How Belonging Shows up Throughout the Semester

There's a question a lot of students carry with them all semester without ever saying it out loud. Do I belong here?

A strong sense of belonging is key to student engagement, persistence, and success. And yet, many students report feeling disconnected in their learning environment. At its core, belonging is simple. It’s whether students feel seen and heard in the spaces where they’re expected to learn.

It's not the kind of stress that shows up on a syllabus. It doesn't have a deadline. But it shapes everything from how much students participate, whether they ask for help, and whether they make it to the end of the semester still engaged or just trying to survive.

Macmillan Learning VP of Learning Science and Insights spoke yesterday at the Leading Online Pedagogy and Engagement, L.O.P.E. Conference, about the importance of fostering a sense of belonging, and how some instructors are doing just that. Here’s what I learned.

Belonging doesn’t happen at just one moment

We tend to treat belonging like something you establish early and then move on from. First week activities, icebreakers, community-building. Check the box, get back to the course content.

But belonging rises and falls throughout the semester as students move through distinct emotional and academic phases.

• Early Momentum (Weeks 1-3): Students typically start the term open and optimistic. They're meeting people, testing routines, figuring out where they fit. That early sense of connection builds momentum. When students feel like they belong, they participate more, engage more deeply, and start to see themselves as part of the learning experience.
• The Midterm Window (The Confidence Cliff): If there’s one point in the calendar to pay close attention to, it's the middle of the semester. The academic load and stress is increasing, and when students don’t feel connected to instructors or peers, they don’t know where to turn for help. That's where engagement breaks, confidence drops, and small doubts quietly compound. And once students pull back, re-engaging them is significantly harder. This is especially true for students who already feel out of sync. For example, adult learners whose schedules don't align with their younger peers, or students who don't see their own experiences reflected in the classroom. That social disconnection doesn't stay social. It becomes academic and affects confidence, participation, and whether a student persists at all.
• Late Semester (Survival Mode): By the end of the semester, students are overwhelmed and exhausted, focusing less on learning and more on grades and finishing work. They are in survival mode unless actively supported.

What the research shows

In a study supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and conducted by Macmillan Learning, a digital belonging resource co-designed with more than 70 instructors, administrators, and students was tested for its impact on course performance. Students who engaged with it performed better, but the specifics matter.

Students who didn't use the digital belongingness resource had an average course grade of 81%. Course performance of light users stayed roughly flat. As students engaged more consistently, completing seven or more belongingness activities, course grades jumped to 87–91. The most engaged students saw roughly a 10-point improvement compared to those who didn't utilize the digital belongingness resource at all.

The most important design insight, though, was that students don't need more ways to communicate. Rather, they need help finding each other. Feedback from participants later led to a revision of the digital resource to include AI support to facilitate a wider variety of topics and more efficiently surface themes of commonality among students.

When students recognize shared experiences, challenges, or goals, something shifts. The environment feels less isolating. Participation feels less risky. Asking for help feels more possible.

Small signals carry weight

Instructor behavior showed up consistently as a differentiator in student feedback. The small gestures turn out to be the most important.

An email that arrived at the right moment felt like someone noticed. An engaging class felt like inclusion. Thoughtful feedback, flexibility during difficult circumstances, a response that treated students as people rather than submissions, these things made a lasting impression on both student success and how students experienced the course overall.

The takeaway isn't that instructors need to do more. It's that what they're already doing, or not doing, at the right moment registers more than they might realize.

What you can do, with or without a digital resource

Whether or not you’re using the free digital resource, you can follow these practical steps:

• Personalise Interaction: Instructors leveraged student responses to break the ice by answering a few questions about themselves, and added emojis or notes to students' responses to encourage participation.
• Connect Peers and Curriculum: They created spaces for students to engage with diverse peers, and called out (anonymously) responses that were worth discussing in class, linking weekly questions to course content.
• Build Confidence and Normalise Doubt: Use active learning strategies, such as peer learning groups and guided discussion. Also, normalize adversity and doubt by exposing students to narratives about peer challenges and giving them opportunities to reflect.

Belonging has to be sustained, not just started

Students begin the semester hopeful and social, gain momentum through belonging, hit a mid-semester confidence cliff, and finish in survival mode unless actively supported. While we can't always remove stress from the student experience, we can get better at recognizing the kind that's easy to miss, which is tied to connection, confidence, and whether a student feels seen.

Belonging isn't built once and maintained automatically. It requires attention at the moments when it's most likely to slip. And more often than not, that moment is right in the middle.

Further reading:
Addressing the Challenge of Student Engagement with Achieve
How Active Learning and Metacognition Improve Student Retention
Doing More with Less: Bridging the Gap Between Student Attendance and Actual Engagement

Frequently Asked Questions

How does belonging affect student grades?

Research shows that students who participate in belongingness activities see significant grade improvements. In one study, highly engaged students performed 10 points better than those who did not participate in connection-building exercises.

What is the "Confidence Cliff" in education?

The Confidence Cliff occurs mid-semester when academic stress increases. Students who lack a sense of belonging often lose confidence during this period and are less likely to seek help, leading to a decline in performance.

How can I build belonging without adding to my workload?

Small gestures like personalized feedback, using student names, and normalising academic challenges go a long way. Digital tools can also help automate check-ins and facilitate peer connections.

Can digital tools really help with emotional connection?

Yes. Digital resources co-designed with students and instructors help surface shared experiences and common goals, making the learning environment feel less isolating and more supportive.

What is Achieve?

Achieve delivers research-backed personalised learning, real-time feedback, and accessibility features—all integrated into your LMS to keep students engaged without increasing your workload.