Professional Development Session for AERA: There is a rise in university community research collaborations and interest in shifting these away from using service frameworks towards using those of solidarity. Participatory action research (PAR) is an approach to research that positions those most impacted by research as leaders in shaping research questions, framing interpretations, and designing meaningful research products and actions. Via interactive lecture, PAR project stories, and small-group workshops, this four-hour course will introduce participants to the history and current practice of PAR with projects that rely on community generated surveys, focus groups, mapping, interviews, and secondary analysis of quantitative data. It is our aim that participants will come away from the course with a basic understanding of the praxis of PAR, a sense of ethics and dilemmas, a taste of applying concepts discussed to their own work, and new connections with allied scholars in the field. Participants will be provided a short reading list prior to the course for their reading pleasure. All are welcome, there are no prerequisite skills or knowledge necessary for participation in this course.