{"id":3231,"date":"2013-02-26T09:25:40","date_gmt":"2013-02-26T14:25:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/carleton.ca\/tasupport\/?p=3231"},"modified":"2021-08-13T16:31:25","modified_gmt":"2021-08-13T20:31:25","slug":"blog-post-peer-observe-your-teaching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/tls\/2013\/blog-post-peer-observe-your-teaching\/","title":{"rendered":"Blog Post: Why You Should Have A Peer Observe Your Teaching"},"content":{"rendered":"

Danica Meredith, Department of English<\/p>\n

We have all been taught by excellent teachers, as well as some who are…less excellent. Do you ever wonder how they get that way?<\/p>\n

As a teacher you are in a position to facilitate learning.\u00a0 There are several ways in which to share knowledge in instructor-led classroom settings.\u00a0 At Carleton University, we are fortunate enough to have the Educational Development Centre (EDC) to help TAs, Contract Instructors and Professors improve their teaching.\u00a0 Through the EDC we can take workshops and write articles on pedagogy; these are both comfortable formats for academics. Relatively new to Carleton is the Peer Feedback process for teachers.\u00a0 Peer feedback provides an opportunity to identify elements you are doing well, as well as some issues that can benefit from additional attention. Some people may be ambivalent or even nervous about having a peer observe their teaching as the process takes us out of our comfort zone.\u00a0 However, as with the EDC sessions and reflection papers, a supportive peer observer can help you improve your teaching without making you feel threatened or inadequate.<\/p>\n

After being observed by four peers at the same time<\/em>, Alex Grammatikos (now a second year PhD student in the Department of English) said that \u201cyou\u2019re never close to perfect so it\u2019s better to have someone help you and you can learn from your colleagues.\u201d\u00a0 When asked how it felt to be observed and receive feedback, Alex said that, \u201cif anything it is a form of support to have my fellow grad students watching me.\u00a0 I felt like my friends were there.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t think about [all of] you reviewing me; I just wanted to go have fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those of us getting our Teaching Skills Certificate from the EDC spend a lot of time thinking and learning about pedagogy.\u00a0The Peer Feedback process is a chance to put those lessons into practice and get real<\/span> feedback.\u00a0 We may journal on our experiences but that is still our own reflection.\u00a0 A peer will tell you how you perform in an objective and constructive way.<\/p>\n

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It is ironic that in academia we aggressively seek out peers to review our articles and yet shy away from peer reviews of our teaching.\u00a0 In the article, \u201cWhy Are Chemists and Other Scientists Afraid of the Peer Review of Teaching?\u201d Charles Atwood, Pat Hutchings, and James Taylor suggest that \u201cit is time to treat teaching with the same intellectual rigor that we afford [\u2026] research, and providing that intellectual rigor is one of the purposes of the peer-review project\u201d (239).\u00a0 In one example, the authors describe \u201cJohn Wright, a chemist at the University of Wisconsin \u2013 Madison, [who] used peer review to assess the effectiveness of innovations in his teaching\u201d (242).\u00a0 As a result of his findings, he \u201ctransformed his class [\u2026] from teacher-centered delivery to student-centered learning\u201d (242).\u00a0 Ultimately this type of teaching encourages students to engage more fully in their own learning, and moves their classes away from the traditional approach of sermonizing and regurgitation.\u00a0 As institutions move to more learner-centered, active-learning classrooms, changes in pedagogical style will be more important. Peer Feedback can help to facilitate this process.<\/p>\n

When you open your teaching up to observation and feedback, you increase your opportunities to hone your pedagogical skills.\u00a0 This in turn results in more engaged and satisfied students.\u00a0 You are more apt to connect with them if you are a confident teacher who is practiced in the delivery of their material; peer feedback can help you get there. At the very least, peer feedback may teach you not to jingle pocket change as you talk, and not to insert those ubiquitous \u201cums\u201d for emphasis or effect.\u00a0 Also, for those of us going on to have teaching jobs, several teaching institutions require a mock or practice teach before hiring a new teacher.\u00a0 Do you really want your first peer review of your teaching to be in a job interview setting?<\/p>\n

To arrange for a class observation, ask someone that you know, trust, and respect to observe you and assess your teaching or sign up through the EDC<\/a>.\u00a0 There are four simple steps: Sign up (through your TA Mentor or EDC), complete a Pre-Feedback Assessment, teach as you normally would and then meet with your peer for thirty minutes following the observation. A week later you’ll receive written feedback that you can use in TA Award submissions, Teaching Dossiers or you CV.\u00a0 The process is straightforward and very rewarding.\u00a0 I liked being observed so much that I became an observer, myself.\u00a0 I highly recommend the peer feedback process.<\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/p>\n