It's good to talk - what makes an effective professional conversation?

The role of the mentor has been strengthened in initial teacher education, as a way of helping the student teacher to bridge the theory and the practice of their teaching (Welsh Government, 2018 and updated 2023; Furlong, 2020; DfE, 2024). The professional conversation forms a significant part of a student teacher’s professional learning. Although no single definition of professional conversation exists, it is generally assumed to involve a critical interaction between the student teacher and an experienced teacher or mentor, facilitating collaborative knowledge construction and reflection (Nsibande, 2007). Within teacher education, this usually occurs more briefly after a lesson observation and in more depth at regular progress review points during the student teacher’s learning journey. This article focuses on the outcome of research into these professional conversations and suggests ways of making these conversations more effective for the participants.