I n today’s higher education landscape, cultivating a sense of belonging and connection in the classroom has become essential to supporting students’ academic success and overall wellness. Faculty play a critical role in this work. Through thoughtful course design, inclusive pedagogical approaches, and attention to the social and emotional dimensions of learning, faculty have an opportunity to create environments where students feel seen, supported, and empowered in their learning journey.
Wendy Colby, Vice President & Associate Provost at the Institute sits down with Connie Hadley, an organizational psychologist and Research Associate Professor at the BU Questrom School of Business. Together, they discuss a variety of topics ranging from the intense preparation and artistry that goes into developing a course, students as partners and collaborators, the importance of inculcating a sense of belonging and psychological safety, as well as connecting curriculum to careers and embracing a growth mindset with new technologies like AI.
About “In Conversation with…”
In conversation with the Institute for Excellence in Teaching and Learning – a series of thought-provoking exchanges designed to introduce new approaches to teaching that engage students and boost learning outcomes. The higher education landscape continues to evolve, and it becomes more important than ever to equip students with the real-world skills they need to thrive in a rapidly changing professional landscape.
BU Institute
I would like to start by talking about your background as an organizational psychologist and researcher. I love a quote I read recently – that you “study people and focus on their emotional and social experiences.”
What led you to this work and why is the focus on emotional and social well-being such an important consideration in the success of a career or education journey?
Connie Hadley
I majored in social psychology as an undergraduate and have been in love with the field of psychology ever since. However, I wasn’t sure I wanted an academic career right out of college. I was curious about the business world (and had student loans to pay back!), so I took a job in marketing at General Mills and later went into management consulting at McKinsey & Company.
I love the pace and challenge of business life – that world really suits my personality. Thankfully, I have been able to craft a career that allows me to apply the science of psychology to the situations and dilemmas that people experience at work. I am fascinated with employees’ “inner world,” including their feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. My goal at the end of the day is to remove pain points and increase well-being so that all employees can thrive.
BU Institute
You have taught in the undergraduate, full-time MBA, and part-time MBA program at Questrom. From a teaching and learning standpoint, can you share what you see in our students today? Where do they succeed? What do they find challenging? How do you create the kind of environment where learning and connections can flourish?
Connie Hadley
I have been focused on my research and work at the Human Resources Policy Institute for the past few years, so I have not been teaching lately. However, I keep in touch with many former students and receive outreach from current students, so I do have a sense of the challenges they face. Certainly, the instability of the economy, changes to government policies, and impact of AI on jobs are top of mind. It’s not easy to figure out what to study or how to navigate a career pathway.
However, I have full faith in the BU student population. My students, no matter what program they are in, are invariably multi-talented but also eager to learn. I am working with a recent neuroscience graduate right now who is fantastic at data analysis as well as communications. Her PowerPoints are full of cool charts and savvy insights. I know she received great training and mentorship at BU – it shows. Other students similarly benefit from the excellent teachers we have here as well as the opportunities to learn outside the classroom.
BU Institute
We spoke earlier about the kind of thought and intentionality you put into structuring your classes – like a play or a script that considers the plot line and the scenes, all building on one another. You also give students the time and space to get to know one another before jumping into group assignments.
Can you share some examples of this in practice? How have students responded to this approach and what advice do you have for faculty looking to adopt similar strategies?
Connie Hadley
I find the course development process to be highly creative and fulfilling. Like any creative endeavor, though, successful output derives from a mixture of intense preparation combined with inspiration. For example, I start by gathering as many syllabi as possible on related topics to my course. To collect data, I scour the internet, ask ChatGPT, and reach out to friends who teach at other universities. I use this input to create a giant spreadsheet where I code the most common topics, materials, assignments, and goals.
From there, I set a “throughline” for my course – the key themes but also the experiences I hope to engender. I think about my students on that first day filing into the classroom. Then I think about them in the last few minutes of the last class – how do I want them to leave? That’s where the artistry comes in. Often, I’ll break the semester into “acts” organized by subplots and key moments, building up to the grand finale during which it all comes together. Of course, I realize I am not putting on a Broadway show – and I don’t want to just entertain my students! My purpose is to engrain tools and concepts as well as push them to start operating differently. This requires my students to get out of the audience seats and become active participants. Therefore, my “play” is always designed with those pedagogical goals in mind.
I think we must embrace the same growth mindset that we expect of our students. Changing teaching methods or syllabi every semester is difficult with so many other competing demands on our time, but the impact of technology is just so enormous, we must keep up.
Connie Hadley
BU Institute
In addition to preparing a syllabus (a common practice for all faculty), you go a step further and you create specific goals for your students, as well as a process for students to effectively execute on these goals. A connection to the way initiatives are often structured in the world of work. Can you highlight a few examples here of what you have seen work best in a classroom setting and what lead you to move in this direction?
