Belonging in the classroom is not the same as belonging in a course: Inclusivity through assessments

Abstract

Classroom belonging does not solely refer to how students feel but extends to how students and their communities are integrated into the course structure. This personal narrative focuses on how I restructured my assessments to incorporate students’ communities and identities into course assessments. Because we test on what is most important, integrating student identities and backgrounds into assessments enabled me to emphasize that students belonged in the course and the classroom.