Classroom Connectedness Research Articles

The Impact of the Power of NursingTM on Classroom Connectedness.

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic brought awareness to the benefits of creating cultures of belonging and connection in academic and professional settings. The Power of NursingTM (PON), a transformative course focusing on shared experiences, permits the exploration of classroom connectedness from a unique interpersonal perspective where teachers and students meet as equals. The purpose of this study is to measure senior-level nursing students' perceived connectedness following a 5-week PON program. Undergraduate senior-level nursing students' perceived connectedness was measured using the Connected Classroom Climate Inventory. Additionally, a qualitative thematic analysis was applied to responses post-course. Results indicated a significant difference in students' perceived connectedness scores, while thematic analysis supported this finding with key themes of generous nonjudgmental listening, vulnerability, sharing experiences, and a want for connection enhancing meaningful learning. The PON provides an excellent platform for cultivating connections with peers and mentors. Students can effectively utilize the insight gained from this course to form and build meaningful connections with their future patients. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(X):XXX-XXX.].

ÜNİVERSİTE ÖĞRENCİLERİNİN PSİKOLOJİK SERMAYE SINIF BAĞLILIĞI VE OKULA YABANCILAŞMALARI ÜZERİNE NİTEL BİR İNCELEME

In this research, it is aimed to analyze the psychological capital, class connectedness and alienation of university students according to the views of students and instructors. According to the findings of the research conducted with the qualitative method, some of the factors that reduce the psychological capital of the students are; their concerns about the future, employment problems, and not knowing their profession. Some of the factors that increase their psychological capital are; students' positive future expectations, high motivation, self-confidence, physical endurance, communication power. According to the participants, some of the factors that reduce students' class connectedness are experiencing grouping, being closed to communication, finding people insincere, lack of joint activity; Some of the factors that increase students' classroom connectedness are being in different social environments, the effect of team sports, being friendly and learning from each other. According to the participants, some of the factors that reduce students' alienation from school are the belief in the benefits of the lessons, the equipment of the university, the management-instructor-student relationship; Some of the factors that increase the alienation of students from school are not choosing the department voluntarily, the location of the faculty to the campus, and the scarcity of social areas.

An Analysis of the Relationship Among Psychological Capital, Classroom Connectedness and School Alienation of University Students

Çalışmanın amacı üniversite öğrencilerinin psikolojik sermaye, sınıf bağlılığı ve okula yabancılaşma algıları arasındaki ilişkileri incelemektir. Nicel yöntem ile yapılan bu çalışma tarama modeliyle desenlenmiştir. Tabakalı seçkisiz örnekleme yöntemi kullanılarak İnönü Üniversitesinde öğrenim gören 1.278 üniversite öğrencisinden “Öğrenci Yabancılaşma Ölçeği”, “Sınıf Bağlılık Ölçeği” ve “Psikolojik Sermaye Algıları Ölçeği” ile veri toplanmıştır. Öğrencilerin psikolojik sermaye algıları ile okula yabancılaşma algıları arasında ve sınıf bağlılıkları ile okula yabancılaşma algıları arasında negatif yönlü; öğrencilerin psikolojik sermaye algıları ile sınıf bağlılıkları arasında ise pozitif yönlü ilişkiler belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca sınıf bağlılığının, psikolojik sermaye ve okula yabancılaşma arasındaki ilişkide kısmi aracılık rolü olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Sonuç olarak psikolojik sermayenin hem doğrudan hem de sınıf bağlılığı aracılığı ile dolaylı olarak okula yabancılaşma algılarını etkilediği tespit edilmiştir. Psikolojik sermaye ve sınıf bağlılığı değişkenlerinin birlikte okula yabancılaşma değişkenindeki varyansın yaklaşık %14’ünü açıkladıkları belirlenmiştir. Öğrencilerin psikolojik sermayelerini ve sınıf bağlılıklarını artırmanın onların okula yabancılaşmalarının azalmasına katkıda bulunacağı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.

Correlates of peer classroom connectedness among undergraduate women in STEM

AbstractWomen are underrepresented in physical science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (pSTEM) at the undergraduate level and beyond, and there is mounting evidence that such disparities are driven by cultural and environmental influences. This study explored one underresearched environmental context—perceptions of peer connectedness within the STEM classroom—and its concurrent and longitudinal relations with outcomes of importance for undergraduate women in pSTEM, including academic major self‐efficacy, belongingness in their major, belongingness at the university, STEM interests, and course grade. First‐ and second‐year women (N = 258) who were interested in majoring in a pSTEM field self‐selected to participate in a longitudinal study across two semesters. Students' perceptions of peer connectedness in their STEM classroom had positive concurrent and longitudinal relations with academic self‐efficacy, major belonging, and university belonging (but not interest in STEM or course grade). In longitudinal analyses that controlled for earlier levels of the outcome variables, perceived peer connectedness in the classroom was also associated with greater feelings of belonging in the major the following semester, but not with self‐efficacy, university belonging, or STEM interest. These results suggest that, by fostering connections among students in the classroom, instructors may be able to increase women STEM students' broader sense of belonging within their majors.