Connie Hadley
As mentioned, I have macro goals for the course as well as goals for each class period, which helps make sure the whole experience is designed in an integrative and purposeful manner. To help students achieve those goals, I like to sprinkle in checkpoints. For example, I ask my part-time MBA students (who work in full-time jobs during the day) to end each class with a “Three Minute Memo.” They must answer three questions: (1) “What is one takeaway or lesson you learned today in class?”, (2) “How can you apply this lesson to your job tomorrow?”, and (3) “Is there anything you’d like me to know about tonight’s class or your learning experience?”. I receive amazing feedback in these brief memos – about what is working (or not) in the classroom as well as what is going on with their work. I will often modify the next class plan to address whatever they communicate to me.
Another technique I use are learning teams. I found that students often struggle with analysis and writing at the start of the semester, often because my classes come early in the b-school curriculum. Originally, I would just give them my own feedback on their assignments but it wasn’t always easy for them to understand my coaching. Then I had them form into learning teams, read each other’s papers, and give structured feedback. That process triggered many more “ah ha” moments because they could often pick up on strengths and weaknesses in their peers’ papers more easily than in their own. Plus, it was a way of building community and social support in the class, which is important to me.
BU Institute
You have also embraced students as partners and collaborators in the classroom — for instance creating roles such as a “chat monitor,” a “discussion kickstarter,” a “community builder.” How have students responded to these roles and what impact has this had on the overall classroom experience?
Connie Hadley
This was an innovation born of necessity! When we suddenly went all-remote in March 2020, I knew I couldn’t survive teaching the rest of the semester online without help. I decided to create student jobs, both to offload some of the work for me and to boost our camaraderie during those dark times. For example, the chat monitor was there to watch the flurry of sideline comments and questions and keep me apprised of anything I needed to stop to address. The discussion kickstarter volunteered to “open the case” (summarize the key facts) or answer a probing question to make sure we had a good start to our group dialogue. I also created a whole community builder team of 5-7 students whose job it was to monitor the well-being of the class and provide extra boosts of fun and motivation when needed, such as by playing music during breaks or designating a “bring your pet to class” (on Zoom) day.
These student roles were so successful that I kept them every semester after that, even when we were back in the classroom full-time. I learned from that experience that students want to have structured ways to contribute and engage – especially our students who may be quieter due to personality, language barriers, or other inhibiting factors. In addition, I add some class participation points to each role to provide a little added incentive. That said, I do make the roles voluntary and ensure there are enough slots for everyone who wants one to avoid undue pressure or competition. Overall, I find giving out “jobs” is a great teaching and community-building tool.
BU Institute
Often, we will hear from faculty who seek support for how to best help students feel a greater sense of belonging in the classroom. We’ve heard examples that range from – making sure to know your students’ names to having faculty share their own personal stories about learning challenges so students see this as a part of growth and not failure. What have you found to be most successful?
Connie Hadley
I am fortunate because the kinds of topics I teach in management classes lend themselves naturally to creating an inclusive and open environment. For example, we study the concepts of growth mindset and psychological safety – so it just makes sense that students work on applying these principles in the classroom too. However, even when I teach negotiations, which can be viewed as more combative, I find that BU students welcome the chance to get to know and bond with each other. One way I help facilitate that connection is by including ungraded group activities (like team role plays or a group survival simulation) that challenge them while also being fun. I also incorporate “neighborly chats,” which are brief breaks where students talk to their classmates about anything but course material to give them a chance to relax and get to know each other personally. Most of my classes have been about three hours long so they really need those breaks anyway – why not use them to develop peer relationships?
BU Institute
Beyond your role as a college professor, you have also been a business practitioner and innovator, and a leading voice in industry.
Do you see ways in which industry and academia can forge tighter partnerships that will best prepare students for entry into the workforce and into thriving careers?
Connie Hadley
This is a perennial challenge but one worth pursuing. Often, the worlds of academia and organizations are on different cycles, with different goals and expectations. It makes it difficult to find real-world projects that can be accomplished within the typical course timeline of a semester. Moreover, most organizations are not equipped to provide the kind of training and guidance that will allow our students to contribute meaningfully. That said, I am excited about new initiatives to bridge those gaps and support our students in doing field research, observation, and consulting endeavors. For example, Questrom has a new Action Learning Program that will help connect our undergraduates to organizations for projects in new product development and other areas.
BU Institute
Finally, we are seeing increased pressures on higher education and an acceleration in technological advancement which creates excitement and opportunity, but also fear and uncertainty. What advice do you have for faculty and academic leaders who need guidance in leading and driving change in an ever-evolving landscape?
Connie Hadley
As faculty and academic leaders, I think we must embrace the same growth mindset that we expect of our students. Changing teaching methods or syllabi every semester is difficult with so many other competing demands on our time, but the impact of technology is just so enormous, we must keep up. If I were teaching this semester, I would create an “AI gurus” student team to enlist their help in figuring out how artificial intelligence is not only changing our course content (e.g., new organizational designs based on “hiring” AI agents) but also our course process (e.g., new ways of embedding AI into writing assignments). I would also reach out to my peers and tap into the Institute for Excellence in Teaching and Learning for more ways to learn and grow. Finally, I would leverage AI and machine learning myself as much as possible, whether for creating rubric worksheets for assignments or generating podcasts from my lectures. We need to take advantage of these tools to free up time for more creative and connective aspects of work.
