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3.3 Personal Reflection (Required to earn certificate)
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Posted by CUNY Mindset Initiative on July 3, 2024 at 7:23 pmđŹÂ Share your personal reflection:
How do we begin to explore the ways we can create a sense of belonging? We start with ourselves! Itâs always powerful to take a moment and put ourselves in the shoes of our students, because no matter how long ago it was, we were once them. We were once starting college or moving through it and taking courses for the first time or embarking on a certain major.
We invite you to reflect upon the following questions before moving to the other components of this module.
- What was your college experience like? In what ways did you feel like you belonged in the greater campus community? Who or what do you think was mainly responsible for that? If you didnât feel like you belonged, what do you think could have been supportive for you?
- Consider now, your proximity and relationship to the students you teach. What is their overall general college experience like? In what ways is it similar or different from your own? (Consider demands on their time, commuting versus living on-campus, and other key components of college life.)
- Finally, to what extent do you feel comfortable sharing your college experience with your students? What makes you comfortable or uncomfortable to do so?
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- When I was in college, I felt like I belonged in the greater campus community when I had some friends, companions, and when I had some interest groups in which we may learn, practice and move forward together. I had this kind of feeling particularly when I was in a writing workshop in which we reviewed each other’s works and made comments. Interaction with people and genuine conversations (written or verbal) would make me feel a sense of belonging.
- My students are commuting, and mostly are doing part-time jobs. They generally have lots of other things to do, in addition to their class. I feel my class is generally welcoming and my students are willing to talk to me about their concerns.
- I feel generally comfortable sharing my college experience with my students. I think this may make them feel more relieved and more included. I’ll try this next semester.
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Hi Weiheng – thanks for sharing. Your example of interest groups makes me think about the relationship between sense of belonging (S) and growth (G). Growing together with others builds sense of belonging… and a sense of belonging (including genuine conversation) helps with growth.
Something I’ve been wondering about is the practice of setting up student groups at the beginning of the semester. I haven’t tried this myself, but I’m curious about whether others have done so and any advice on this.
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Hi. Based on some of the readings I have been doing as part of these modules, I am seriously considering setting up peer pods this coming semester. I have tried in a bit half-hearted way doing this previously but I think I will try full on to see how it goes!
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Hi again – I was just reading this article, h/t Dr. Kevin Kolack @professork and brought me back to this thread! It’s interesting that based on this research the impact of peer groups on motivation has “tended to be ignored.”
“Five Keys to Motivating Students”
Pintrich notes that research on social goals âhighlights the importance of peer groups and interactions with other students as important contexts for the shaping and development of motivation, a context that has tended to be ignored . . .â (p. 675)
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- Overall, I didn’t feel like I belonged in the greater campus community. Perhaps this was in part due to being a first-generation student and feeling that (something which was probably far from true!) others had things more figured out, as in what college life was all about. I also didn’t engage in many extracurricular activities, at least not until my junior/senior year. It would have been supportive to have a greater variety of activities available along with courses that integrated extracurricular activities.
- I lived on campus and had a part-time job, but it was on campus and only for a few hours each week. My students all commute, and many of them have part-time or even full-time jobs, usually off campus.
- I sometimes share about my academic experience and things such as picking a major… but have not shared about my sense of belonging in college and more. I will think about ways to do that so as to support students through their own challenges.
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- During my college years, I felt a sense of belonging to the courses I was attending and my major, rather than the greater campus community. In my major (which included far fewer students than the other majors), there was a strong sense of community, with everyone helping and relying on each other for notes and materials. Even though I have always preferred to study and do my work in a solitary setting, sharing a path with other students and knowing we were there for each other helped me a lot. I had a very active life beyond college, with various volunteering activities, which I feel is the main reason why I never participated much in general campus activities. However, more events and efforts to reach out to students would have helped. When I started my graduate studies in New York, I struggled to feel like I belonged because I came from a foreign country where academia is very different, and it was a completely new world for me. I felt very self-conscious about my English and, in general, insecure about my own work because the methodologies used were very different from what I was familiar with. I think this experience helped me empathize a lot with first-generation students and those whose first language is not English.
