Keynote Speakers

In OCSLD, with thirteen colleagues, he helped to provide both staff and educational development support to the University’s academic Faculties and support Directorates for 23 years. For six years he was Course Leader for the University’s initial training course for new teaching staff.

He achieved a PhD by publication in 2003 and became a professor in March, 2010.

He has researched and published on a range of issues including:

- the experiences of new teachers in HE
- the positive effects of supplemental instruction
- ways of diversifying assessment
- improving student performance through engagement in the marking process
- the effectiveness of workshops as a method of staff development.

Most recently he has increasingly focused on researching and writing about assessment, including: improving student learning through active engagement with assessment feedback, and the significance of both explicit articulation and socialisation processes in improving students' understanding of assessment requirements and assessment feedback.

He is also interested in the design, development and use of social learning space in universities, as well as the development of research-based learning in the undergraduate curriculum, including its potential effect on university organization.

In the 90s he contributed to the design and delivery of a national programme of staff development in higher education on the issue of teaching more students and over the years has run numerous workshops around the country and internationally on a range of issues including teaching large classes, developing assessment strategies, and engaging students with assessment and feedback.

He has been a Fellow of the RSA, a Senior Fellow of SEDA (Staff and Educational Development Association) and was one of the first fourteen Senior Fellows of the UK Higher Education Academy, for whom he was also an accreditor.

Dr. Graham has extensive experience in facilitating adult learning in undergraduate, graduate, and community settings. She has worked with Alverno’s ability-based curriculum at both the classroom and administrative levels, and she has taught courses in developmental psychology, clinical psychology, and the psychology of women. As a member of the Research Center for Women and Girls, she chaired a team of Alverno faculty, staff, and students to produce a report on the status of girls in Wisconsin that highlights how girls are faring in areas such as education, mental health, and physical wellness. She collaborated with the Status of Girls Advisory Committee, made up of representatives from agencies around the state, to finalize and distribute this report throughout Wisconsin. She currently serves on the Research Center for Women and Girls Advisory Team.

A mark of Dr. Graham’s practice—whether in educational program planning and assessment, clinical work with individuals, or leadership of religious groups—is her commitment to learning, her ability to listen deeply to the needs of individuals and organizations, and her respect for the diverse array of people and programs with which she is involved.

Professor Leinonen has been actively involved in national and international higher education debates and advisory groups, including: Chair of the UK Higher Education Funding Council/Quality Assurance Agency advisory group into Employer Engagement in Learning, Chair of the King’s –Warwick Project, Trustee of IntoUni Charitable Trust; Trustee of the School’s Competition Settlement Trust, Member of the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group in Australia, Member of the CEOs Council of Open Educational Resources University; Director of University of Wollongong Dubai Ltd.