Peer Feedback
Peer review of your teaching can provide valuable insights into many aspects of your practice. Having a colleague whom you respect and trust review your planning and assessment strategies as well as observe you in action in the classroom can provide some very powerful feedback for growth and development. To help facilitate this the Teaching Centre has a pool of people who would be interested and willing to engage in this process with you or you can approach a colleague to see if they would be interested in engaging in this process with you. The process can be even more rewarding if done in a reciprocal arrangement where each academic staff provides the other feedback. It also has the added benefit of creating community around teaching.
This process can take different forms, but usually follows a series of steps similar to this:
a pre-observation meeting to discuss expectations and parameters
a classroom observation or observations
a post-observation debriefing to discuss what was observed and provide informal feedback
a written summary that documents the process and provides concrete and formal feedback
It is important that this cycle be completed as quickly as possible. This so that the discussion, observations and feedback all occur while the events are fresh in both party's minds. If too much time passes, the impact of the experience is diminished for both reviewer and reviewee.
There are a few guidelines that we strongly suggest for the process of peer feedback in order to ensure that both the reviewee and reviewer are clear on the expectations and as comfortable as possible with the process:
The reviewer and reviewee discuss the parameters of the feedback with the reviewee deciding which areas of their teaching they would like to receive feedback on. While general feedback can be helpful, more often it is easier and more useful to have the reviewer focus on particular parts of the instruction. The reviewer must keep in mind the weight of what they are being asked to participate in and keep a very professional approach to the process. Being asked to provide feedback of this nature is a very personal activity, and they need to be sensitive to the way in which they deliver their observations to the reviewee while at the same time providing constructive feedback that will be helpful.
The level of participation of the reviewer in class activities should be discussed before the class and tailored to the objectives of the observation. If the review takes on the role of a silent observer only, then this allows the reviewer to observe, take note of and provide feedback on a broad range of student and instructor actions and reactions during activities. If the reviewer actively participates in activities, it allows them a deeper insight into to the experience of a student participating, and allows them to provide insight from this perspective. It is always the reviewee's choice to introduce and explain the presence of the the reviewer to the class (or not). Letting the class know that you are engaging in this process communicates that you value and are committed instructional practice.
The entire process and all of the material produced is the express property of the reviewee and should not be shared with anyone else. It is up to the reviewee who, when and how this information will be used and shared with others (if at all).
If you are not sure where to start or have questions about the process, make an appointment to meet with one of our Teaching Centre Staff to discuss this further.
Additional Resources