As a first-generation transfer college student, Jason Whetten felt lost and didn’t know where to turn for help. That experience shaped his teaching philosophy. Now, as an Associate Teaching Professor with NAU’s Department of Psychological Sciences, Whetten looks for ways to instill a sense of community with students in his popular introductory psychology classes. His search sparked his idea for the quilt project. In 2023, with help from student teaching assistants (TAs), he asked his two classes—each with over 600 students—to create quilt patches that represent how they feel about belonging and community on campus. The TAs then stitched the patches together, creating a quilt. Their presentation on the project won first place at the Showcase of Strategies for Student Success. Whetten hopes to continue the theme of belonging in future classes.
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Photo courtesy of Jason Whetten.
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