EvaluationofTeachingandtheRoleofPeerObservation Becauseteachingisamulti‐dimensionalactivity,assessingwhatwedoasteachersrequiresamulti‐faceted
approach.Nosingleinstrumentcancaptureallaspectsofanyindividualstyleormethodofteaching.Student
surveys,forexample,canmeasurewhetherstudentperceptionsofwhatwearedoingarealignedwithwhat
weourselvesthinkwearedoing,butassessingourteachingrequiresmorethan“consumerimpressions.”
Peerobservationisjustonepartofacomprehensiveevaluationprogramandshouldbeusedalongsideandin
conjunctionwithothermethodsofevaluation. Whatispeerobservation? Asabasicdefinition,peerobservationistheprocessbywhichuniversityinstructorsprovidefeedbackto
colleaguesontheirteachingeffortsandpractices. Morenuanceddefinitionsofpeerobservationdistinguishobservationsforformativepurposesfromthose
forsummativepurposes. Whenpeerobservationsaremadeforformativepurposes,feedbackisgivenwith
thegoalofhelpinganinstructorimproveoralterhis/herteaching.Whenpeerobservationsaremadefor
summativepurposes,ajudgmentaboutaperson’steachingismadeforpurposesofevaluation(seehandout
onFormativeandSummativeEvaluationforfurtheranalysisofthedistinction). Definitionsofpeerobservationalsodistinguishholisticobservationsofteachingfromobservationsofin‐class
instruction.Peerobservationthatisholisticmightincludereviewofin‐classinteractionswithstudentsand
instructorpresentationsaswellasreviewofcoursedesign(e.g.,thesyllabus),instructionalhandouts,
assignments,exams,andcoursecontent(e.g.,rigorandappropriatenessofmaterialcovered). Observationsofin‐classinstruction,incontrast,arefocusedsolelyontheclass‐sessionandthetoolsthe
instructorusesduringthatsessiontoteachthestudents. Whypeerobservation?
Thereareseveralbenefitsthataccompanypeerobservation.First,reviewsfrompeersprovideasourceof
evidenceregardingteachingeffectivenessforcommitteessuchasRankandTenuretousesothatstudent
ratingsarenottheonlyorprimarysourceofinformation.
Furthermore,thoughstudentsarewell‐equippedtoassesstheirownexperienceinacourse,colleaguesare
bettersuitedforevaluatingeachotheronmattersofcontentandprofessionalism.Somekeyareasinwhich
facultyareconsideredtobeexpertreviewersinclude:  Courseorganization  Clarityandappropriatenessofcourseobjectives  Classroommanagementandengagementofstudents  Selectionofcoursecontent  Effectivenessofinstructionalmaterials(e.g.,readings,media)  Appropriatenessofmethodsusedtoteachspecifictypesofcontent  Commitmenttoteachingandconcernforstudentlearning
 Supportofdepartmentalinstructionalculture
Additionally,peerobservationopensupdialogueaboutteaching.Toooften,teachingisviewedasaprivate
actand,assuch,discussionsaboutteachingandthetransitionofexpertisefromonetoanotherdonotoccur. Throughpeerobservation,theclassroombecomesmoreofapublicspace,andasaconsequence,allinvolved
(i.e.,boththeobserverandthepersonbeingobserved)learnsomethingabouttheirteaching. LoyolaMarymountUniversity
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Whataretherisksinusingpeerobservation? Onedownsideofpeerobservationisthatitmaybedifficultforevenawell‐intentionedobservertofilterout
his/herownbiasagainstagiventeachingmethodorpersonalitywhileconductinganobservation.For
example,someonewhovaluesstrictclassroomcontrolandconsiderstheinstructor’spresentationtobethe
keylearningobjectoftheclassroommaynotkeepanopenmindwhenobservingmomentsofseemingchaos
inacollaborativelearningclassroom,andviceversa.Forthisreason,instructorswhousepeerobservations
forfeedbackwillneedtoconsidertheobserver’sassumptionsaboutteachingandplanformultiplevisitsby
multiplepeers. Anotherriskisthatifcolleagueswithinthesamedepartmentobserveoneanotherandtheprocessisnot
well‐managed,relationshipsmaysuffer.Formanyfacultymembers,theirteachingisasensitive,almost
privatetopic.Andbecauseitisperformedbycolleagues,peerobservationrequiresaparticularlydelicate
touch.Beinginformedaboutbestpracticesforpeerobservationisonewaytoreducetheriskofpotential
damage. Finally,withregardtopeerobservationforsummativepurposes,oneobservationofaclassroomsessioncan
nevercapturetheentiretyofaperson’steachingeffectiveness.Justaspeerobservationneedstobeutilized
incombinationwithothertools,individualpeerobservationsshouldbecombinedwithoneanotherasaway
togetarichersenseofafacultymember’steachingacrosstime,acrossclassesetc. LoyolaMarymountUniversity
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