Defining Peer Observation – What Is It and What Are the Benefits?
Peer observation is a collaborative process where educational professionals receive formative feedback from a peer on their teaching. This approach is guided by goals established between the observer and the instructor observee. The observer reviews resources for the course, watches a live class session (when applicable), and provides timely feedback on the observed teaching materials or practices. Observers in this process could be a fellow colleague in your specific discipline or specialty area, a department chair, or someone outside of your program such as a CATL team member. The end goal of peer observation may be to get broad feedback, to help the instructor become the teacher they are striving to be, or to look at a focused issue, such as an instructor’s effectiveness in eliciting and sustaining discussion in class.
One of the many benefits associated with peer review is that it helps instructors stay up to date on best practices and opens their teaching to colleagues who can foster their improvement. Peer observation also allows instructors to gather credible evidence of teaching practices that can enhance a teaching portfolio, support an educational grant application, and promote personal reflective practices.
While student evaluations can be a useful tool for instructor growth, when they are used as the lone measure of teaching effectiveness, they can lead to less creative teaching when instructors become worried about the potential negative impacts of trying out new ideas or teaching methods. By participating in the peer observation process, “mutual benefits are produced for the observer and the observed, and to experience conditions of success, it requires a culture in which teaching is valued and openly discussed” (Fletcher, 2018).
Structure of a Peer Observation Experience
Preliminary Meeting
There are two intertwined goals for the pre-observation meeting: to establish or continue growing a collegial rapport between the observer and the instructor observee, and to ensure both people have a clear idea of what to expect during the observation. Asking some essential questions to help frame the observation will maximize the impact of the experience. Some of these framing questions may include ‘what key points should I know before observing your class’, ‘what are your expected learning outcomes and goals for this class session’, and ‘how will you determine if students have met these outcomes’? (University of Arizona, UCATT).
Review of Materials
The observer should gain access to the Canvas site (as an ‘Observer’) for the course, the syllabus, and any other materials the instructor used to frame the lesson for the students. A thorough review of these materials can help the observer assess the instructor observee’s preparedness, understand what students need to grasp, and gauge the effectiveness of the class session and overall learning objectives.
Classroom Observation
The objective of the classroom observation is to gather evidence on the degree to which the instructor met the goals that they set for themselves and acted as the type of teacher they wish to be. The area of focus for the observation will vary by individual need but may include how successful the instructor was at keeping students engaged, how well the instructor incorporated scaffolding for an activity that requires a substantial amount of critical thinking by students, or how effectively technology was integrated to assist in meeting learning objectives, among others.
It can be helpful for the observer to take detailed notes in the form of a bulleted list of descriptions of what the instructor and students are doing throughout the class period, with occasional time stamps. The observer can record instances of student questions and other forms of student engagement, as well as track the clarity and pace of any presentation of new material, etc.
Best practice is typically to inform your students why the instructor’s classroom is being observed so that students know that they are not the ones being assessed. Disclosing the observation process may influence student behavior, but in most classrooms, students will likely notice the presence of the observer anyway.
Follow-Up Meeting
The follow-up meeting is critical for the observer and the instructor observee to discuss how the class session went and for the observer to provide formative feedback on the degree to which the instructor met their goals. The observer can then offer both an overall assessment and questions and suggestions. Given that diverse instructional methods can work well, these ideas from the observer can be offered in the form of possibilities to consider, rather than corrections or mandates. It can be helpful for the instructor and the observer to exchange ideas about some different strategies that might be useful in specific situations. This follow-up should be within a week of the observation, and ideally, within one to two days after the observation.
Additional Resources for Peer Observation
Resources to Support the Peer Observation Process
- Yale-NUS College: Centre for Teaching and Learning – Peer Observation of Teaching Guidelines
- San Diego State University – Peer Observations of Teaching: A Best Practices Guide
- University of Texas at Austin: Faculty Innovation Center – Pre-Observation Discussion Questions
- Elon University: Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning – Narrative Log Peer Review Tool
Resources for Classroom Observations
- Harvard University: Bok Center for Teaching and Learning – Classroom Observation Form
- Colorado University: Teaching Quality Framework – Classroom Observation Rubric
- Penn State University: The Dutton Center – Peer Review Guide for Online Teaching