Abstract Book
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Learning and Teaching Conference
What does it mean to cultivate human agency
in an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-integrated world?
The 2026 Monash Learning and Teaching Conference brings together educators to explore one of the most pressing questions facing higher education today.
📅 Tuesday 22 & Wednesday 23 September 2026
📍 Monash College | 750 Collins St, Docklands, VIC 3008
Building on the momentum of the 2025 conference, which highlighted the power of connection across people, practices, and institutions, the 2026 conference shifts focus to the role of human agency in an era where AI is embedded across learning, teaching, and assessment.
As AI becomes part of everyday educational practice, this conference creates space for critical conversations about how we design learning experiences that foreground human judgement, creativity, and ethical reasoning. It invites participants to engage with both the opportunities and challenges of AI, while maintaining a clear focus on the capabilities, choices, and actions of learners and educators.
The conference will bring together educators from across Monash and universities across Victoria to share practice, challenge assumptions, and strengthen our collective capability to support meaningful, future-focused education in a rapidly evolving landscape.
Human Agency in an AI-Integrated World
The Learning and Teaching Conference 2026 advances shared understanding and practice among educators in developing human agency in an AI-integrated world. The conference positions human agency as a core educational priority distinct from the growing use of “agency” in relation to AI systems, and focuses on how educators can support students to act with judgement, creativity, and responsibility in complex, technology-rich environments.
Through presentations, discussions, and shared practices, the conference explores four key areas:
Integrating AI in ways that support human agency
Exploring how to balance learning with, without, and about AI, ensuring students develop strong disciplinary foundations alongside the capacity to act effectively in complex, technology-rich environments.
Designing for visibility and integrity in learning
Building on Monash’s leadership in Programmatic Assessment and AI Review (PAAIR), this area explores how curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment can make learning visible, support valid judgement, and sustain meaningful engagement in AI-mediated contexts.
Day 1 – 22 September
Open to all Monash staff and external colleagues (by invitation)
Opening remarks
We start Day 1 with opening remarks from Professor Allie Clemans - Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) and Senior Vice-President, Monash University. This is followed by an exciting set of discussions and activities, described below, connecting to the conference theme: Human Agency in an AI-Integrated World.
Interactive Keynote Session: Human Agency in an AI-Integrated World
Led by Professor Barbie Panther (Senior Academic Director, Monash University).
Keynote presentation
What does it mean to be human in a world where AI is becoming an everyday part of learning, work and society? Join Professor Barbie Panther as she asks what it means to educate graduates for 2026, what we are preparing graduates to know, do and value. Where does human agency sit within our disciplines and how we might think about the relationship between human capability and AI? How we might use AI to help us strengthen, rather than lose sight of, human capabilities. What knowledge remains foundational? Where can AI extend or support what we do? And what remains distinctly human within our disciplines?
Provocations
Professor Barbie Panther hosts a series of short provocations from different perspectives, offered by guests from Monash and beyond, designed to get you thinking about big and difficult questions.
Featuring
 | Dr Thomas Corbin Deakin University | What does it mean and how does it feel to be a student or a teacher right now? |
 | Associate Professor Jo Blannin | How can we use technologies like AI and VR to scaffold ways of being? |
 | Dr Paula de Barba | What’s uniquely yours when artificial intelligence can do everything else? |
Student Perspectives
Professor Barbie Panther will then chair a panel that brings together student representatives alongside researchers from the AI in Higher Education (AIinHE.org) Student Perceptions of AI Project (a collaboration across Monash, Deakin, UQ and UTS) to explore how students are navigating learning, assessment and uncertain futures in a world of ubiquitous AI.
Conversations and Co-creation
After a refreshing morning tea, step into one of four facilitated breakout conversations exploring what human agency means within your discipline and professional context. Working with colleagues from across institutions, you'll discuss the future of knowledge, collaboration and professional practice before co-creating an artefact that imagines your discipline in 2036. These collaborative outputs will remain on display throughout the conference, sparking ongoing discussion and reflection.
Featured Educators
- Professor Allie Clemans
- Professor Barbie Panther
- Dr Brenda Hernandez Salazar
- Dr Bruce Mitchell
- Associate Professor Caroline Welles Sasser
- Professor Claire Palermo
- Dr Helen Gniel
- Dr Jana Yang
- Associate Professor Jess Mitchell
- Dr Jing Hu
- Associate Professor Jo Blannin
- Dr Mahbub Sarkar
- Dr Paula de Barba
- Mr Rowan Peter
- Ms Ruchi Sembey
- Dr Saima Batool
- Dr Shahnaz Mansouri
- Associate Professor Tim Fawns
- Dr Tony Mowbray
- Ms Wendy Ellerton
Day 1 at a glance
| Session | Description |
|---|---|
| Poster sessions | After a networking lunch, discover innovative learning and teaching projects from across Monash. Poster presenters will share research, educational innovations and practical initiatives, providing opportunities to exchange ideas, ask questions and build new professional connections. |
| Advancing Assessment: A Vision for Monash | Join Professor Allie Clemans (DVCE), Associate Professor Tim Fawns, Professor Claire Palermo and Dr Helen Gniel for a conversation about how Monash is approaching the evolving landscape of education and assessment. The session will bring together key elements of the University's approach, including the Advancing Assessment Vision, Programmatic Assessment and AI Review (PAAIR), the Evidence of Learning Framework, and a revised Academic Integrity Framework. This will be a great opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the future direction of assessment at Monash. |
| Evidence of Learning: Case Discussions | Chaired by Dr Mahbub Sarkar, this session brings together Monash educators to share real examples and work in progress of non-traditional approaches to evidencing learning. Through short presentations, discussion and audience Q&A, contributors will share not only what they have tried, but what they have learned along the way, including practical challenges, honest limitations and unforeseen considerations. |
| Networking | A chance to mingle and talk about all that you have discovered over drinks and nibbles. |
Day 2 – 23 September
Open to Monash staff only
Welcome Plenary
Day 2 opens with a plenary led by Dr Paula de Barba to set the scene and re-energise you for another day of sharing and learning. With Monash-only participation, today offers a more intimate space and draws on a wide range of contributions from across the university.
