We developed program- and institution-level strategies to boost retention, support satisfaction, and reduce student friction—rooted in foundational research on how learners connect and seek help online.
Students shared their stories of learning while commuting, caregiving, and navigating chaotic environments—with little space for connection or rest.
Students learning in cars, between jobs, or in shared homes often felt too stretched or unwelcome to connect. It wasn’t that they didn’t care—it was that the system didn’t make it possible. And most support teams weren’t seeing that.
I led this initiative to understand what gets in the way of connection, especially for students learning in motion or with limited bandwidth. My goal was to move us toward more intentional support, not just more features.
I carved out a social learning section within the Mobile Advocacy study to explore how students connect while learning on the go. That work laid the foundation for a follow-up lit review on social connection and help-seeking among neurodivergent adults. From there, I built a strategy deck to bring the insights to the teams who needed them—academic delivery, support, EdTech, design. That work led to a survey (about to launch) to validate at scale what we’d heard and guide our next steps.
This work reframed disengagement as a systems issue, not a motivation issue. It showed that social connection isn't just about availability—it's about access. It also circled back to GEM, adding more depth to how we think about social cognition in learning. The upcoming survey will help us turn these insights into action.
