Conference Program

In this paper, a student-faculty research team share the findings and recommendations of interdisciplinary research conducted on alternative assessment at Athabasca University, a Canadian distance post-secondary institution. Conducted in partnership with the Athabasca University Student Union (AUSU), the 5-person research team of undergraduate students and faculty researchers initiated this university-wide, learner-centred research to understand how the use of alternative assessment might enhance undergraduate student learning. The participatory research design used a relational research methodology (Wilson, 2008) that centred decolonizing and equity lenses, with an explicit focus on Indigenous students, neurodiverse students and students with accommodations or accessibility needs.

The context of this study is the reality that student learning in post-secondary institutions continues to be predominantly assessed through the use of academic essays, multiple-choice and final, time-bound exams, and other standardized evaluations. While these mainstream approaches continue to be prevalent around the globe, a growing body of research suggests that these practices do not optimally measure students’ learning, nor contribute to student learning, growth and engagement (Abrahams, 2024). Additionally, traditional assessments are known to reproduce and/or exacerbate structural barriers for some learners, including Indigenous students, neurodiverse students, and students with accommodations or accessibility needs (Preston & Claypool, 2021; McDowall & Kiseleva, 2024). Finally, traditional assessments prioritize a Euro-centric knowledge system that devalues alternative knowledge traditions (e.g., Indigenous Traditional Knowledge, ITK), and enforces a top-down relationship or 'banking model of education' in which students are engaged as receptacles of teachings (Freire, 1970) determined by educators, and educational systems with minimal or no student input or consent (Simpson, 2017). In these systems, students not only have limited say in what or how they learn, they have no voice in how they might optimally demonstrate their learning, be assessed, or graded. In response to these challenges, alternative assessments have emerged as ways that students can demonstrate their knowledge in a diversity of ways, whilst also enhancing their learning and critical engagement with course materials. In Canada, as institutions look to advance Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Calls to Action (2016), and address the pedagogical implications of emerging technologies such as AI, alternative assessment practices are viewed as offering promising pathways for innovation in teaching and learning.

This paper will provide an overview of the findings and recommendations of this study, whilst sharing insights that have emerged related to the implementation and integration of alternative assessment practices within post-secondary institutions. By examining alternative assessment through a participatory and relational research framework, this project contributes to broader discussions about democratic innovation in academia, and the advancement of critical, equitable, and decolonizing pedagogies. The paper will also reflect on how collaborative student–faculty research partnerships are a critical means by which democratic innovation within academic institutions might be advanced, facilitating student participation in the shaping of educational practices. The findings aim to directly enhance assessment practices at Athabasca University, while also contributing to international conversations about alternative assessment; critical and relationally accountable (Wilson, 2008) pedagogies; and learner-centred pedagogical research design.