IN-PERSON New Schools of Thought
Abstract
We are three online university professors committed to co-learning about and practicing alternative and arts-based assessments, including land-based, somatic, and embodied pedagogical approaches. With backgrounds in social change theory, feminist geography, community-based research, information technology, and high school education, we collectively strive to advance holistic, feminist and decolonial pedagogical models, including the use of creative, critical assessment practices to support students learning and engagement. In this presentation, we explore how creative, place and land-based assessments can be used in virtual or in-person teaching environments to enhance students’ learning experience and critical thinking capacities. We draw out how such assessment processes can transform both teaching and learning experiences in ways that disrupt colonial knowledge production systems and advance relational ways of knowing. We observe how the re-imagining of assessments (away from exams and academic essays) can help educators better meet the diverse learning needs of students, whilst advancing post-secondary institutions’ commitments to advancing Justice, Equity, Diversity, Decolonization and Inclusion (JEDDI). We share examples of assessments, as well as some of the initial findings from our collaborative research project in which we are analyzing how educators are innovating with arts-based assessments in online post-secondary learning settings. Should the conference session format and time permit, we will engage session participants using a creative assessment experience grounded in land-based and Indigenous pedagogies. (Please note: this presentation would also be well suited to being extended and adapted to a longer, interactive workshop format.)
Dr. Nelems is a public sociologist and engaged social change theorist who believes that the best thinking is done with – not about – the world. Her research is premised on the inherent relationality of existence, and the view that the biggest crisis we face is one of disconnect: from ourselves, others and earth. With over twenty years of experience in community-based research and transformative change, her work focuses on how creative, critical approaches can be used in research and teaching to disrupt colonial knowledge systems and advance relational ways of thinking and being in the world.
Dr. El Khoury has two research interests: alternative assessment and the experience of international students in higher education. This includes alternative assessment in the different disciplines, quality assurance in alternative assessment, open educational resources, and alternative assessment. She is also interested in the experiences of international students in online education and with equitable assessment.
Dr. Heather McClean’s current research investigates the potential of arts-based research for envisioning and enacting mutual aid in rural Canada. Working from feminist, queer, decolonial, and participatory paradigms, she engages in research that de-centres dominant discourses and engages participants in co-creating knowledge about diverse economies. She is an active member of the Community Economies Research Network, a global network of artists, scholars and practitioners fostering thought and practice to help communities survive well together.
3:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Thursday 9th January, 2025