How to deepen college students' approach to using technologies in T‐O‐IBL? Examining the mediating influence of deep approaches to using technologies between learning factors and higher order thinking skills

AbstractBackgroundInquiry‐based learning is a salient instructional approach to cultivate students' higher order thinking skills (HOTS). With the presence and advancement of new technologies, their usage for inquiry learning in university context is increasingly ubiquitous. However, in most circumstances, college students cannot integrate technologies to their inquiry learning in efficient ways or their abilities to use technologies are not good enough. Previous studies found that intrinsic motivation (IM), peer interaction (PI) and classroom connectedness (CC) were key factors to influence students' approaches to using technologies from the personal, behavioural and environmental perspectives.ObjectivesThis study investigated the influence of these three essential learning factors (IM, PI and CC) on students' HOTS and the mediate influence of deep approach to using technologies (DAUT) between these learning factors and HOTS in the technology‐enhanced open inquiry‐based learning context.MethodsA questionnaire was administered to 80 university students who had studied with the technology‐enhanced open inquiry‐based learning approach. The partial least squares method was employed to investigate the relationships among learning factors, DAUT and HOTS.Results and ConclusionsResults showed that CC and PI were positively directly related to HOTS. DAUT was a significant mediator between two (i.e., IM and PI) of the three learning factors and HOTS. The findings of the study have practical implications for instructors, indicating that they should pay attention to students' IM and PI in deepening their approach to using technologies as well as to improve students' HOTS in technology‐enhanced open inquiry‐based learning.

Linking Teacher Injustice, Conscientiousness, and Academic Dishonesty via Classroom Connectedness: A Moderated-Mediation Model

This study extends the general understanding of the antecedents of academic dishonesty by examining what can happen when students are treated unjustly by teachers, a phenomenon referred to as teacher injustice. Based on Conservation of Resources theory (CoRT), the study investigates the mediating role of classroom connectedness and the moderating role of trait conscientiousness in the teacher injustice–academic dishonesty relationship. Self-report data were collected in three waves from Pakistani secondary school students to test the moderated-mediation model. Findings demonstrate that teacher injustice is positively related to academic dishonesty through classroom connectedness and that conscientiousness buffers the negative effects of teacher injustice on classroom connectedness. Given the results, this study suggests certain potentially effective measures to educational institutions to control the incidence of teacher injustice and cultivate conscientiousness in students. It also hopes to inspire future research, and advance education management theory and practice.

Connectedness within the Statistics Classroom

Background Statistics courses are a necessary component of undergraduate education, but psychology majors often have negative associations with statistics. One way to promote learning within classrooms is to promote classroom connectedness, but few studies have examined classroom connectedness using a social network paradigm. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the degree of connectivity within the lab component of a statistics course, and test if the networks were associated with psychological constructs related to academic success, specifically, grit and resilience. Method Using descriptive network analysis and exponential random graph models (ERGMs), we examined the level of connectedness in statistics labs and whether or not students were likely to connect with each other based on sharing similar levels of grit and resilience. Results Results suggested an overall low degree of connectivity within each lab. However, in the most well-connected lab, students were more likely to connect with other students who had a dissimilar level of grit, but a similar level of resilience. Conclusion There is high variability between different student networks, although all networks were sparse. Future research could further examine the connection between student connectedness, grit and/or resilience, and how these could connect to student outcomes. Teaching implications fostering classroom connectedness could improve student learning outcomes.

Student Learning: The Influence of Instructor and Student Confirmation, Classroom Connectedness, and Self-Efficacy

Previous research demonstrated the importance of a healthy instructional environment characterized by institutional support and positivity for student learning. Furthermore, classroom climate is impacted by the qualities of the students and the other individuals in the classroom. Accordingly, the goal of this article was to investigate the independent and collective influence of instructor and student confirmation (i.e., communication of value and significance), classroom connectedness (i.e., perceptions of support and cooperation), and self-efficacy (i.e., beliefs about personal capabilities) on student learning. Three hundred and fifty-five students provided responses to measures of instructor confirmation, student confirmation, classroom connectedness, self-efficacy, and learning. Results indicated that classroom connectedness mediated the associations between instructor and student confirmation, and learning. In addition, self-efficacy moderated the association between classroom connectedness and learning.

