Utilising the hidden break out room as a 3rd space for pedagogical reflection in supervisor development

We are a team of 7 Researcher Developers in Scotland, with diverse professional backgrounds, facilitating a cross-institutional programme for Supervisors in Scotland: the UKCGE Scotland Writing Group* (SWG). Now in its third iteration, the SWG is a bi-weekly online workshop series for Supervisors from Scottish Universities to reflect on practice and prepare applications for the UKCGE Supervisor Recognition Programme. The programme is open to all Supervisors at Scottish Universities and represents a broad range of experiences: from very early career supervisors working towards the Associate Award, to longstanding supervisors working towards the Full Award. Alongside this career stage diversity, it is also an interdisciplinary space that hosts differing disciplinary perspectives on research and research supervision.

As facilitators, managing expectations across differing disciplinary perspectives and experiences is rich in experiential peer learning and provides opportunities to enhance and reflect on our pedagogical approach. It can also be challenging to navigate. As an interdisciplinary facilitation team, we can pre-empt some of the challenging conversations arising. We can also find ourselves wondering how best to respond when faced with unanticipated challenges that require careful navigation. Through utilising the 20-minute slot in the workshops where supervisors are in break-out room discussions, we have space to reflect on and discuss how we approach our practice and, through co-facilitation, we learn from each other and work collectively to maintain a safe reflective environment, for Supervisors and for ourselves. Through refelctions as a project team, taking an autoenthographic approach, we have identified 4 positionalities within our Developer role, which we navigate and support, through collective peer learning in the UKCGE Scotland Writing Group: The Isolated Developer; The Developing Developer; The Cross-Disiplinary Developer; The Uneasy Developer.

Having previously explored the importance of holding this reflective space for supervisors in the SWG*; the role of the Researcher Developer in community building*; and the hidden potential of understanding their previous experiences*, we build on explorations of Researcher Development as a third space* in this presentation to consider the hidden potential of the ‘main room’ during online breakouts for pedagogical and professional learning.

*https://sway.cloud.microsoft/xDzWntjTt4kzfvyY?ref=Link

*https://redsconference.co.uk/2025/02/24/holding-space-for-reflective-supervisory-praxis/

*https://drhiddencurriculum.wordpress.com/2025/09/08/mobilising-communal-researcher-identities-researcher-development-and-the-hidden-curriculum/

*https://drhiddencurriculum.wordpress.com/2025/06/26/researcher-developers-as-careful-gatekeepers-in-research-culture/

*https://journals.uclpress.co.uk/lre/article/pubid/LRE-22-25/