- Teaching at CUNY has been a mind-opening experience. When I was in college, my only focus was studying for exams and pursuing my personal interests. Now, I know that most students have complicated lives; many of them have jobs and families to take care of, and I am aware that I cannot expect them to only focus on their schoolwork. This also makes me feel more responsible for motivating and supporting them.
- I realize now that I share my recent experiences (graduate studies, research abroad) with them, but I rarely talk about my college years or why I chose my major. Maybe I havenât done this as much because I feel my college experience is very different from their own, but Iâll think more about this and how sharing more could help them.
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During my time in college, I found the experience fulfilling and demanding. I had the chance to build strong and meaningful friendships while delving into new and complex academic subjects. The nursing college I enrolled in was relatively small and exclusively focused on nursing education. This created a close-knit community where I felt a deep sense of belonging. Our small class sizes allowed for great connections with like-minded peers, fostering effective collaboration when working on assignments.
The instructors at the college were authoritative yet respectful, and many of them demonstrated a passionate dedication to their teaching. Their mentorship and motivation played a pivotal role in guiding me toward success. As an educator, I have noticed that the dynamics with my students are more akin to a therapeutic adult-learner relationship. Most of my students are non-traditional, bringing valuable life experiences into the classroom. These experiences are not just helpful but integral to our learning community. However, it’s evident that the weight of their responsibilities, including work and family commitments, can lead to feelings of anxiety and stress.
Reflecting on my own college experience, I recognize notable differences from the experiences of my students. However, we all share the challenges and successes of the college journey. The learning environment was less competitive, offering more breathing room for personal interests and pursuits outside of academics. As a traditional student without additional responsibilities, I had the freedom to focus solely on my studies. Now as an instructor, I aim to share my experiences with students, offering motivation and coping strategies for navigating challenges. I believe that creating a sense of belonging and connection through shared experiences can greatly benefit my students.
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When I was in college, my initial sense of belonging came from my friends who I made outside of my major. When I became more involved in research and spent more time working in labs and interacting with my professors, I started to feel more of a connection to the school itself. My college experience, however, was very different from my students, who are mostly commuting far distances and balancing outside work. I have noticed a big difference in students’ sense of belonging in my first semester students compared to my advanced students. Many of my first semester students don’t interact much with one another, but my upper level students all know each other and spend time with each outside of class in campus activities. I can see that many of them are friends with one another.
I was in a college in which first year classes were mostly large lecture halls and I never interacted with my professors. They were effective at teaching subject matter but I definitely felt completely on my own and it never occurred to me to ever ask them for help. When I progressed in my major, classes became smaller and I got to know my professors much better. I now realize how having a good rapport with my professors really helped me feel more connected with the school itself.
In reading some of the other reflections and thinking about my own experience, I also like thinking that despite any differences in our backgrounds and experiences, we are all united in our shared goal of a successful college experience and the achievement of meaningful work. We are (were) in school for the same reason and those shared aspirations can bring us together and help us feel connected to one another.
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- What was your college experience like? In what ways did you feel like you belonged in the greater campus community? Who or what do you think was mainly responsible for that? If you didnât feel like you belonged, what do you think could have been supportive for you?
I went to a commuter school in Chicago, so didn’t live in the dorms. I didn’t really feel like I was part of the campus “community”. I tried to get involved in a few groups but I didn’t feel like I belonged at the social level. On the other hand, I felt very comfortable in my “belonging” from the academic sense. College was always part of the plan and I was well prepared for college academically, so I did not have any doubts about whether I belonged from that sense.
My students’ academic experience is vastly different. Many of them are first generation college students, English Language Learners, and under-prepared for college academically, or some combination of the three. They have a myriad of responsibilities related to working, caring for younger siblings, and economic obstacles such as insecure/crowded housing, food insecurity, transportation barriers, etc.
Further, I’m unclear on how well the students feel supported and valued by the actual college due to issues such as class cancellations, limited schedules, high proportion of adjuncts, lack of physical presence of faculty and staff, etc.
While my college experience was similar to my students’ in terms of being a commuter, our overall college experiences are quite different due to divergent SES backgrounds.
