Every design decision within the Belonging by Design framework is grounded in one or more guiding principles. The table below illustrates how the principles are expressed through the instructional design of the framework.
Guiding Principle
Belonging can be intentionally cultivated.
Professional skills should be taught, not assumed.
Instruction should respond to student needs.
Faculty expertise should be supported, not scripted.
Learning is relational.
Reflection supports continuous improvement.
Design Decisions
Why Teach Teamwork/Collaboration? | Why Reflection?
Why Teach Professional Skills Explicitly?
Why Begin with an Assessment? | Why Curated Resource Collections?
Why Faculty-Led Instruction? | Why Curated Resource Collections?
Why Teach Teamwork?
Why Reflection?
The guiding principles establish the design philosophy of Belonging by Design. They serve as decision-making criteria throughout the development of the framework and provide a consistent lens for evaluating instructional, implementation, and research decisions. As the framework evolves through action research, individual design decisions may evolve, but they continue to be evaluated against these guiding principles.
The Belonging by Design framework is informed by Self-Determination Theory and Social Identity Theory. Self-Determination Theory helps explain why students and faculty need autonomy, competence, and relatedness in order to engage meaningfully in learning. These ideas are reflected in the framework’s focus on connection, contribution, collaboration, and belonging. Social Identity Theory helps frame belonging as connected to identity, group membership, and how students come to see themselves as part of a classroom, program, institution, and future profession.
The framework is also supported by research on team training and teamwork competencies, which suggests that collaboration improves when it is intentionally taught, practiced, and reflected upon. Together, these bodies of scholarship support the central design belief of Belonging by Design: belonging is not accidental; it can be intentionally cultivated through responsive, relational, and faculty-led instructional design.