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Whilst peer observation of teaching is well established as a practice that can enhance teaching quality, the challenge to fully embed this practice in universities remains unresolved. This article analyses the perspectives of 18 university leaders (nine Australian and nine English) drawn from a range of school-based leaders to senior leaders of learning and teaching. Our study indicates that some of the challenges associated with leading such schemes can be mitigated through approaches to educational leadership that enact a respectful and collegiate ethos. This we suggest can support developmental academic engagement in peer observation for positive and lasting change.

Reciprocal Peer Observation involves a pair of teachers with similar degrees of experience and status who mutually agree to observe each other’s practice. Both act as observer and observee. Individual reflection and mutual constructive feedback are provided, enabling the sharing of knowledge to identify goals for improving their teaching practice. In this study, 228 primary and secondary teachers followed a four-stage cycle of peer observation: pre-observation meeting; observation and brief report by observee; feedback meeting; and reflective writing by observee with a learning goal. Using different instruments (post-observation report, audio recording of the feedback meeting, final reflective synthesis; evaluation questionnaire and group interviews), the study has shown that most teachers identified the learning goal in the three stages of the cycle, which allowed them to refine it based on their own reflections and those of the observer; and to make better use of the feedback. Consequently, this process has led to higher quality learning goals. However, these same teachers also formulate – to a lesser extent – lower quality goals. The study provides criteria to further guide reciprocal peer observation towards the improvement of teacher learning.

Background : Peer observation is one method of honing teaching skills by evaluating the presentation skills of others with a two-way process of improvement based on critical reflection.Structuring the process of peer observation helps identify gaps where individual students may err while teaching. The main aim of this initiative is to evaluate the quality of teaching among postgraduate students in one department using the principles of peer, near-peer, and faculty observation. Methods : Structured peer observation of postgraduate seminars was conducted where students’teaching skills were critically commented upon by peers, near-peers, and faculty. Measurements included perceived confidence of students in the feedback process, self-appraisal of competence in selected teaching behaviours and participants’ attitude towards the process of observation using quantitative methodologies. The results were analysed using descriptive statistical methods and expressed as measures of central tendency. Results : Overall outcomes were highly positive in terms of confidence and appraisal abilities of students in the feedback process. The attitudinal perceptions of students were also positive. Conclusion : Using feedback from peer and near-peer evaluation, students can develop the teaching skills which will later manifest as beneficial teaching practices in long run. By repeatedly observing and then enacting teaching practices, the gap existing between the current state and the desired state of performance can be reduced.

Objective. To examine and summarize policies and procedures for peer evaluation of teaching/instructional coaching (PET/IC) programs within departments, schools, and colleges of pharmacy and to identify opportunities for improving these based on best practices. Methods. A survey was sent to all Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE)-accredited pharmacy programs to collect information regarding procedures to support and evaluate PET/IC programs across institutions. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the general features of PET/IC programs, and inferential statistics were used to make group comparisons based on institutional control (public, private) and institution age (0-10 years, older than 10 years). Results. Surveys for 91 institutions were completed (response rate=64.5%). Most institutions (78.4%) reported having a PET/IC program. Most institutions with PET/IC programs reported using a combination of formative and summative evaluations (57.4%). The top purposes for PET/IC programs were faculty development (35.8%) and improving teaching (35.8%). Almost half of the PET/IC programs (46.3%) were mandatory for all faculty at the institutions. Most institutions (66.7%) had one standardized instrument used in their PET/IC program. Few institutions (11.9%) reported evaluating or being in the process of evaluating the effectiveness or success of their PET/IC program. Private institutions were more likely to incentivize observers than public institutions (17.1% vs 0). Conclusion. Overall, PET/IC programs are needed to assess and provide feedback to instructors about their teaching practices. While most institutions report having a PET/IC program, wide variability exists in how the programs are implemented. Opportunities exist for institutions to evaluate the effectiveness of their program and identify best practices.

Background After the Corona pandemic, medical education has shifted to virtual education, but there has been limited time and possibilities for empowering faculty for this purpose. Therefore, it seems necessary to evaluate the quality of the provided training and provide feedback to the faculty in order to improve the quality of training. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of teacher formative evaluation by peer observation method on the quality of virtual teaching of basic medical sciences faculty. Methods In this study, seven trained faculty members observed and based on a checklist evaluated the quality of 2 virtual sessions taught by each faculty of basic medical sciences, and provided them feedback; after at least 2 weeks, their Virtual teachings were again observed and evaluated. The results before and after providing feedback were compared through SPSS software. Results After intervention, significant improvements were observed in the average scores of “overall virtual performance”, “virtual classroom management” and “content quality”. Specifically, there was a significant increase in the average score of “overall virtual performance” and “virtual class management” among female faculty, and the average score of “overall virtual performance” among permanently employed faculty members with more than 5 years of teaching experience, before and after intervention (p < 0.05). Conclusion Virtual and online education can be a suitable platform for the implementation of formative and developmental model of peer observation of faculty; and should be considered as an opportunity to empower and improve the quality of the faculty’ performance in virtual education.

