Professor Denise Wood
Central Queensland University | Learning, Equity, Access and Participation
Denise is Professor of Learning, Equity, Access and Participation at Central Queensland University. She also held an adjunct Professorial position in the Faculty of Education at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa from 2012-2015 and is an adjunct at the University of South Australia. Her qualifications include a PhD (Education), Master of Educational Technology, Master of Design, Graduate Certificate in Flexible Learning, Graduate Diploma in Social Sciences and a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work.
Denise’s research focuses on the use of accessible information and communication technologies (ICTs) to increase social and educational participation. She has been awarded more than $6 million in research income over the last five years and she is the project leader of a current $2.974 million research project funded by the Australian Government, Department of Education, which aims to improve educational and employment outcomes of young people with disabilities. She has been project leader of four Australian Government, Office for Learning and Teaching funded projects focusing on technology enhanced learning, including a current project focusing on the inclusive design of technology enhanced learning. She is also a chief investigator with the Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre focusing on participatory research involving people from special equity groups, especially young people with disabilities and young people from Indigenous communities. She is also currently leading four Australian Government Higher Education Participation Programme projects at CQUniversity focusing on improving access, equity and learning outcomes for students from special equity groups.
Denise has authored/co-authored more than 120 peer-reviewed journal publications, book chapters, conference papers and government reports, and she is a co-editor of a recently published book by Routledge focusing on Activity Theory, Authentic Learning and Emerging Technologies. She is also an Associate Editor of the Higher Education Research and Development Journal and peer reviewer of several high ranked journals. She has been an assessor for the Australian Government’s learning and teaching grants and awards, and expert reviewer for the South African National Research Foundation and the United States National Science Foundation.
Her work in innovative teaching and learning, and accessibility solutions for students from special equity groups has been recognised with several awards including Member of the Order of Australia (AM), an Australian Learning and Teaching Council Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning, an SA Great Award, the inaugural 2010 Telstra-TJA Christopher Newell award for Telecommunications and Disability, and several University of South Australia awards including teaching excellence, equity, community engagement and an Education, Arts and Social Sciences Distinguished Academic Achievement Award.