Empowering university educators: How Q-sorting fosters adaptive expertise and professional development

Teaching is a complex and often unpredictable profession that requires both routine and adaptive expertise. Structured reflection might play a key role in developing adaptive expertise; however, opportunities for such reflection are not always embedded in professional development programmes. In this chapter, we share our experience using the Q-methodology, both as a research tool and as a way to engage university educators in meaningful discussions about the challenges they face in their (innovative) teaching practice. We conducted seven Q-sorting workshops with a total of N = 93 university educators from various disciplines and countries, in which we invited participants to rank classroom challenges and reflect on their experiences. Our shared experiences, along with participant feedback, revealed that the Q-sorting method fostered rich conversations, supporting participants to gain new insights, exchange teaching strategies, and identify shared challenges. University educators reported in their feedback that the Q-sorting activity was engaging and insightful, highlighting the importance of structured reflection in professional growth. We believe that integrating Q-sorting into teacher professional development programmes could provide a practical and engaging way to empower educators in transitioning from routine to adaptive experts. Discussions around real-world teaching challenges can encourage both individual and collective learning, supporting educators to better navigate the complexities of their profession with confidence and ability.