Given the robust nature of learning sciences research, this website is best viewed on tablets and computers. A small screen experience is coming in the future.
On June 22, 2021, we will launch updated strategies for the Math PK-2 model, as well as additional updates to the Navigator that highlight equity, SEL, and culturally responsive teaching. To learn more, visit our Site Updates (available in the "About" menu at the top of any page).
Hover to see how factors connect to Sense of Belonging. Then click connected factors to explore strategies related to multiple factors.
A Sense of Belonging allows us to feel included, respected, and supported in school. It is heavily tied to our own Identities, supports the development of a positive Identity, and is context- and culture-dependent. School settings have the potential to be a supportive environment, fostering positive Identity development; however, they can also be a source of adversity when trust and belonging are not established, which can be particularly true for students from historically and systematically excluded groups. As students get older, those who feel a stronger Sense of Belonging in school typically have greater self-efficacy and academic success.
Belongingness is the extent to which students feel personally valued, included, and supported by others in their learning environment. In U.S. society, White people typically develop an internalized and mostly unconscious sense of racial belonging through exposure and experiences. However, members of historically and systematically excluded groups may feel uncertain about the quality of their social bonds in academic settings. Students' lack of school Belonging is rooted in structural policies which privilege certain values and norms while devaluing the cultural wealth and funds of knowledge that other students possess. In addition, students with learning disabilities may be at higher risk of feeling isolated, especially if students are tracked into separate classrooms or pulled out of the classroom for specialized instruction or services. And young students who have yet to be diagnosed or identified as having ADHD may present as having “behavior” issues, putting them at risk of being isolated from their peers. Fostering a Sense of Belonging in students in the early years is critical: students who feel a Sense of Belonging are much more likely to feel happy in school and motivated to engage in class, and therefore are more likely to excel academically.
Many factors can affect a student's Sense of Belonging including: availability of positive representation or role models, an environment free from discrimination and stereotyping, teaching practices that create an inclusive class environment and curriculum, a feeling of Safety at school, support for students with disabilities, and a student's own geographic stability.
One potential barrier to fostering Belongingness is the fact that expectations and implicit biases can affect educators' perceptions of even young students' behaviors, ultimately leading to differential expectations and differential treatment, including increased suspension rates (see also Stereotype Threat). Students with ADHD and learning disabilities also often face the additional barrier of struggling to understand what's known as the “hidden curriculum,” or the unspoken expectations of behavior, social norms, and expected shared understanding of how classrooms work, which can threaten their Sense of Belonging. Research suggests that teachers have a unique opportunity to promote Belongingness, because teacher support is one of the strongest predictors of learners' Sense of Belonging. Specifically, when students feel respected, valued, and treated fairly by their teachers, they report a higher Sense of Belonging. Culturally-responsive teaching practices can help all students feel respected and valued in the classroom, including validating students' varied Background Knowledge and lived experiences, Identities, and ways of knowing.
Creating visual representations such as drawings, diagrams, graphs, and concept maps, whether student or teacher-generated, can help students process abstract concepts, enhancing understanding and retention of information.
Project-based learning (PBL) actively engages learners in authentic tasks designed to create products or design solutions that answer a given question or solve a problem.
Encouraging young children to draw and to explain their drawings in the classroom, can support the development of Core Academic Literacies.
Visiting places connected to classroom learning provides opportunities to add relevance to classroom topics and deepen understanding through firsthand experiences.
Free choice is when children have free or limited choice over their activities as they learn, and is child-directed rather than teacher-directed.
Flexible grouping is a classroom practice that temporarily places students together in given groups to work together, with the purpose of achieving a given learning goal or activity.
As learners work together to solve problems, they learn new strategies and practice Communication skills as they express their academic thinking.
Think-Pair-Share (TPS), also known as Turn & Talk (T&T), is when the teacher pauses instruction so students can discuss a topic or prompt in pairs or small groups, to enhance engagement, language development, and learning outcomes.
Read-alouds are an important part of developing young learners' foundational reading skills, and can occur both in the classroom and at home with the family, supporting the development of a strong Home Learning Environment.
A strengths-based approach is one where educators intentionally identify, communicate, and harness students' assets, across many aspects of the whole child, in order to empower them to flourish.
Communication boards are displays of graphics (e.g., pictures, symbols, illustrations) and/or words where learners can gesture, touch, or point to the displays to extend their expressive language potential.
Music and dance supports young learners in a myriad of ways, including supporting their engagement and motivation, connecting with cultural background, and offering structure during play.
Discussing emotions with children consists of supporting their ability to identify, label, and manage their feelings.
Self-advocacy is the ability of an individual to understand and effectively express and assert their own rights, needs, desires, and interests.
Providing students a voice in their learning is critical for making learning meaningful.
Culturally responsive texts include those that reflect different facets of students' identities, including race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic, and disability status, as well as the intersections of those identities.
Developing cultural awareness as an educator is an ongoing process that includes a recognition and appreciation for the full diversity of students and an understanding of how one's own Identity intersects with students' identities.
Equitable grading systems and practices reimagine how to communicate student progress and mastery through various methods that reduce subjectivity and increase opportunities to learn.
Discussing race with students can range from conversations on cultural celebration (e.g., celebrating the importance of diversity) to developing critical consciousness (e.g., understanding the impact of social inequities like racism and how to dismantle it).
