‘To learn about X, observe what happens to the system when X is removed.’ What happens to the higher education student experience when, during a pandemic, so many of the avenues for building a sense of belonging are radically and fundamentally disrupted? How should we respond as individuals, a collective and a sector, to redress this? The national student survey data in Australia has highlighted a significant drop in learner engagement and their sense of belonging as a result of the pandemic. Indeed, the pandemic has been a significant point of anxiety for students, educators, and universities globally. We see the pandemic as a unique opportunity to critically examine belongingness among university students in a climate where their normal avenues to feel they belong need to establish a new kind of normal. In this article, we seek to articulate what can be learned from the pandemic experience about student belongingness and what instructors can do to improve it, even under difficult circumstances. We found opportunities to strengthen a students’ sense of belonging in online environments, when necessary, and how responses within the constraints of lockdown and emergency remote teaching can still support student success.

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The need to engage students studying at a distance in order to reduce isolation, foster a sense of belonging, and enhance learning has received significant attention over the past few years. Conversely, very little research has focused on teachers working in this type of environment. In fact, we argue, they appear to be the forgotten dimension in "communities" of distance learning. In this paper we identify some of the problems generated by teaching university subjects simultaneously across a network of campuses: a practice known as multilocation teaching. We examine strategies for engaging multi-location teachers as key contributors to a quality learning experience for students and provide an analysis of how identified teaching needs and professional development are addressed within one particular teaching team by a small but powerful micro-practice called the "Tutors" Forum". Drawing on data collected through a survey and interviews conducted over 2006 / 07, we discuss the benefits and critical success factors of the Tutors" Forum in facilitating engagement and professional development for teachers working at a distance from the subject coordinator and other members of the teaching team. These factors include a specific style of leadership which fosters an inclusive, dialogic space where the patterns of interaction are characterized by reciprocity, collegiality and professional care. We discuss the implications of this practice for the further engagement of university teachers in an increasingly casualised and fragmented higher education sector. Tutors' Forum: Engaging Distributed Communities of Practice AbstractThe need to engage students studying at a distance in order to reduce isolation, foster a sense of belonging, and enhance learning has received significant attention over the past few years. Conversely, very little research has focused on teachers working in this type of environment. In fact, we argue, they appear to be the forgotten dimension in "communities" of distance learning. In this paper we identify some of the problems generated by teaching university subjects simultaneously across a network of campuses: a practice known as multi-location teaching. We examine strategies for engaging multi-location teachers as key contributors to a quality learning experience for students and provide an analysis of how identified teaching needs and professional development are addressed within one particular teaching team by a small but powerful micro-practice called the "Tutors" Forum". Drawing on data collected through a survey and interviews conducted over 2006 / 07, we discuss the benefits and critical success factors of the Tutors" Forum in facilitating engagement and professional development for teachers working at a distance from the subject coordinator and other members of the teaching team. These factors include a specific style of leadership which fosters an inclusive, dialogic space where the patterns of interaction are characterized by reciprocity, collegiality and professional care. We dis...

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