Our research and partnerships

• Interactions between assessment practices and student learning
• Effects of and relationships between institutional and disciplinary cultures in assessment
• New approaches to the portrayal and representation of learning
• Assessment and course-level learning outcomes
• The role of assessment and learning tasks in the development of student judgement
• The nature of authentic assessments

• Design of feedback processes in the curriculum
• Designs for sustainable assessment
• Development of learning environments that intrinsically assess
• Cross-fertilisation of assessment practices across the disciplines
• The use of portfolios for formative and summative purposes

• Facilitating effects of digital technologies on assessment
• Critical approaches to the use of new technologies for assessment
• Digital accreditation of learning
• Assessment and the creation of new learning spaces and new curriculum configurations
• Integrity of assessment in digital environments

• Assessment policy and its effects on assessment practice
• Cross-country practices in assessment
• Backwash effects of summative assessment
• Strengths and limitations of common assessment practices (eg. use of rubrics)
• Involvement of peers in assessment and learning
• The role of assessment in preparing employable graduates in a digital economy

• New theories and conceptualisations of assessment
• The use of contemporary theory in assessment research
• New methodologies for researching assessment
• Appropriate analytics for assessment and learning

‘Enriching medical trainees’ learning through practice: towards a focus on patient-inclusive learning.’ 

Gold Coast Health and Gold Coast Hospital Foundation Large Research Grant Scheme, $99, 964

This project is led by CRADLE researcher Dr Rola Ajjawi.

‘Stories of failure and persistence in higher education.’

This project is funded by Deakin’s centre for Research for Educational Impact (REDI), REDI Large Grant, $17,875

This project is led by CRADLE researchers Dr Rola Ajjawi and Prof. David Boud, in collaboration with Dr Nadine Zacharias, and Prof. Sue Bennett (University of Wollongong).

‘Preparing students for the 21^st century workplace: the critical role of assessment.’

Australian Collaborative Education Network (ACEN) Research Grant Scheme, $10,000

This project is led by CRADLE researchers Dr Rola Ajjawi, Dr Joanna Tai, Prof. David Boud, with Deakin’s Prof. Liz Johnson.

‘Examining feedback and its effect in postgraduate medical education training.’

This project is funded by Deakin’s centre for Research for Educational Impact (REDI), REDI Industry Collaborative Development Grant, $10,000

Researchers: Dr Margaret Bearman, Dr Joanna Tai, Assoc. Prof. Phill Dawson, Prof. David Boud, Dr Rola Ajjawi

‘Contract cheating research support.’

Turnitin funded research ($10,000)

Researchers: Assoc. Prof. Phill Dawson and Assoc. Prof. Wendy Sutherland-Smith.

‘Understanding class attendance through learners’ constructions of their identities.’

This project is led by CRADLE researcher Dr Joanna Tai and funded ($7600) by Deakin’s centre for Research for Educational Impact (REDI).

The study intends to explore how students’ constructions of learner (and other) identities influence the decisions students make to attend or not attend classes.

‘Determining the elements underpinning effective learning of child-witness interview.’

ARC Discovery Grant $436,018.

CRADLE Researcher Prof. David Boud led by Chief Investigator Prof. Martine Powell.

‘Becoming a professional through distributed learning: a sociomaterial ethnography.’

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada grant, $320,670.

Project led by Dr Anna MacLeod with CRADLE Researcher Dr Rola Ajjawi

‘Feedback exchanges, supervisory relationships and the educational alliance: implications for GP registrar and supervisor training and support.’

Royal Australian College of General Practice grant, $150,420

CRADLE Researchers Dr Rola Ajjawi, Dr Margaret Bearman led by Chief Investigator Christy Nobel.

‘Success and failure in higher education on uneven playing fields.’

Funded by Student Equity in Higher Education Research Grants Program, National centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, $38,280

Project led by Assoc. Prof. Bernadette Walker-Gibbs with CRADLE Researcher Dr Rola Ajjawi and cross institutional collaborators Prof. Sarah O’Shea and Prof. Sue Bennett from the University of Wollongong.

We're part of a team of Australian university researchers that has developed a new assessment design framework for use by teachers across the country. The framework is a tool to improve methods of assessment and have a positive impact on learning outcomes.

Find out more about this project

This project aims to investigate triggers alerting markers to student contract cheating; potential courses of action to better detect contract cheating; and mechanisms for assessment designers on preventing contract cheating. CRADLE is working in partnership with the Faculty of Health, and CRADLE Fellowship holder Associate Professor Wendy Sutherland-Smith. The project is funded through the DCVE. 

For further information:
Email Associate Professor Phillip Dawson 
Email Associate Professor Wendy Sutherland-Smith

The aim of this project is to improve student learning and experience by improving the way in which the Australian Higher Education sector enacts feedback. The chosen approach will deliver a pragmatic, empirically based framework of feedback designs to guide educators, academic developers, and instructional designers, as well as institutional policy. This will be supported by large scale survey data highlighting how feedback is actually used, its impact on student experience and learning, and, ultimately, the patterns of successful feedback practices. This is a collaborative project between Deakin University and Monash University, funded through the (former) OLT. 

For further information:
Email Paige Mahoney 
Visit the Feedback for Learning site

This new project is to elicit student stories of failure and how they overcame it. It's a collaborative project between CRADLE, Deakin's Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University and the University of Wollongong. The project is funded by the centre for Research for Educational Impact (REDI). 

For further information:
Email Dr Rola Ajjawi

This project aims to understand students’ conceptions of and motivations for attendance and engagement in higher education as mediated by their multiple identities, with a focus on the role of assessment. The project will contribute to future models of student participation in higher education, and is funded by the centre for Research for Educational Impact (REDI). 

For further information:
Email Dr Jo Tai