Learning about students' cultures and connecting them to instructional practices helps foster a Sense of Belonging, increase positive student Identity development, and mitigate Stereotype Threat.
Family engagement happens when educators and schools collaborate with families to collectively support their child's learning in meaningful ways, both at school and at home.
Translanguaging is a flexible classroom practice enabling students to listen, speak, read, and write across their multiple languages or dialects, even if the teacher does not have formal knowledge of these additional languages.
A first step to supporting learners is truly understanding who they are.
Checking in with learners, or taking the time to talk with individual learners about their experiences or goals, is important for fostering a positive classroom environment.
Shadowing a student involves an educator, administrator, or designated adult observing a learner across different parts of their day to deepen their understanding of that learner's experience beyond their classroom.
Respectful redirection, or error correction, outlines a clear and concise way that educators can provide feedback on behaviors that need immediate correction, in a positive manner.
Developing empathy in educators and in learners is an iterative process that requires taking the time to understand and honor others' perspectives.
Interactive writing activities for young learners can include cooperative activities to practice their foundational writing skills and can support engagement with content knowledge as they write and draw to reflect upon what they have learned.
Retrieval practice requires students to access information, or get information “out” from Long-term memory in order to support better retention and understanding.
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This is our homepage. You can access many of the features of the Navigator here, and learn more about how learner variability intersects with topics in education and learning. To start, select a content area – we call them Learner Models – to visit a factor map.
Factor maps show research-based concepts, "factors," that likely impact learning. They are organized into four categories: Learner Background, Social and Emotional Learning, Cognition, and Content Area. The map is interactive. Move your cursor over a factor to see connected factors. Select any factor to visit its summary page. We'll look at factor summary pages next.
This is a factor summary page. It provides a brief definition and review of the factor, a factor connections diagram, additional resources, and strategies that support this factor. On the strategy card, the multi-colored boxes show all the factors that it supports. Select a strategy to visit its summary page.
Strategy summary pages have an overview, information about using the strategy in different learning environments, resources of interest, the factors this strategy supports, and related strategies you can explore. To view all the strategies in a content area, use the strategies tab at the top of the page. We'll look at all the Strategies for this learner model next.
The strategy page shows ALL of the strategies for that learner model. You can select factors of interest for you or your learners, and it will narrow the strategies to only those that match all of the factors selected. This makes it easy to find key strategies to better design for learner variability. Again, select the strategy name to visit its summary page. Use the plus signs on each strategy card to add a strategy to a workspace. We'll explore those next.
The “Tools & Workspaces” tab on the navigation bar or the “My Workspaces” button on the account menu takes you to a page that shows your workspaces. There are two tabs on the My Workspaces page: a Workspaces tab and a Reports tab. The Workspaces tab lists workspaces you can personalize and update. You can create new sections, move cards between sections, add annotations, share with collaborators, and write reflections. The second tab, "Reports", are a kind of workspace created through the Instructional Design Tool or the Product Assessment Tool and have fewer personalization options.
There are three, step-by-step tools you can access on the Navigator to help make workspace or a workspace report. The Learner Centered Design Tool has four steps and helps you create a workspace. First, enter basic information and select a content area of interest. Second, select a few factors that you want to focus on. Third, review connected factors you may not have considered. Note – you don't have to select any extra factors on this step if you don’t want to. The fourth and final step, review and select strategies that you want to use, and save them to a workspace.
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Learner variability is the recognition that each learner is a unique constellation of strengths and challenges that are interconnected across the whole child. Understanding these connections and how they vary according to context is essential for meeting the needs of each learner.
It disrupts the notion of a one-size-fits all education. Understanding learner variability helps educators embrace both students’ struggles and strengths as we connect practice to uplifting the whole learner.
Throughout the site, we talk about "factors" and "strategies." Factors are concepts research suggests have an impact on how people learn. Strategies are the approaches to teaching and learning that can be used to support people in how they learn best.
Use the Learner Centered Design Tool to build a workspace. Go to Learner Centered Design Tool.
Or, create a new blank workspace for your product or project.
Use one of the guided tools to build a workspace.
Or, create a new blank workspace for your product or project.
Make a copy of this workspace.
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On this page, using your heatmap, you will be asked to select factors to further explore, and then select new strategies you might incorporate into upcoming instruction. Once done, click “Show Summary" to view your Design Summary Report.
On this page, using your heatmap, you will be asked to select factors to further explore, and then select new strategies you might incorporate into upcoming instruction. Once done, click “Show Report” to view your Design Summary Report.
By selecting "Show Report" you will be taken to the Assessment Summary Page. Once created, you will not be able to edit your report. If you select cancel below, you can continue to edit your factor and strategy selections.
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Learner variability is the recognition that each learner is a unique constellation of strengths and challenges that are interconnected across the whole child. Understanding these connections and how they vary according to context is essential for meeting the needs of each learner. It embraces both students’ struggles and strengths. It considers the whole child.
Throughout the site, we talk about "factors" and "strategies." Factors are concepts research suggests have an impact on how people learn. Strategies are the approaches to teaching and learning that can be used to support people in how they learn best.
The Learner Variability Navigator is a free, online tool that translates the science of learner variability into factor maps and strategies that highlight connections across the whole learner. This puts the science of learning at teachers' fingertips, empowering them to understand their own practice and support each learner.