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My college experience looking back had some good and some not so good experiences along the way. The lesson learned is that as human beings, we are all going through something at some time in our lives. As a faculty member, it’s important to try to put your personal issues aside, when possible, to best help the students in their educational journey! I try my best to make students feel that their voices are heard, and their feelings are acknowledged.
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Well, I come from a troubled family, so I didn’t feel at peace anywhere, though I began to heal by joining I’d say rather bohemian communities. This began my healing. So, though I was still kind of a depressive, I think the community I was in was a good thing. I transferred in the middle of my college career to a more competitive school. There, I was intimidated because I believed most of the other students came from more well-to-do families and had better educations thus far, than I did. I overcame this by doing very well at this second school. I think that if there were as much conversation about mental health back then as there is now, I would have begun to heal faster.
Above, I described my anxious feelings, or feelings of displacement because I came form a middle class family and thought the other students I came to study with came from upper-middle-class families. So, I imagine that such issues are even stronger for our students, who are often first generation college students with considerable financial problems. Too many arrive with the question of whether they belong in a college atmosphere because of various messages they’ve gotten from society, schools and family about education and belonging. Certainly stressors and financial worries are a much larger concern for our students than they were for me. Also, they don’t have the same opportunities to socialize because of commutes and job hours.
I have often talked about my experiences, what stressed me out, what scared me, how I studied, but I believe I need to be more honest about the financial privilege that I’ve had. I talk a lot about my strange family, and how gaining emotional health over the years helps me believe very strongly in neuroplasticity and thus in their obvious potential, but I think it’s time to more publicly discuss the class differentials in the way we’re educated in the US. I believe this honesty will bring us closer, and we can work on building their confidence so they know they have the same potential as more monied students, and clearly they have more challenges.
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This is just my $0.02, but I am worried about comparing my (our) college experience to the typical student’s. For whatever reason, we here decided to make a life staying in the college environment. That suggests that the experience was positive enough that we didn’t want to ever leave. I wanted to do the reading and do well and learn. I am not sure my students typically share that.
Part of our challenge is to understand their experience and how it differs from ours and meet them in their place and help them learn despite the fact that their experience might be so different than mine.
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I spent most of my college career making theater on campus. Being heavily involved in a club made me feel a sense of ownership over my campus and my time. (Oddly enough the theater club and the theater department were not linked in any way, which meant I didnât feel as keen a sense of belonging in the department).
As a lecturer, I try to encourage students to join clubs and groups at BMCC, but I think most students not only work full or part time jobs, but also have roles as caregivers, and rarely have the time to participate in clubs.
That difference in my time and studentsâ lack of time makes me feel less comfortable sharing my college experience – because I realize how much more privilege I have, and feel like Iâll come across as âout of touch.â
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“What was your college experience like? In what ways did you feel like you belonged in the greater campus community? Who or what do you think was mainly responsible for that? If you didnât feel like you belonged, what do you think could have been supportive for you?”
I did not feel like a belonged when I started college. I lived off-campus and most of my classmates live on campus so they would eat together or spend time in the evenings, studying, etc. What I did, what hang in there to finished school – I reminded myself that the priority was to get a degree and honestly, this was the only window of time in my life that I could devote four continuous years to college.
Consider now, your proximity and relationship to the students you teach. What is their overall general college experience like? In what ways is it similar or different from your own? (Consider demands on their time, commuting versus living on-campus, and other key components of college life.)
Finally, to what extent do you feel comfortable sharing your college experience with your students? What makes you comfortable or uncomfortable to do so?TK
Finally, to what extent do you feel comfortable sharing your college experience with your students? What makes you comfortable or uncomfortable to do so?
TK
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-As a college student at CUNY I didnât feel like my instructors cared to build a community at all, and if I connected with anyone it was on me to make it happen. The instructors didnât mention community or even have us lean on each other in class. It was mostly on us to find ways of connecting.
-Our students are commuters and are not just hanging around campus where they can connect due to proximity. They have complex lives and are not the typical college students that we see in movies.
