Connection Catalysts: Future-Ready Teaching Strategies

Learning Dedication

Students dedicate their learning in your course to someone who matters to them, then share that dedication with the class

What if the reason to learn with integrity was someone you love?

When
Week two, after you have built trust in week one
Stakes
Low. Credit for participation, never for depth
Modality
Face-to-face, synchronous online, or asynchronous online
Your role
Model a dedication, reply to every student, and remember what they shared

What it is

Students reflect on a person who has contributed meaningfully to their lives and dedicate their learning in the class to that person. The activity is social: students share their dedications with their peers, and the instructor welcomes each one with gratitude and empathy.

The practice draws on social psychology research that highlights the positive influence of affirming college students’ identities and experiences. Research suggests that practices like this may help strengthen students’ sense of belonging and support a culture of academic integrity from the inside out.

Why a learning dedication? Ideas anchored in scholarship

Prosocial values and integrity

Kasler et al. (2023)

Research suggests students’ prosocial values may lessen the tendency to cheat. A dedication gives those values a place in the course, so integrity may grow from intrinsic motivation.

Activating moral identity

A meaningful relationship at the center

Dedicating future learning to someone who matters invites students to connect their coursework to who they are and whom they care about.

Affirmation and belonging

Dias-Broens et al. (2024); Walton & Cohen (2011)

Research suggests that affirming the experiences students bring into a class is particularly important for establishing belonging among students with minoritized identities.

Easing stereotype threat

Steele et al. (2002); Drače et al. (2025)

College classes can trigger self-doubt and stereotype threat, which research suggests can undermine performance. Centering loved ones and their impact draws on principles that have shown promise, particularly for students from minoritized communities.

Names become people

Wood & Harris (2023)

Dedications give instructors knowledge of students’ precollege histories, social identities, and psychological needs. In online courses, where students can appear as names on a screen, this may be especially valuable.

Most integrity practices rely on…

  • Instructor-written policies
  • Honor pledges
  • Academic integrity agreements
  • External rules students agree to follow

A learning dedication invites…

  • Individual reflection on a meaningful relationship
  • A personal reason to learn
  • Sharing and being witnessed by peers
  • Motivation that comes from within

How it works The practice depends on what the instructor does before, during, and after

  1. Build trust in week one

    Instructor

    Make intentional efforts to build trust before you offer this prompt. In an asynchronous course, interact with each student individually first.

  2. Offer the prompt and your own dedication

    Instructor

    Share the invitation in week two, then share your own learning dedication. Your vulnerability models what students can offer.

  3. Reflect and choose one person

    Students

    Give students time to consider the people who have played meaningful roles in their lives. The person may be living, may have passed on, or may even be a version of their future self.

    Anyone counts.

  4. Share the dedication

    Students

    Students tell peers who they are dedicating their learning to and why, in writing, video, audio, or an image. See the modality options below.

  5. Reply to every dedication

    Instructor

    Every response receives a reply. Thank the student for sharing and honor the relationship they named.

  6. Remember and return

    Instructor

    Note the names and relationships students shared. The Notes column in the Canvas gradebook works well for this.

    Surface those details in feedback in the weeks ahead as you celebrate each student’s growth.

Example prompt from the classroom

Asynchronous online discussion prompt

Contributed by Jennifer Molina, Anthropology faculty, Sierra College

This semester, I invite you to dedicate your learning to someone in your life. Perhaps someone who never had the opportunity to attend college, someone who would have loved learning about a topic you now know we will be covering, or someone with whom you hope to share your new knowledge. Let this person be a friendly reminder that your curiosity and ideas belong to you! They are important and inspiring and what you learn may extend far beyond our classroom to your friends, family, community or a wider global population!

Would you be so kind as to tell us who you are dedicating your learning to and why? You may use a video, audio, an image or a photo to explain it to us.

Then model it. Following the prompt, the instructor submits their own learning dedication, conveying vulnerability to students and providing a model for students to follow.

Options for your course A low-stakes activity you can adapt

Individual assignment

  • Students submit their dedication for points.
  • Every submission receives personalized feedback from you.
  • Works in any modality.

Face-to-face or synchronous online

  • Write: give students quiet time to write their dedication.
  • Share: students share in small groups of 2–3. Online, use breakout rooms.
  • Invite: ask for volunteers to share with the whole class.

Asynchronous online discussion

  • Use only after you have interacted with each student to build trust.
  • Students choose to write their dedication or record a video for peers.
  • Reply to every post with gratitude for sharing and honor for the relationship shared.

Instructor essentials

Build trust first.

The success of this practice depends on the instructor. Put the foundation in place in week one so students feel safe sharing in week two.

Never assume access to family.

Students can choose anyone: a friend, mentor, someone who has passed on, or a future version of themselves.

Welcome every response.

Some students will need more time and space and may respond in more superficial ways. That is okay. Receive each dedication with gratitude and empathy.

Treat what’s shared with care.

Many students will share precious experiences. Every response must receive a reply from you.

Remember the people named.

Track names and relationships, then bring them back in feedback. It shows students they are known.

Model vulnerability.

Share your own dedication. When you go first, students see what an honest, personal response can look like.

Explore the collection

References

  • Dias-Broens, A. S., Meeuwisse, M., & Severiens, S. E. (2024). The definition and measurement of sense of belonging in higher education: A systematic literature review with a special focus on students’ ethnicity and generation status in higher education. Educational Research Review, 45, Article 100622.
  • Drače, S., Dolarević, V., & Šašić, E. (2025). How stereotype threat influences cognitive performance: It all depends on how you feel! International Review of Social Psychology, 38(1), 1.
  • Kasler, J., Sharabi-Nov, A., Shinwell, E. S., & Hen, M. (2023). Who cheats? Do prosocial values make a difference? International Journal for Educational Integrity, 19(1), Article 6.
  • Steele, C. M., Spencer, S. J., & Aronson, J. (2002). Contending with group image: The psychology of stereotype and social identity threat. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 34, pp. 379–440). Academic Press.
  • Walton, G. M., & Cohen, G. L. (2011). A brief social-belonging intervention improves academic and health outcomes of minority students. Science, 331(6023), 1447–1451.
  • Wood, J. L., & Harris, F. (2023). The five domains: A conceptual model of Black male success in the community college. In Building on resilience (pp. 173–187). Routledge.

Sample discussion prompt contributed by Jennifer Molina, Anthropology faculty, Sierra College. Created by Michelle Pacansky-Brock, brocansky.com. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.