Find out how to embrace educator doubt and uncertainty
In this post, CRADLE PhD student Xin Liu reflects on our sixth seminar for 2026, ‘Are you afraid of the doubt? Educator uncertainty in fully online programs’. In this seminar Professor Mollie Dollinger unpacked what educator uncertainty means for fully online programs in an age of generative AI and asked, ‘Are you afraid of the doubt?’.
Are you afraid of the doubt? Educator uncertainty in fully online programs
On 15 July, CRADLE hosted an insightful seminar presented by Professor Mollie Dollinger from Curtin University. Mollie repositioned the concept of doubt in higher education and gave practical examples of how educators can design with it.
Over the past few years, higher education has been living with different kinds of doubt. The rapid development of generative AI has raised new concerns about assessment security. Online education has also continued to grow. These changes have led people to question whether universities can still assure student learning. Against this background, Mollie asked a simple but challenging question: are we afraid of doubt?
Mollie argued that doubt is not something we should rid ourselves of. It is an unavoidable part of education, and it can also be productive. This clear and thoughtful unpacking gave us a broader understanding of what doubt can mean. Doubt is often seen as something negative. It may suggest that we lack confidence, evidence or control. However, doubt can encourage us to reflect, ask questions and explore new ideas. As Mollie explained, doubt can be “an irritation that ignites inquiry”. Instead of concealing doubt, educators should bring it into the light and discuss it more honestly.
A key message from the seminar was that educators can learn to “design with doubt”. This does not mean giving up on standards or assessment security.
Instead, it means moving from concealing doubt to revealing it and being more honest about what assessment can and cannot show.
For example, learning outcomes could be more honest about what educators can realistically assess and verify. Rubrics could be treated as shared references for conversations with students, rather than as completely objective measures of quality. Similarly, disagreement during moderation could be seen as useful information, showing where judgement is difficult and where assessment design may need to be improved.
This idea is particularly relevant to online education. Educators often begin by asking how they can add more security to online assessment. Mollie suggested beginning with a different question: where is doubt revealed? Educators can then consider what evidence they need and what claims about student learning they can reasonably defend. Being honest about doubt and improving assessment security can work together rather than against each other.
During the Q&A, Mollie was asked how universities could be honest about doubt in learning outcomes while still competing with other institutions and trying to “win” in education. Her answer was simple: “honesty always wins”. She explained that universities often make ambitious promises about what their graduates will become. However, being clear about what a course can teach, assess and verify may build more trust than making claims that cannot be fully supported.
My key takeaway
This seminar gave me useful insights for my current PhD study. Working with doubt means accepting that uncertainty is part of research, and using doubt to think more carefully, reflect more honestly and make better research decisions. In my qualitative study, I often question my own decisions. Were my interview questions leading? Did I understand the participants correctly? Am I over-interpreting the data? Am I staying close to what they actually said? These moments of questioning and doubt help me notice possible bias and reflect more honestly on my research process. I can then discuss these concerns openly with my supervisors, which helps strengthen the credibility of my study.
Missed the seminar? Catch up on our YouTube channel!
About Xin
Xin Liu (Lexie) is a research PhD student with CRADLE. Lexie is interested in feedback literacy and wants to integrate the approach of student as partners/co-creation/co-design into feedback research to promote equity and inclusion.
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