Authors: Tanya Henry and Associate Professor Christine Slade, Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation (ITaLI), The University of Queensland
Focus area: Assessment design
The Lead through learning strategy 2025 - 2027 (the Strategy) is a whole-of-university strategy at The University of Queensland (UQ) aimed at addressing the impact of generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) in education and sits within the UQ’s AI in Education Action Plan (2025 – 2027). This initiative is a partnership between 5 faculties and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) (DVC(A)) portfolio which aims to ensure graduates can use gen AI ethically and responsibly and that assessment practices assure learning outcomes.
Learning designers are embedded in the faculties for 3 years to spearhead the cultural change in assessment and teaching practices in the light of gen AI. As this is one piece of a broader program of work within the Strategy, the Learning Design (LD) team is led by a Strategic Lead based in the central teaching unit, who provides leadership and mentorship to the team of faculty-based learning designers and is the conduit between LDs and the DVC(A).
The Strategy has 2 main goals:
- Preparing students for responsible gen AI use by equipping students with ethical and practical skills they can use in their studies, careers and communities, and preparing them to lead and shape the future of gen AI integration in their fields.
- Maintaining the integrity of the learning process by ensuring that academic standards are upheld through secure and credible assessment practices.
Partnering with faculties to achieve these goals enables contextualised approaches within disciplines, with each faculty developing an operational plan that reflects their individual context. The central teaching and learning unit, the Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation (ITaLI), complements this approach, upskilling gen AI use and assessment transformation, providing institutional guidance and facilitating collaboration.
Within faculties learning designers, in collaboration with teaching staff, are developing and delivering workshops to support staff in using gen AI including how to enhance the validity and security of assessments. Across faculties staff are engaging in communities of practice including the establishment of an AI Steering Committee to explore the development of a whole-of-faculty gen AI curriculum.
Key lessons or points for implementation
- Define success and leverage existing data:
Clearly articulate what success looks like in advancing the project’s core goals and how progress will be measured. Engage with colleagues who can identify existing data sources and explore future possibilities to support evidence-based decision-making. - Integrate with other initiatives to maximise impact and minimise change fatigue:
Assessment transformation should align with other strategic initiatives, such as inclusive design and indigenising the curriculum, to create synergies rather than silos. This approach fosters collaboration, reduces duplication of effort and helps avoid staff fatigue by streamlining change. - Support educators through incremental, reflective change:
Meet educators where they are and guide them through manageable, meaningful steps in assessment reform. Celebrate small wins, reflect on what works and what doesn’t, using a continuous improvement approach. - Contextual partnerships across the university:
Connecting both top down and ground up goals is important to support staff buy-in where success requires teaching and assessment practices to change.
Academic integrity toolkit