight Diverse Voices: Integrate authors, examples, and case studies from varied backgrounds, and avoid stereotyping a specific type of student who “belongs” within your discipline.
- Create Micro-Communities: Use breakout groups, discussion boards, or study groups to build peer connections, encouraging students to connect outside of class time.
|
- Learn & Use Names: As much as possible, learn student names to increase a sense of belonging in the classroom and encourage greater interaction.
- Invite Student Input: Let students co-create discussion topics or choose readings.
-
Share Your Story: As you are comfortable, share your own experience and personal journey to encourage openness and connection.
- Model Inclusive Dialogue: Set norms for respectful, curious conversation that allow for a variety of viewpoints.
-
Follow Up Personally: Reach out directly to students who miss class or seem disengaged.
|
Increasing student belonging begins with small, intentional choices. Whether you're teaching a course with 100 students or 15, these tips can help every student feel like they belong at George Mason. We encourage you to incorporate one or more of these ideas into your course this term!
|
|
|
Global History, Natural Science, and Writing Intensive: Submissions Due May 11
|
Continuing this semester, we will be collecting student artifacts for the following categories: Global History, Natural Science, and Writing Intensive. We appreciate your ongoing commitment to Mason Core, and the data we receive from the assessment process helps to further refine Mason Core to better serve our students. If you are teaching a course in any of these categories, please plan to participate.
There will be information sessions for each category in February. The meeting information, including Zoom links, will be sent out by January 30 from Chris Lee, Associate Director of Institutional Effectiveness. Instructors of all levels are expected to participate in assessment.
|
Next Category: Global Contexts |
In Fall 2026, we will begin collecting student artifacts for Global Contexts. To support our collection efforts and ensure that submitted materials adequately address the learning outcomes, we will be holding pre-assessment workshops later this semester. We will share specific information with Global Contexts instructors soon.
|
|
|
Mason Core Instructor Certification Program |
|
|
The Mason Core Instructor Certification Program (MC-ICP) focuses on the strategies necessary for teaching non-majors and ensuring student success as part of Mason Core. MC-ICP is open to all George Mason University instructors who have taught one or more Mason Core courses in the past two years.
All instructors who complete the program will receive a special email signature-file recognition icon. In addition, their academic unit leaders will be notified directly of their achievements.
|
|
|
|
We’ll be sending out another email soon with upcoming session details.
Keep an eye on your inbox!
|
|
|
Revising a course or developing something new for Mason Core consideration? We recommend faculty review our course development and proposal resources available on our website.
|
|
|
Manage your preferences | Opt Out using TrueRemove™
Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.
View this email online.
|
4400 University Drive | Fairfax, VA 22030 US
|
|
|
This email was sent to .
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.
|
|
|
|
