Griffith University

BSc, DipNutrDiet, MAppSc (Research), PhD

Contact details for Associate Professor Heather Alexander

Associate Fellowship from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (formerly the Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education) 2007

Griffith Award for Excellence in Teaching: Innovation across the Institution Award 2006

Research expertise

• Assessment, particularly clinical assessment:
• Workplace-based assessment: use of the mini-CEX in the assessment of International Medical Graduates
• How examiners from decisions in standardised clinical assessments
• Problem-based learning
• Interprofessional Education: Awarded an Associate Fellowship by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council in 2007 for a project titled: Developing a model for interprofessional education during clinical placements for medical and nursing undergraduate students

Teaching responsibilities

• Professional Development workshops, particularly in the field of assessment
• Graduate Certificate in Higher Education
• Foundation of University Teaching workshops

Selected publications

Books, Chapters, Reports and Theses

• Alexander H, Henderson A. Developing a model for Interprofessional education during clinical placements for medical and nursing undergraduate students Report of ALTC Fellowship, 2010. ISBN978-1-921856-15-0.
• Vernon C Marshall (editor-in-chief) Alexander H, Devitt PG, Glass RD, Hume FP, Kidd MR, McGrath BP, Paget NS, Pepperell RJ, Rose AT, Vine PJ, Yeo BW. AMC Handbook of Clinical Assessment, 2007. The Australian Medical Council Barton ACT.
• Tedman R, Alexander H, Loudon R. 2007, 'Problem-based learning in an e-learning environment: a case study at Griffith University School of Medicine', in Evolution of Teaching and Learning Paradigms in Intelligent Environment, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg p 31 – 46.
• Alexander HGI. The measurement of knowledge in medical education – the role of true knowledge, false knowledge and ignorance. (PhD Thesis) Brisbane: University of Queensland, 1998.
• Alexander H. An Evaluation of B Mode Ultrasound in the Measurement of Subcutaneous Fat and Muscle in Lean and Obese Subjects, (M.App.Sc thesis) 1991.

Selected Refereed Publications

• Alexander H, Tedman R, Pountney H, Wallace B. Student Facilitated PBL – A Capstone Collaborative Learning Experience in the Griffith University MBBS Program. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), 2011; 6 (1):4-10.
• Tedman RA, Alexander H, Massa H Moses D. Student Perception of a New Integrated Anatomy Practical Program: Does Students’ Prior Learning Make a Difference? Clinical Anatomy 2011; 24:664–670.
• Henderson A, O’Keefe M, Alexander H. Interprofessional education in clinical practice: Not a single vaccine. Australian Health Review 2010; 34(2):224-226.
• Henderson A, Alexander H, Haywood A, Stapleton P, Patterson E, Dalton M, Creedy D. Promoting and Providing Expert Guidance in Work-intensive Clinical Settings . Vocations and Learning 2010;3:141–156
• Nair B, Alexander H, McGrath B, Parvathy M, Kilsby E, Wenzell J, Frank I, Pachev G, Page G. 2008 The mini clinical evaluation exercise (mini-CEX) for assessing clinical performance of international medical graduates. Medical Journal of Australia 2008, 189(3): 159-161.
• Stapleton S, Henderson A, Creedy DK, Cooke M, Patterson E, Alexander H, Haywood A, Dalton M. 2007, 'Boosting morale and improving performance in the nursing setting' Journal of Nursing Management 2007; 15: 811-816
• Alexander H & Dugdale AE 'Progress Testing', Medical Teacher 2006 28: 92 Groves M, O’Rourke P, Alexander H. Clinical reasoning: the relative contribution of identification, interpretation and hypothesis to misdiagnosis. Medical Teacher 2003; 25(6): 621-5
• Groves M, O’Rourke P, Alexander H. The association between student characteristics and the development of clinical reasoning in a graduate-entry, PBL medical program. Medical Teacher 2003; 25(6): 626-31
• Groves M, O’Rourke P, Alexander H. The clinical reasoning characteristics of diagnostic experts. Medical Teacher 2003; 25(3): 308-313 Groves M, Scott I, Alexander H. Assessing clinical reasoning: a method to monitor its development in a PBL curriculum. Medical Teacher 2002; 24(5): 507-15
• Mitchell G, Alexander HG, O’Rourke P. General Practitioners as Clinical Teachers in the Early Years of a Graduate Medical Course. Focus on Health Professional Education: A Multi-Disciplinary Journal 2001; (3): 44-51.
• Dugdale AE, Alexander HG. Knowledge Growth in Medical Education. (letter) Academic Medicine 2001; 76: 669-670
• Spike N., Alexander H., Elliott S., Hazlett C., Kilminster S., Prideaux D. and Roberts T. In-Training Assessment - its potential in enhancing clinical teaching. Medical Education 2000;34:858-861
• D. Prideaux, H. Alexander, A. Bower, J. Dacre, S. Haist, B. Jolly, J. Norcini, T. Roberts, A. Rothman, R. Rowe, S. Tallett. Clinical teaching: maintaining an educational role for doctors in the new health care environment. Medical Education 2000; 34:820-826

