TLASE Innovative Resources

This space showcases a selection of recent research papers focused on teaching, learning and /or assessment. Their main findings might support a critical evidence-informed teaching and encourage colleagues to consider how emerging evidence might inform pedagogical practice.

Effective Use of Rubrics

There are a number of aspects that influence effective use of rubrics. The following questions could be considered to align our assessment for learning practices with the latest research evidence. See what you think. Do you explain, or allocate some time to discuss how to interpret and understand the rubric scores and the criteria?

Jonsson et al. (2025)

Best Practice for Oral Assessment

The HEA Generative AI in Higher Education Teaching & Learning Policy Framework suggests the oral assessments “to demonstrate authorship and ensure authenticity” (p. 13). This article by Fenton (2025) covers some background of oral exams and assessments, types, benefits, challenges, practical considerations, and recommendations.

Fenton (2025)

Eddie Keane with the student she presented to on his visit

Three R’s of Student Engagement

Have you ever heard of the three core elements to boost students’ engagement? Student engagement is described to represent both the time and energy students invest in educationally purposeful activities and the effort institutions devote to using effective educational practices.

Lowe (2023)

High-Impact Teaching Practice

High-impact practices are pedagogical practices that encourage student engagement and retention. Developmental feedback is one of them. This paper evidences the impact of developmental feedback to support student success in difficult courses.

Van Till et al. (2026)

three students in conversation sitting at a table

Does GenAI spell the death of the essay?

This 20-minute podcast offers a timely and thought-provoking resource for academics interested in assessment in the age of GenAI. Neil Selwyn speaks with Thomas Corbin from Deakin University about the future of the written essay and the need to move beyond defensive responses to AI.

Listen to the full episode

Designing assessments that make learning visible

In the age of GenAI, we should focus less on detecting misuse and more on designing assessments that make learning visible. Prioritise dialogue, staged processes, reflection, transparency, AI literacy, and evaluative judgement, so students use GenAI critically while still developing their own thinking, voice, and professional capabilities.

Corbin et al. (2026)

students smiling and sitting on a bench on the living bridge

Using rubrics for formative purpose

The formative use of rubrics seems to have the potential of promoting student learning, supposedly by making expectations and criteria explicit. However, there is a variation in effects on how well students perform on academic tasks when supported by rubrics. The aim of this study was to identify factors in rubric interventions that may potentially explain this variation in effects.

Jonsson et al. (2025)

Student using single study booth in library

Face-to-face marking of assignments

This is a proposal for academics to consider face-to-face marking as a potential process. It could be seen as worthwhile if it helps students understand feedback more deeply, recognise how to improve, feel more confident seeking feedback, and engage in meaningful dialogue about assessment, learning, and future academic development.

Lewitt and Boyd (2026)

four students in a circle chatting outside under a tree

Rubrics and Self-Assessment

This study shows how performance level descriptions fostered self-assessment accuracy because they helped students to infer their level of performance (i.e., the assessment criteria)

Krebs et al. (2026)

Effective feedback

Many EHS colleagues are already doing thoughtful and impactful work in this space, including approaches aligned with recognitive feedback, where feedback is not only corrective or developmental, but also acknowledges students’ effort, progress, identity, and emerging capabilities as learners. The evidence-based tip below is offered as one example of how we might continue to make feedback (verbal or written) more meaningful, supportive, and usable for students. Sometimes, less is more.

Corbin et al. (2026)

Improving teaching from research

In this provocative reading, the author makes a clear distinction between two ways in which research knowledge can be meaningful and useful for educational and teaching practice.

Biesta (2015)

Staff member talking and smiling with a student

Teaching as an imperfect and messy thing

This (imperfect) provocative and thoughtful piece calls for a shift from the pursuit of perfection toward more open, critical conversations with students about teaching, learning, and disciplinary knowledge.

Fawns et al. (2026)