Teacher Care and Students’ Sense of Connectedness in the Urban Mathematics Classroom

This multimethod study draws on theories of teacher care, dispositions, and culturally relevant pedagogy to examine how 12 urban mathematics teachers’ perceptions of their own care practices align with their Black and Latinx students’ (n= 321) sense of connectedness in the mathematics classroom. A qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with the teachers established three typologies of care:empathetic,transactional, andblended. A questionnaire measure of mathematics classroom connectedness revealed that students in classrooms led by teachers who enacted an empathetic caring pedagogy were more likely to agree that their teachers provided emotional support, their classroom felt like a family, and their contributions were valued in class. Furthermore, students’ sense of classroom connectedness mediated the link between teacher care and the students’ perceived value and relevance of mathematics.

The role of classroom relationships as sources of academic resilience and hope

ABSTRACT Framed by relationships motivation theory, this study examined students’ interpersonal relationships with instructors and peers as potential sources of support that would inspire academic resilience and hope in the face of an academic challenge. Participants (N = 213) reported on a specific academic challenge they had experienced within the first 10 weeks of class, and reported on instructor rapport, classroom connectedness, academic resilience, and hope. Results revealed that when both instructor and peer relationships were considered together, only peer connectedness was significantly and positively associated with academic resilience and student hope when faced with an academic challenge.

Investigating the impact of university students’ smartphone addiction on their satisfaction with classroom connectedness

This survey study was designed to examine Pakistani university students’ addiction levels of their smartphone use and to investigate the impact of smartphone addiction on their satisfaction with classroom connectedness. The data were gathered from 438 students at two universities. The participants came from both genders (258 male and 160 female) and included both undergraduate and graduate students. The findings of this study indicated that university students were highly addicted to the use of smartphones. The findings suggested significant differences in the levels of students’ addiction to smartphones between undergraduate and graduate students. However, this study did not reveal significant differences in the students’ addiction levels to the smartphones in respect of their gender or the academic disciplines they study. The simple linear regression analysis showed that smartphone addiction has a negative impact on the students’ satisfaction with classroom connectedness. The results suggest that students’ addiction to the smartphone prevents firm student-to-student connections in the class. Furthermore, smartphone addiction negatively affects the establishment of a cooperative and supportive learning environment. The findings of this research offer some significant implications for both researchers and practitioners in the field.

Effects Of A Situated Environment On Classroom Community, Connectedness, And Learning In Exercise Science Students

Effects Of A Situated Environment On Classroom Community, Connectedness, And Learning In Exercise Science Students

Gender and Student Participation

Active class participation has been associated with student engagement and can be an important aspect of a successful learning experience in college classrooms. Several factors influence student participation including classroom dynamics (such as classroom connectedness, instructor-student rapport) and individual characteristics (such as biological sex and psychological gender). With respect to individual characteristics, previous research has evaluated sex differences in participation and has yielded inconsistent findings. The present study investigated the relationship between psychological gender and student participation both in- and out-of-class. Classroom connectedness and professor-student rapport were assessed as possible moderating factors. Results indicated that masculinity and androgyny were associated with more in-class participation while femininity and androgyny were associated with student professor interaction outside of class. While both classroom connectedness and instructor-student rapport were correlated with student participation, there was no evidence of them moderating the relationship between gender and participation. Professor gender type was not associated with student participation. Implications for college classrooms and higher education are discussed.

School context and subjective distress: The influence of teacher justice and school-specific well-being on adolescents’ psychological health

Notwithstanding the large consensus on the idea that justice should be favoured in school contexts to promote student well-being, there is still a lack of research that has investigated how the experience of justice at school spreads impact on global adolescent psychological health. The aim of this study is to investigate the degree to which the experience of teacher (in)justice is possibly related to some of the indicators of adolescent global psychological health, namely individual and social functioning, psychological problems, and somatic symptoms. We also test the role of two components of school-specific well-being, i.e., emotional engagement and classroom connectedness, here considered as potential mediators between teacher justice and psychological health. Structural equation modelling indicated that teacher justice is positively associated with emotional engagement, classroom connectedness and individual functioning, and negatively related to psychological problems. The relation from teacher justice to individual functioning was partially mediated by emotional engagement and classroom connectedness. The relation from teacher justice to social functioning and somatic symptoms was fully mediated by classroom connectedness, while a partial mediation was found between teacher justice and psychological problems via classroom connectedness. These results are commented at the light of their implications for teacher practices.

Student-to-student confirmation in the college classroom: the development and validation of the Student-to-Student Confirmation Scale

ABSTRACTThree studies were conducted to generate a valid and reliable instrument to measure student-to-student confirmation. Study One (N = 396) sought to establish a factor structure based on previous research. Study Two (N = 396) sought to confirm this factor structure and assess criterion-related validity. Study Three (N = 283) sought to assess construct (i.e., convergent and discriminant) validity, as well as to provide further confirmation of the factor structure. Consistent with previous research on the construct, the Student-to-Student Confirmation Scale developed in this study consists of three factors: acknowledgement, assistance, and individual attention. In support of the scale’s validity, these factors are positively related to classroom connectedness, affect for course content and instructor, perceived cognitive learning, state motivation, and academic self-efficacy. Further, student-to-student confirmation is related to, and distinct from, student academic support.

