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Learning and
Teaching Services (LTS)
Inclusive Assessment

Lesson 5 – Summary

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This module invited you to think about assessments as a way to foster engagement and belonging. When assessments reflect diverse ways of knowing and demonstrating understanding, they become an opportunity for all students to succeed on their own terms. This module also challenged the assumption that inclusivity comes at the expense of rigour, showing instead how inclusive design enhances academic integrity, relevance, and high expectations for all learners.

A critical inquiry into our own invisible logics and the ways in which they impact our assessments is the first step towards creating culturally responsive and Indigenous-informed assessments that implement IDEA principles, and more broadly, positively impact learning experiences of all students. As you’ve explored in this learning module, embedding IDEA principles throughout your courses is a continuous process and an ongoing commitment. It means continuously working on unveiling the hidden curriculum, reflecting on the cultures in your classroom, adapting to ensure each new cohort of students is centered in your assessments, and addressing barriers through an explicit emphasis on multiple ways of knowing, expression, and engagement. Let us end this learning module with a reminder that “building critical awareness and becoming an equitable teacher takes time and practice; self-development is a marathon, not a sprint” (Ravich, 2021).

Works Cited

  • Algonquin College. (2023). 2023 / 2026 blueprint: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility in the Algonquin College work environment. Algonquin College. https://www.algonquincollege.com/diversity/files/2023/02/AC-2023-26-Inclusion-Diversity-Equity-and-Accessibility-IDEA-Blueprint-Final-Feb-28-23.pdf
  • Alsubaie, M. (2015). Hidden curriculum as one of current issue of curriculum. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(33), 125–128.
  • Bouranova, A. (2023, June 26). Sociologist and scholar Anthony Abraham Jack’s mission: create a more welcoming campus. Boston University: BU Today.
  • Centre for Teaching Support and Innovation, & Centre for International Experience. (2025). Intercultural fluencies in teaching and learning Series. University of Toronto.
  • Evans, C.M., & Taylor, C.S. (Eds.). (2025). Culturally Responsive Assessment in Classrooms and Large-Scale Contexts: Theory, Research, and Practice (1st ed.). Routledge.
  • Ivanov, S. (2022). Fostering Inclusivity in Workplaces and Communities. In Atkins, M.-A., Hughes, J., Ivanov, S., & Worthington, P. (2022). Upskilling Graduates for Success [online curriculum]. Funded by eCampus Ontario Virtual Learning Strategy in partnership with Queen’s University, Western University, OntarioTechU, University of Windsor, and OCADU.
  • Jack, J., & Sathy, V. (2021, September 24). It’s time to cancel the word ‘rigor’. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/its-time-to-cancel-the-word-rigor
  • Lambert, S., Funk, J., & Adam, T. (2022). What Can Decolonisation of Curriculum tell us about inclusive assessment? In Ajjawi, R., Tai, J., Boud, D., & Jorre de St Jorre, T. (Eds.). Assessment for Inclusion in Higher Education: Promoting Equity and Social Justice in Assessment (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003293101
  • Neuliep, J. W. (2015). Intercultural communication: a contextual approach (6th ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
  • Parrish, P., & Linder-VanBerschot, J. (2010). Cultural dimensions of learning: Addressing the challenges of multicultural instruction. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 11(2), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v11i2.809
  • Ravitch, S. M. (2021, March 15). Equitable teaching takes time and practice. Here are strategies to help. Harvard Business Publishing Education. https://hbsp.harvard.edu/inspiring-minds/equitable-teaching-takes-time-and-practice-here-are-strategies-to-help
  • Shane J Lopez & Michelle C Louis (2009). The Principles of Strengths-Based Education. Journal of College and Character, 10(4). https://doi.org/10.2202/1940-1639.1041
  • Hogan, K. A., & Sathy, V. (2022). Inclusive teaching: Strategies for promoting equity in the college classroom (First edition). West Virginia University Press.
  • Wallace, D. F. (2005). This is water: Some thoughts, delivered on a significant occasion, about living a compassionate life [Video of commencement speech]. YouTube. Jeffrey Danese. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCbGM4mqEVw
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