CTLE Faculty Spotlight: HCL DARP – Building a Sense of Belonging
January 7, 2025
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This month’s Faculty Spotlight highlights the Departmental Action Research Plan (DARP) for the Humanities, Communications, and Languages (HCL) Department. DARPs are collaborative initiatives designed by faculty within a department to address specific teaching and learning goals. This spotlight highlights the HCL DARP which focuses on building a sense of belonging in the classroom.
Loretha Cleveland is a faculty member in Santa Fe College’s HCL Department. Since joining Santa Fe College in 2020, she has taught Public Speaking and Mass Media courses and serves as the department’s Professional Development Liaison. Loretha’s passion for teaching and her collaborative approach shine through her work on the HCL DARP.
Loretha and her colleagues in HCL are exploring whether implementing sense-of-belonging practices can positively impact student grades and completion rates. One standout strategy is the Scavenger Hunt assignment, designed by Stacy Badics and the Speech Department. Students explore campus, interact with staff, and familiarize themselves with resources like the Disabilities Resource Center and the Learning Commons. Back in the classroom, students reflect on their experiences, present their findings and deepen their connections with peers and faculty.
In Loretha’s class, this activity fostered a vibrant sense of community. One group even named themselves the "50/50 group" because half the members spoke English, and the other half spoke Spanish. The assignment encouraged collaboration, cultural exchange and meaningful engagement beyond the classroom.
Faculty in the DARP project also administer early- and late-semester surveys to measure the impact of these practices. Loretha shared how the preliminary results have already shown promising improvements in how students feel about their sense of belonging at Santa Fe College.
Learn more about the HCL DARP on the CTLE Canvas Page.
About CTLE Faculty Spotlights
CTLE Faculty Spotlights highlight Santa Fe College instructors who implement new and innovative strategies in their classrooms. Check out each spotlight to learn more about the instructor, what they are doing in their classrooms and how to apply it to your own courses.
Are you or someone you know using innovative teaching strategies in the classroom? Email leslie.rios@sfcollege.edu.