Selected Conference Publications (2005-2010)

• H. Alexander & R. Tedman & B. Wallace & H. Pountney 2010, 'Student facilitated PBL - a capstone collaborative learning experience in the Griffith University MBBS program', in Conference Proceedings of ICL2010, Belgium.
• Alexander H, Mc Grath B, Doherty R, Reid A. 2010 Developing Accreditation Standards for Implementing Workplace-based Assessment as a Summative Assessment. International Ottawa Conference on Medical Education, Miami, USA.
• R. A. Tedman & H. Alexander 2008, 'Innovation in Problem Based Learning: Transition to the Clinical Learning Environment', in ANZAME 2008 Practice, scholarship and research in health professional education, Australian and New Zealand Association for Medical Education, Sydney.
• Nair K, Alexander H, McGrath B, Frank I, Page G, Pachev G. Learning from performance assessments - results of a study on the Mini-CEX. 2007 Proceedings of the Australasian and New Zealand Association for Medical Education Conference: Linking Learners and Leaders. Canberra.
• Alexander H, Kilsby E, Mitchell C, Groves M, Prideaux D. 2007, ‘Factors Influencing Examiner Decision-Making in the Objective Structured Clinical Examination’ Gold Coast Health and Medical Research Conference
• Loudon R, Alexander H, Tedman R. 2007, 'Student and staff engagement with a PBL curriculum: the role of an online delivery system', in International Problem-based Learning Symposium 2007: Re-inventing PBL, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore.
• Tedman R, Alexander H 2007, 'Changing problem-based learning to prepare students for work in clinical settings', in Effective Teaching and Learning Conference 2007, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
• Alexander H, Hughes R, Stewart R, Tedman R, Desbrow B. 2006, 'A multidisciplinary approach to developing cultural competence - a Griffith University signature experience for Griffith Health students', in Gold Coast Health and Medical Research Conference Proceedings, Griffith Faculty of Health, Gold Coast
• A conceptual framework for the evaluation of problem based tutoring H. Alexander, D. Nulty, R. Tedman, D. Prideaux, Proceedings of the Australasian and New Zealand Association for Medical Education Conference: Mind the Gaps, July 2005, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Invited Keynotes, Presentations

• 2011: Invited keynote speaker for Specialist Training and Education Forum, Brisbane QLD
• 2010: Invited keynote speaker for the National Prevocational Medical Education Conference, November 7-10. “Workplace-based Assessment: Promises, Pitfalls and Processes”
• 2010: Invited keynote speaker at the University of Queensland Curriculum Conference, Friday 5 November “Where to from here in assessment in medical education”.
• 2008: Invited speaker, AMC Symposium on Workplace-Based Assessment for the Standard Pathway, COAG Nationally Consistent Assessment for International Medical Graduates (IMGs)
• 2008: Invited keynote and facilitator for UNSW Medical School Assessment Workshop
• 2007 / 2008: Invited facilitator of Australian Medical Council Clinical Examinations Workshops

Editorial and Reviewing Activity

• Australian Reader (OZreader) for the Australian Research Council
• A reviewer for: Medical Education, BMC Medical Education, Australian Health Review, Internal Medicine Journal, Focus on Health Professional Education.