Expert rater as deep listener in complex performance-based assessments

This research study examines the phenomenon of deep listening as it is experienced by expert coraters in the process of scoring digitally recorded, complex performance-based assessments used to certify coaching practitioners. Via qualitative in-depth interviews, I asked expert certifiers: What role does deep listening play in the assessment of complex interpersonal communication skills? What are the unknown, hidden, and tacit aspects of the phenomenon of deep listening in the expert rater's evaluation process? How are these experiences felt and understood?;Unlike the adoption of qualitative methods in social research, performance-based assessments continue to heavily favor a quantitative paradigm. The practice of deep listening as a way of improving discernment is commonly discussed in hermeneutics, heuristics, narrative, and phenomenology research literature. Assessment theories with qualitative underpinnings are only beginning to be discussed and studied. This study aims to nurture dialogue related to improving the validity of qualitative methods when used to rate human performance. I use in-depth open-ended interviews in order to cocreate meaning with "expert raters" who have practiced this skill for over 5 years and who have demonstrated mastery in a certification process. I hypothesize that complex human performance is more holistically understood and measured by including qualitative approaches, especially when the assessment is collaborative.;This study addresses the research gap within credible qualitative measurement practices that engage embodied epistemologies in assessment theories and practices. Results may benefit human raters such as educators, professional certification bodies, and organizational performance managers responsible for evaluating complex human performances.