Abstract
This article documents the use of professional conversation as a method of participatory research to question, inform and innovate assessment practices used in tertiary settings. Utilising a professional conversations model, four tertiary educators engaged in a 6-month long email conversation designed to explore our individual and collective sense-making around use of a specific mode of assessment relating to sport pedagogy-related teacher and coach education courses. Justification for use of a professional conversations model is presented, along with participants’ experiences of engaging in this participatory method of data capture. A brief summary of participants’ post-conversation views on PASS is included, as well as recommendations relating to the utility of using a professional conversations model as a participatory research method.
Highlights
There is a commonly held view among academics that engagement in professional conversation leads to professional growth
Timperley’s (2015, p. 4) view that “professional knowledge is constructed through social interaction” reflects the idea that, when and where possible, opportunities for professional conversation should be embraced by academics as a means to better understand the effectiveness of current practices in higher education settings
With engagement in professional conversations aligned to adaptive expertise, introspection and the development of a collaborative space, we view it as a form of participatory research in that conversations result in a “sharing of knowledge and the growth of understanding” (Feldman, 1999, p. 2)
Summary
There is a commonly held view among academics that engagement in professional conversation leads to professional growth. As involvement in professional conversations encourages acts of responsiveness to the needs of others, it promotes participants’ reflexivity and mutual exchange of skills through the revealing and joint discussion of conflict and resolution in professional practice (Bergold & Thomas, 2012; Borrett & Rowley, 2020) This “safe space,” where time and space for reflection is afforded to all those who contribute, is often a feature of professional conversations and espoused as a fundamental principle of participatory research (Bergold & Thomas, 2012). Our understanding of these links between professional conversation and participatory research helped to shape this smallscale reflective research project that utilized a professional conversations model to inform participants’ understanding of a mode of assessment, known as PASS (Practically Assessed Structured Scenarios), used in sport pedagogy-related teacher and coach education
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