Forum - Evaluative Judgement

The Chiropractic Board of Australia (the Board) held a successful virtual forum for all key stakeholders on 3 November 2021 to explore the concept of evaluative judgement in learning in professional practice and particularly its applications to the health professions.

The forum commenced with a presentation from Professor Boud, followed by a panel discussion and questions from participants where we explored the concept of evaluative judgement from a practical perspective.

Professor Boud described evaluative judgement as the capacity to make judgements about the quality of our work and the work of others and described this as an essential component of ongoing professional practice. He highlighted three strategies for development of evaluative judgement in our profession, through everyday discussion and interactions (continually reflecting on what we and others do in clinical practice and checking our understandings), peer review activities to compare practice (in supportive groups with no power differentials), and through building communities of praxis committed to continual practice improvement.

Forum resources

Interview

You can watch a short video with Board member Associate Professor Anna Ryan and Professor Boud below.

Forum held 3 November 2021

Below is a recording of the Board’s virtual forum.

Additional forum resources

• Chiropractic Board of Australia Forum Slides - By Professor David Boud (331 KB,PDF)

Presenters, guest speakers and our panel members

The forum was led by Associate Professor Anna Ryan, the Victorian practitioner member of the Board. A/ Prof A Ryan is a Chiropractor and a medical doctor, currently working as an academic and researcher for the Melbourne Medical School, at the University of Melbourne. You can read more about our Board members here.

The Board was delighted to welcome Professor David Boud as the keynote speaker. Professor Boud is recognised expert in higher and professional education settings. He has taught and published extensively on teaching, learning and assessment. He currently serves as Alfred Deakin Professor and Director of the Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning at Deakin University, Melbourne, and as Emeritus Professor at the University of Technology Sydney. He is also Professor of Work and Learning at Middlesex University in London.

Following the presentation by Professor David Boud, A/ Prof A Ryan introduced attendees to four valuable panel members for a question and answer section, and panel discussion. The panel members were Adj Associate Professor Rod Bonello, Adj Associate Professor Matthew Fisher, Dr Barrett Losco, and Ms Anne Burgess AM. The panel discussion explored ways of implementing and improving evaluative judgment in the settings of university education and private clinical practice with possible support from professional associations. The panel spoke of the need for courage and confidence to reveal strengths and areas for development in professional practice, the necessity to allow time for reflection and for evaluative judgment to be embedded into our normal daily activities, as well as notions of who might be suitable peers with which to engage in peer review and potentially develop sustainable communities of praxis.

About the panellists:

Adj Associate Professor Rod Bonello is immediate past President of Chiropractic Australia. He graduated from Sydney University with a Bachelor degree majoring in Anatomy, chiropractic and osteopathy diplomas from the Sydney College of Chiropractic, and a Masters degree in Health Administration at the University of New South Wales. He was made a Fellow of the International College of Chiropractors, USA and of the Royal College of Chiropractors based in the United Kingdom. Professor Bonello was the founder of chiropractic studies at Macquarie University in Sydney where, in 1990 the first university program in chiropractic was established and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Murdoch University.

Adj Associate Professor Matthew Fisher was appointed CEO of the ACA in August 2014. Originally qualifying as a dietitian before completing his PhD, he has worked in public and private healthcare sectors in Victoria and NSW plus lectured at four Universities. Amongst an extensive list previous roles, Matthew was CEO of the Australian Dental Association (NSW Branch) and received an Honorary Doctorate from Charles Sturt University for his work in improving access to regional healthcare.

Dr Barrett Losco graduated from the University of Johannesburg with a Masters in Chiropractic and has worked as a clinician and academic in both South Africa and Australia (originally country Victoria). He is the current Chiropractic Discipline Lead at Murdoch University and remains actively involved in teaching, placement coordination and clinical supervision. His has broad research interests in manual therapies. In addition to his Chiropractic qualifications Barrett has completed a Masters in Professional Accounting and is currently undertaking a postgraduate studies in Health Economics.

Ms Anne Burgess (AM) served as a community member of the Chiropractic Board of Australia for 9 years. Anne trained as a social worker and has a background in public administration in social justice portfolios. She holds a number of regulatory and governance roles and was recognised in the Australia Day 2021 Honours list and appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her significant service to mental health, gender equality and older people.