Project Team



CSHE
The University of Melbourne

Professor Kerri-Lee Krause*
[Project Director]
*formerly CSHE, now Griffith Institute for Higher Education, Griffith University

Dr Kerri-Lee Harris
[Project Director]

Ms Robin Garnett
[Project Officer]



Department of Genetics
The University of Melbourne

Associate Professor Dawn Gleeson



School of Biological Sciences
The University of Sydney

Associate Professor Mary Peat

Dr Charlotte Taylor


Project details


  1. Between January and March of 2006, the project team interviewed 57 university staff and 47 students and recent graduates in eight Australian universities. The universities were selected to reflect the range of universities in Australia. These interviews enabled the project team to gather ideas and issues concerning assessment in the biological sciences and to obtain examples of innovative and successful assessment practice. These interviews provided a wealth of valuable material relating to assessment.
  2. The project team also consulted on several occasions with an advisory group, made up of experts in the fields of higher education and the biological sciences.
  3. The findings from the interviews were used to develop a conceptual structure which could ultimately be reflected in the design of the website. Priority was given to ensuring that the site provided a framework of recognised good practice in higher education while accurately reflecting the data collected and, importantly supporting different lines of enquiry by users of the resource.
  4. Professor Dai Hounsell, Professor of Higher Education at the University of Edinburgh and author of numerous publications on assessment in the biological sciences, provided advice and input at various stages of the Project. In particular, Professor Hounsell provided valuable feedback on the conceptual development of the website structure.
  5. The plans for the website structure were discussed at a series of roundtables held in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Hobart. Practising tertiary educators in the biological sciences from all universities in Australia were invited. The roundtables provided valuable suggestions concerning the content and organisation of the website, and additional examples of innovative, effective assessment practice.
  6. In December 2006, the project team held full-day seminars titled Enhancing Assessment in the Biological Sciences in both Melbourne and Perth. Professor Hounsell presented the keynote address at each seminar. 130 staff from 24 universities participated and small group discussions during the seminars contributed further examples to the website.
  7. The content of each web page was written by members of the project team. Each page presents a synthesis of the material collected during the interviews, consultations and seminars, and draws upon the team's own extensive experience in Australian higher education and in teaching in the biological sciences.