Table of Contents

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..i
Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..ii
List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..vi
List of Figures………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..vii
Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………….1
Purpose of the Study………………………………………………………………………………………………1
Justification of the Study………………………………………………………………………………………..1
Context…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………3
Research Questions………………………………………………………………………………………………..4
Definition of Terms………………………………………………………………………………………………..4
Brief Overview of the Study…………………………………………………………………………………….6
Chapter 2: Literature Review……………………………………………………………………………………………..8
Importance of Sense of Belonging for Student Learning…………………………………………….8
Sense of Belonging and the Role of Peer Relationships…………………………………………….11
Sense of Belonging and the Role of Adult Relationships and the School Climate………..14
Strategies for Developing a Sense of Belonging………………………………………………………17
Learning Maps…………………………………………………………………………………………………….22
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………………….24
Chapter 3: Research Methodology…………………………………………………………………………………….25
Research Design…………………………………………………………………………………………………..25
Participants………………………………………………………………………………………………………….25
Data Source 1: Researcher’s Journal……………………………………………………………………….26
Data Source 2: Learning Maps………………………………………………………………………………26
Procedures Followed…………………………………………………………………………………………….29
Validity and Reliability…………………………………………………………………………………………30
Data Analysis Techniques……………………………………………………………………………………..32
Chapter 4: Findings and Results……………………………………………………………………………………….36
Data Analysis and Themes: Researcher’s Journal……………………………………………………..36
Theme 1: My collaboration with adults. ………………………………………………………37
Risk taking…………………………………………………………………………………….38
Academic sharing and teaching practice improvement. ………………………41
My comprehensive collaboration with a resource teacher. …………………..45
Theme 2: Student communication activities and social building activities. ……..48
Small group sharing strategies………………………………………………………….49
Unstructured play……………………………………………………………………………52
Benefits observed from student communication activities and social
building activities……………………………………………………………………………53
Theme 3: Students collaborating with other students on learning activities………55
My use of a variety of collaborative learning activities. ……………………..56
Change in student collaboration initiative. ………………………………………..58
Student fun and engagement in collaborative learning activities. …………60
Theme 4: Students collaborating with other adults………………………………………..61
Student collaboration with adults in our classroom……………………………..61
Student collaboration with adults in our school…………………………………..63
Student collaboration with adults and organizations in our community….64
Data Analysis and Themes: Learning Maps…………………………………………………………….67
Comparing First Stage of Map One and Completed Map One………………………..67
Map two examination and analysis……………………………………………………………..75
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………………….80
Chapter Five: Discussion…………………………………………………………………………………………………81
Key Results with Reference to Literature………………………………………………………………..81
Academic benefits of student sense of belonging and collaboration…………………81
Social benefits of developing student sense of belonging and collaboration……..83
Strategies for collaboration…………………………………………………………………………86
My overall experiences with sense of belonging……………………………………………88
Implications…………………………………………………………………………………………………………90
Limitations of the study……………………………………………………………………………..90
Suggestions for future research………………………………………………………………………………91
Next steps……………………………………………………………………………………………………………92
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………………….92
References……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..94
Appendices…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….97
Appendix A –Researcher’s Journal Template…………………………………………………………..97
Appendix B – Frequency of Four Themes found in Researcher’s Journal…………………….98
Appendix C – Areas for Growth for All Learning Maps………………………………………….100
Appendix D – Comparison per Student of First Stage of Map One to Map Two………..101