Building learner agency moment by moment
Led by Dr Paula de Barba (Senior Lecturer, Monash Education Academy).
Students arrive with their own histories and reasons for being here. We contribute by helping them build their knowledge, skills and capacity so they can act with intention. They want to change the world, and it is our job to equip them to do so. Generative AI has made that both more urgent and easier to get wrong. Dr De Barba sheds light on how agency can be built in the ordinary moments of teaching, how to decide which thinking has to stay with the students while learning with AI, and how that builds the confidence they need to realise their big dreams.
Featured Educators
- Dr Amber McLeod
- Associate Professor Amin Sakzad
- Dr Amir Rouhshad
- Dr Angela Viora
- Dr Ari Handayani
- Dr Brenda Hernandez Salazar
- Mrs Caroline Sanz-Veitch
- Dr Chandrashekhar Bobade
- Dr Charlotte Pierce
- Dr Daniel Andrews
- Dr Danielle D'Souza
- Dr Danielle Ramirez
- Ms Deanna Ganyu
- Dr Dhayani Kirubaharan
- Associate Professor Djuke Veldhuis
- Dr Ee Lim
- Dr Ellinor Allen
- Dr Elliott Logan
- Dr Erica Liu
- Dr Haemala Thanasegaran
- Dr Homa Babai Shishavan
- Dr Jigya Khabar
- Associate Professor Jonathan Matheny
- Ms Kate Garam
- Associate Professor Katrina Binger
- Ms Kathy Petkoff
- Dr Lilani Arulkadacham
- Ms Liz Cahir
- Dr Marco Lecci
- Dr Melvin Saji
- Dr Mugdha Rai
- Mr Mux Wang
- Dr Narissa Timbery
- Mr Nurkholis Ainunnajib
- Dr Paula de Barba
- Associate Professor Pearl Subban
- Dr Rizka Purwanto
- Dr Sadia Nawaz
- Dr Shahnaz Mansouri
- Dr Shruti Verma
- Dr Tammie Choi
- Dr Thomas Hiscox
- Dr Thu Do
- Associate Professor Tim Fawns
- Dr Tomas Zahora
- Dr Vandana Nathan
- Dr Wil-kie Tan
- Dr Yi-Shan Tsai
- Dr Zoe Henderson
Day 2 at a glance
| Session | Description |
|---|---|
| Parallel sessions | Each block of five concurrent sessions explores different facets of human agency in an AI-integrated world. Hands-on workshops showcase innovative approaches to assessment design, practical examples of meaningful engagement, and authentic evidence of learning and student growth. Other sessions focus on inclusive educational design, how educators can intentionally strengthen human judgement, critical thinking and learner agency, and build the community and collaboration that students need to navigate complex technological and social landscapes. |
| Lightning talks | Rapid-fire presentations spotlight innovative teaching practices, research and emerging ideas from across Monash. Grouped by theme, these sessions are a fast way to discover new approaches, share experiences and spark conversation. |
| Plenary response | Associate Professor Tim Fawns hosts a conversational panel reflecting on core themes of the conference. Where is Monash heading next, and what does it mean to cultivate true human agency in our teaching moving forward? |
| Closing remarks & networking reception | Associate Professor Fawns closes the conference with brief words of gratitude and reflection on some of the key takeaways from the conference. Participants are invited to stay for a networking reception to continue conversations, share insights, and connect with colleagues new and familiar in a relaxed setting. |
Register for the Learning and Teaching Conference 2026
Select the conference day you wish to attend. Registration is required for each day. In-person registration has now closed.
Explore the innovative ideas, research, and practices shared at the Learning and Teaching Conference. The Abstract Book showcases the wide range of contributions from educators, researchers, and professional staff who are shaping the future of learning and teaching at Monash University.
Missed the conference?
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Keep Exploring
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Session Recordings
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Conference Program
Browse the conference schedule, session descriptions and presenter information.
Poster Gallery
Discover projects and ideas from across the Monash learning and teaching community in our digital poster collection.
View the poster gallery Available to Monash staff and students only.
Register for the Learning and Teaching Conference 2026
Select the conference day you wish to attend. Registration is required for each day.