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I am an Associate Professor in the Melbourne Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. I also hold a continuing post at Federation University Australia where I teach academic literacy. I also do consultancy work for the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

I was Associate Professor and Director (2009-2014) and Honorary Fellow (Economics) at the Williams Centre for Learning Enhancement, Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne. Prior to that I was a lecturer at Monash University. I was lecturer and Visiting Scholar in Philosophy at the Flinders University of South Australia from 1996-2002, and taught Philosophy at the University of Adelaide and the University of Edinburgh.

I have published eight books and 90+ scholarly publications most in peer-reviewed journals. My most recent forthcoming book (with Emeritus Professor Ronald Barnett from the Institute of Education) is entitled From Critical Thinking to Criticality: a Higher Education for a Troubled World (Routledge, World Issues in Theory and Philosophy of Higher Education series). More information here.

Google scholar: h-index: 29; i10 index=40@September 2025.

I am married and have one son. My extra-mural interests include modern jazz and baroque music. I used to play classical guitar in the Melbourne Mandolin Orchestra in a previous incarnation.

Qualifications

Certificate IV (Electronic Publishing); BA (Deakin); BA (Hons) (Flinders); RSA CELTA (Cambridge); PhD (Flinders); GradDipEd; PhD (Adelaide).

I am interested in work opportunities and visiting professorial roles. Download my long (academic-style) CV here.  See also my  Google Citations, Find an Expert, PhilPeople, ORCID pages. My Academia.edu, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and ResearchGate links are at the bottom of the page. I am interested in hearing from graduate students and researchers about potential research synergies.

Current position

Associate Professor/Principal Fellow in Higher Education, Faculty of Education, The University of Melbourne, and continuing part-time appointment at Federation University Australia.

Current Research interests

My research interests are at the intersection of Higher Education and Philosophy.

  • Critical thinking, and how to teach it
  • Computer-aided argument mapping
  • Argumentation theory and informal logic
  • Cognitive science and the philosophy of mind (esp qualia debates)
  • Cognitive science and higher education
  • The observation-theory distinction
  • Citation analytics
  • Interdisciplinary higher education
  • New media and new literacies, the challenges and opportunities of online learning
  • Systemic influences on student evaluation surveys
  • History of Australasian philosophy, especially idealist perspectives
  • The nature of knowledge, epistemology

Professional Service (Summary only, see CV for details)

  • Advisory Board, Australasian Association of Language and Learning [by invitation] (AALL) (2025–)
  • Expert Advisor, Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority [VCAA] (2020–)
  • Editorial Board: L. J. Shedley and J. S. Beaudry (Eds.), Cases on Teaching Critical Thinking through Visual Representation Strategies. (2014) Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design Series. Hershey, PA: Information Science, IGI Global.
  • Board Member, Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasian (Victorian Branch) (2012-13)
  • Chair, Higher Education Research and the Student Learning Experience International Conference, University of Melbourne (2012)
  • Chair, Organising Committee, The Quantitative Analysis of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in Business, Economics and Commerce Disciplines, Annual Forum, University of Melbourne (2005-2011).
  • Chair, Special Consideration Committee, Faculty of Business and Economics (2009-2013)
  • Special Issue, Guest Editor, Journal of International Education in Business (2012-2014)
  • Reviewer for IGI-Global Publications (2012-2013)
  • Reviewer for Palgrave MacMillan Publishers (2011- present)
  • Special Issue, Guest Editor, Higher Education Research and Development (2009-2011)
  • Co-Editor, Higher Education Research and Development (2010-2011)
  • Associate Editor Higher Education Research and Development (2009-2011)
  • ALTC Assessor (2008-present)
  • Reviewer for Cognition
  • Reviewer for Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (2002-2006)
  • Reviewer for Australasian Journal of Philosophy (1998-present)
  • Reviewer for Behavioral and Brain Sciences
  • Reviewer for International Review of Economics Education
  • International English Language Testing System Examiner (2001–2003).

Community Service

  • Inaugural President, Mordialloc College Alumni Association (est. 2014, Chair of an 12-person committee dedicated to raising funds to support public education).
  • Nomination for ‘Community Group of the Year’, services to education for 2016 and 2017 Australia Day Awards. Kingston City Council.