Keynote Speakers

We are delighted to announce that the two keynote speakers at the 5th International Assessment in HE Conference.

Prof. Jo-Anne Baird from Oxford Education Institute  who is going to speak on the tensions inherent in assessment transparency.  Before coming to OUCEA, Jo-Anne was Professor of Education and Coordinator of the Centre for Assessment and Learning Studies at the University of Bristol. Jo-Anne previously held the position of Head of Research at the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance, where she managed the research programme and was responsible for the standard-setting systems for public examinations. She was also a Lecturer at the Institute of Education in London. Her first degree and doctorate were in psychology and she has an MBA. Jo-Anne is a Visiting Professor at Queen’s University, Belfast, she is Executive Editor of the journal, Assessment in Education: principles, policy & practice and has recently been working on the relationship between assessment theory and learning.

Dr Maddalena Taras from the University of Sunderland who is going to run an interactive session looking at critiques of key aspects of assessment research.  Maddalena has an extensive record of research in higher education assessment with outcomes relevant to all levels of education. Her work has had an important impact on debate, staff development and academic practice in UK universities and internationally. It covers assessment practices and discourses including linguistic and cultural influences on perceptions of assessment. Her original self-assessment model linking practice and theory regarding supporting student learning and inclusion in assessment has created a paradigm shift in thinking. An original theoretical framework for summative, formative and self-assessment represents a second paradigm shift. She has also critiqued extensively Assessment for Learning as increasingly promoted in schools and initial teacher training world-wide. Maddalena’s work questions the definitions of formative assessment and the underpinning theoretical assumptions, identifying the contradictions that ensue in practice.