Student achievement in assessment is presumed to be an outcome of academic ability and the quality of classroom teaching. But what if it isn’t that simple? What if students’ assessment outcomes are impacted by the accessibility of summative assessment task sheets? And what if there were some simple things schools could do to make assessment easier for students to understand and for teachers to teach? Well, now there are! In this interactive forum, you will be introduced to world-leading research that significantly improved the summative assessment experiences and outcomes for both students and teachers. On the day, you will hear from the researchers and educators who made this research happen. You will also have opportunities to testdrive the Accessibility Design Principles on your own assessment task sheet, and to attend the launch of our long-awaited “accessibility playbook”, Accessible Assessment and Pedagogies: Improving student outcomes through inclusive practice.
In-person only
Registrations for this event are now closed.
Speakers:
Professor Linda Graham is Director of QUT Centre for Inclusive Education (C4IE). Her research focuses on responses to students experiencing difficulties in school and with learning. She has published more than 100 books, and journal articles, including Inclusive Education for the 21st Century and the upcoming Accessible Assessment and Pedagogies, and has led several large-scale multidisciplinary projects funded by the Australian Research Council.
Professor Jill Willis is a founding member of C4IE at QUT. Her research investigates the social structures of assessment and learning spaces to make recommendations for improving teacher and student agency. Jill is proud to have led research on Accessibility in Assessment for Learning and student stories of Thriving in Vertical Schools.
Dr Callula Killingly is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Centre for Inclusive Education (C4IE) at QUT and a member of the Accessible Assessment ARC Linkage Team (LP180100830). Her research interests include learning and memory processes, language and literacy development, and music cognition. Callula’s doctoral work examined the cognitive processes underpinning involuntary musical memories (‘earworms’). She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has teaching experience in the areas of cognitive psychology, research design, and statistical analysis.
Dr Julie Arnold is a Lecturer in Education, specialising in English curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, at QUT. Her current research interests are in accessible assessment practices in secondary schools and reflective inquiry for equity, diversity, and inclusion in higher education.
Dr Haley Tancredi is a Lecturer in the QUT School of Education and a certified practicing speech pathologist. She is the Inclusion and Exclusion program co-leader in QUT’s Centre for Inclusive Education (C4IE). She is a co-author of Accessible Pedagogies™ and her Doctoral research investigated the impact of this Program of Learning on the experiences and engagement of students with language and/or attentional difficulties.
Details:
| Location: | E550 Education Precinct, Kelvin Grove Campus, QUT Brisbane [link to map] |
| Start Date: | 15/08/2025 [add to calendar] |
| Start Time: | Registrations open 8:15am, event starts 8:45am sharp |
| End Time: | 4:30pm |
| RSVP By: | Monday 11th of August 2025 |
| Cost: | $350 |
| Organiser: | The Centre for Inclusive Education |
| Enquiries: | contact.c4ie@qut.edu.au |