The Online Student Connectedness Survey: Evidence of Initial Construct Validity

<p class="3">The Online Student Connectedness Survey (OSCS) was introduced to the academic community in 2012 as an instrument designed to measure feelings of connectedness between students participating in online degree and certification programs. The purpose of this study was to examine data from the instrument for initial evidence of validity and reliability and to establish a nomological network between the OSCS, the Classroom Connectedness Survey (CCS), and the Community of Inquiry Survey (COI), which are similar instruments in the field. Results provided evidence of factor validity and reliability. Additionally, statistically and practically significant correlations were demonstrated between factors contained in the OSCS and established instruments measuring factors related to student connectedness. These results indicate that for the sample used in this study, the OSCS provides data that are valid and reliable for assessing feelings of connection between participants in online courses at institutions of higher learning.</p>

The efficacy of a relationship building intervention in 5th grade

The present study reports initial efficacy data for a new school-based intervention – the Relationship Building Intervention (RBI) – that includes a series of teacher-facilitated, structured activities designed to promote positive peer relationships and inclusive classroom communities. The RBI was evaluated in fifth-grade classrooms by estimating multilevel model (MLM) analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) comparing 368 fifth-grade students in intervention classrooms with 259 fifth-graders in control classrooms on social behaviors, perceptions of classroom connectedness, and academic performance. Controlling for pretest scores, cohort, and demographic variables, findings revealed that students who participated in the RBI liked school more, felt a greater sense of classroom identification and inclusion, were perceived by teachers to be less aggressive, and performed better academically than students who were in control classrooms. Further, implementation data showed that students and teachers responded positively to the activities. These results suggest that the RBI is a promising approach for improving the social and learning environment in fifth-grade classrooms.

Are International Students Quiet in Class? The Influence of Teacher Confirmation on Classroom Apprehension and Willingness to Talk in Class

This study investigated the influence of teacher confirmation (TC) on classroom apprehension (CCA) and willingness to talk in class (WTT) among international students in the United States. The participants (N=121) completed a battery of self-report instruments online. Results confirmed a path model that TC positively predicts classroom connectedness, which in turn, positively influences self-perceived language competence, which subsequently reduces CCA and increases WTT. The influences of length of stay in the U.S. and class size were controlled in the model, while culture of origin and class type did not influence CCA and WTT. Implications of these findings were further discussed.

Does being on Facebook make me (feel) accepted in the classroom? The relationships between early adolescents' Facebook usage, classroom peer acceptance and self-concept

The present study aimed to explore the relationships between classroom peer relations, self-concept, and the use of social networking sites in early adolescents. The differences between Facebook users and non-users in their (teacher-assessed and sociometric) classroom peer acceptance and the peer relations, academic and global self-concept were investigated. In addition, the incremental predictive power of students' Facebook usage indicators for their peer relations self-concept beyond their actual classroom acceptance was tested, as well as the moderating role of early adolescents' gender classroom peer acceptance in the relation between Facebook usage and peer relations self-concept. 404 early adolescents (47.3% males; 82.9% Facebook users) participated in the study. No differences were found between users and non-users in their social preference, teacher-assessed peer acceptance, and academic and general self-concept. However, Facebook users reported significantly higher peer relations self-concept. No significant differences were found between Facebook users classified in different sociometric groups. Measures of Facebook usage explained incremental variance in peer-relation self-concept beyond classroom peer acceptance measures. In addition, a significant interaction effect between emotional connectedness to Facebook and gender was found; being highly emotionally connected to Facebook was beneficial only for girls’ peer relations self-concept. These results shed light on commonalities and differences in Facebook and classroom connectedness.

Student Civility in the College Classroom: Exploring Student Use and Effects of Classroom Citizenship Behavior

The purpose of this investigation was to identify the types of citizenship behavior students use in the college classroom, and to examine the link between their use of citizenship behavior and their perceptions of classroom climate, interest, and self-reports of learning outcomes. Participants were 416 undergraduate students enrolled at a large Mid-Atlantic university. Three findings were obtained. First, participants use three types of citizenship behavior: involvement, affiliation, and courtesy. Second, involvement and courtesy are related positively to classroom climate, classroom connectedness, instructor rapport, emotional interest, and cognitive interest, whereas affiliation is related positively to classroom climate, classroom connectedness, instructor rapport, and emotional interest. Third, involvement and courtesy are related positively to three dimensions of affective learning, perceived cognitive learning, state motivation, and communication satisfaction, whereas affiliation is related positively to one dimension of affective learning, perceived cognitive learning, state motivation, and communication satisfaction.