-Only share if itâs connected to what youâre discussing otherwise students can feel that you donât respect their time and itâs not worth it to come to class. Connect it to the content to make it worthwhile. -
I did my undergraduate degree at a private art school in a large city several hours away from where I grew up, thanks to generous need-based financial aid, some merit scholarship, college work-study jobs, and a more or less manageable student loan (it seemed daunting at the time). I had just turned 18, lived in a dorm for a few months then with roommates, knew no one in Chicago before moving there to study; almost everyone I met was a student or otherwise connected to the School. While in some ways, I was a fish out of water (small town girl in the big city; pursuing an interest distinctly different from the interests or professions of folks I knew of back home), the experience was so immersive that I do think it fostered belonging. There is a great deal about my college experience that differs from most of my students’, so I don’t find opportunities to share much about it, though I do connect with them as first in my family to finish a bachelor’s degree. The vast majority of my students live in the homes/with families they grew up with, can’t begin to imagine how an entry-level job will pay NYC-area rents, and work outside of home/school at jobs in restaurants, retail stores, delivery services, warehouses, gig-economy jobs. I try to be mindful not to overshare, to be judicious, out of concern for actually deepening the generation gap between us — I’ve heard students complain more than once about instructors waxing nostalgic for their good old days … who wants to hear that?
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The college experience has changed over the years – one aspect/difference is the modality of instruction. At least for me, none of my courses were online or hybrid.
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At all stages of my college career, I permanently joined a group. I needed to belong to a small group with whom I could share ideas and study. I thought we all benefited from it, and we all did. After joining a small group of classmates, I would try to connect with other students. A new classmate I met would connect me with others. It was a way to be aware of the university’s opportunities.
For my community college students, it’s different. Many of the students rush out of the classroom because they are on their way to work or must pick up their children or siblings. I love it when I see the students working in groups in the library or when they participate in the cultural events we offer.
Occasionally, I tell my students about my college experience, mentioning what worked for me. I tell them that they should form study groups and the advantages it has. For pair or group work during class, they must work with different partners to get to know each other.
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I have rarely felt comfortable in social spaces and college was no exception. I had to force myself to talk to people the first two weeks of college because I decided it would be a long and miserable four years if I did not get to know people. That was a hugely important decision on my part. In doing that, I did meet people, some of whom I am still friends with thirty years later.
I also had some faculty members who were very good at building community. My favorite instructor, and still the best pedagogue I have met, made everyone go around and name everyone else in the class every day until we all knew each other’s names. He also required that after we spoke in class discussions that we call on the next person to speak. It made for a student-centered classroom, a collegial setting, and it ensured that I knew my peers.
I do try to engage my students in similar ways, although that instructor’s approaches do not work with New York students, who refuse, in many cases, to learn anyone’s name–although I have seen more and more students start to ask other students their names when they want to refer to their previous statements in class (I tell them they are graded on participation, but most particularly on whether they engage with one another, enter into dialogue, rather than just talking). When they engage each other’s ideas, even if they disagree, they seem to be intent on acknowledging one another, and from there, knowing each other’s names.
I regularly tell my college-era experiences to my students, emphasizing my mistakes, my confusions, my revelations (usually following misunderstandings or mistakes), and I tell them about the teachers who helped me come along and learn and feel a part of something. Basically, I am the fall-guy in all of my college stories, never the hero. After all, I think that is how most of us feel in the moment.
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I was the first-generation immigrant college student, trying to navigate college, and working towards a degree was quite challenging. I share the sentiment with @Casandra; I thought everyone had it figured out except me. This especially became apparent when I took writing intensive courses, where I really struggled to communicate and express myself as an ESL student. During that time, I had low-self-confidence due to lack of support and uncertainty about my progress. I wished I received guidance on how strengthen my communication and writing besides going to the tutoring center. Â However, I was still able to experience a sense of belonging on a greater campus level. I was privileged to major in a discipline that had a small cohort. This allowed me to take classes with the same students for two years, where I was able to form a strong sense of belonging. In addition, I joined student clubs that aligned with my interests which predominately contributed to my sense of belonging.
I can relate to the majority of my students since they come from an immigrant background. However, there are many aspects I can only sympathize with. The demographics of my students are adult learners, full-time workers who support families. These responsibilities in combination with their background can impact their success and performance. This is why, it is essential to provide tools and support to students, to aid them on their academic and personal journey. I think by sharing my college experience briefly with my students can create a safe space and open pathways for communication.
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