1. Centre for Lifelong Learning
Flexible and accountable? Using professional dialogue to assess competence in the workplace
Dr Judy Rumbelow
Assistant Director
Centre for Lifelong Learning
Coventry University

2. Flexible and accountable
Flexible and accountable? Using professional dialogue to assess competence in the workplace
Problems of assessing workplace competence
What is professional dialogue?
How can we use professional dialogue to achieve a rigorous and valid assessment?
A better type of competence? A better type of assessment?

3. The problems of assessing workplace competence
How should we define competence?
Is competence a legitimate concept?
Is it possible to assess competence?

4. Is it practical to assess competence?
What methods do we use to assess competence?
How do we judge competence?
Can we make the assessment of competence accountable?

5. What is professional dialogue?
A semi-formal conversation
Planned
Assessor directed with a light touch
Linked to other evidence
Recorded
Tracked

6. Case study 1
A group of part time HE lecturers working towards NVQs at level 4 in Training and Development
Professional dialogue used as supporting evidence especially in areas of knowledge and understanding

7. Case study 2
A group of HE student support staff working towards NVQs at levels 2 and 3 in Customer Service
Professional dialogue used to fill ‘gaps’ in evidence after initial assessment of portfolio

8. Achieving rigorous and valid assessment
The validity of ‘talk’
Links between types of evidence
Professional judgement of the assessor
Record keeping

9. A better type of assessment? A better type of competence?
A holistic view of competence
Manageable complexity
Promoting reflective practice
Easing the bureaucratic burden
Recognising the professional role of the assessor
Inclusivity

10. The practical implications of using professional dialogue as a method of assessment
Encouraging more ‘on the job’ assessment
Useful in 24/7 service industries
Can encourage participation of line managers in assessment
Can model practice for performance review

11. Summary and Conclusions
It is possible to use professional dialogue to address some of the concerns about assessment of competence
Rigorous assessment can be achieved but some careful record keeping is required
Professional dialogue can be particularly useful for 24/7 service industries with minimal time out of the workplace