Background A growing body of literature describes teaching practices that are positively associated with student achievement. Observing, characterizing, and providing feedback on these teaching practices is a necessary, yet significant challenge to improving teaching quality. This study describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of an instructional coaching program created to provide formative feedback to instructors based on their use of evidence-based teaching practices. Methods The program was designed for formative purposes utilizing an instrument adapted from the Teaching Practices Inventory. All faculty were invited to participate in the program on a voluntary basis when the program launched in Fall 2019. Program coaches included any School personnel who completed required training. Two rounds of instrument development were conducted with multiple observers and assessed using Krippendorff’s Alpha. The program was evaluated using an anonymous post-session survey. Results Interrater reliability of the form improved over two rounds of piloting and no differences were found in scoring between trainees and education professionals. Seventeen observations were completed by nine coaches. Instructors indicated that feedback was practical, timely, specific, and collegial, suggesting that including student perspectives (e.g., focus groups, student course evaluations) in the coaching program might be helpful. Conclusions Creating programs that emphasize and foster the use of evidence-based teaching are critical for health professions education. Additional research is needed to further develop coaching programs that ensure teaching practices in the health professions are optimizing student learning.

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of multiple campus teams as they engaged in the assessment of their science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) mentoring ecosystems within a peer assessment dialogue exercise.Design/methodology/approachThis project utilized a qualitative multicase study method involving six campus teams, drawing upon completed inventory and visual mapping artefacts, session observations and debriefing interviews. The campuses included research universities, small colleges and minority-serving institutions (MSIs) across the United States of America. The authors analysed which features of the peer assessment dialogue exercise scaffolded participants' learning about ecosystem synergies and threats.FindingsThe results illustrated the benefit of instructor modelling, intra-team process time and multiple rounds of peer assessment. Participants gained new insights into their own campuses and an increased sense of possibility by dialoguing with peer campuses.Research limitations/implicationsThis project involved teams from a small set of institutions, relying on observational and self-reported debriefing data. Future research could centre perspectives of institutional leaders.Practical implicationsThe authors recommend dedicating time to the institutional assessment of mentoring ecosystems. Investing in a campus-wide mentoring infrastructure could align with campus equity goals.Originality/valueIn contrast to studies that have focussed solely on programmatic outcomes of mentoring, this study explored strategies to strengthen institutional mentoring ecosystems in higher education, with a focus on peer assessment, dialogue and learning exercises.

The present study intended to compare the effect of collaborative and prescriptive models of observation on Iranian novice and experienced EFL teachers’ reflective practice. Employing purposive sampling procedures, 40 teachers, including 20 novice and 20 experienced teachers, were assigned to the prescriptive observation group (i.e. the control group). Another group of 40 teachers, which comprised of 20 novice and 20 experienced teachers, were assigned to the collaborative observation group (i.e. the experimental group). The study examined (i) if there was a significant difference between prescriptive and collaborative observation in terms of teachers’ perception of their own reflective teaching, and (ii) if there was any significant difference between novice and experienced teachers’ perception of their reflective teaching after collaborative observation. A sequential explanatory design was used so that both quantitative and qualitative data collection/analysis procedures were employed. The quantitative data were collected through English Language Teaching Reflection Inventory (Akbari, Behzadpoor & Dadvand (2010), and the qualitative data were elicited through interviews. The results of both quantitative and qualitative data revealed that (i) there was a significant difference between prescriptive and collaborative observation in terms of teachers’ practical, cognitive, affective, metacognitive, and critical reflection, and that (ii) in the collaborative observation group, there was a significant difference between novice and experienced teachers’ perception of their reflective teaching in terms of teachers’ practical, cognitive, affective, metacognitive, and critical reflection.

Background Peer observation of Teaching involves observers providing descriptive feedback to their peers on learning and teaching practice as a means to improve quality of teaching. This study employed and assessed peer observation as a constructive, developmental process for members of a Pediatric Teaching Faculty. Methods This study describes how peer observation was implemented as part of a teaching faculty development program and how it was perceived by teachers. The PoT process was divided into 4 stages: pre-observation meeting, observation, post-observation feedback and reflection. Particular care was taken to ensure that teachers understood that the observation and feedback was a developmental and not an evaluative process. Twenty teachers had their teaching peer observed by trained Faculty members and gave an e-mail ‘sound-bite’ of their perceptions of the process. Teaching activities included lectures, problem-based learning, small group teaching, case-based teaching and ward-based teaching sessions. Results Teachers were given detailed verbal and written feedback based on the observer’s and students’ observations. Teachers’ perceptions were that PoT was useful and relevant to their teaching practice. Teachers valued receiving feedback and viewed PoT as an opportunity for insight and reflection. The process of PoT was viewed as non-threatening and teachers thought that PoT enhanced the quality of their teaching, promoted professional development and was critical for Faculty development. Conclusions This study demonstrated that PoT can be used in a constructive way to improve course content and delivery, to support and encourage medical teachers, and to reinforce good teaching.

Background Few medical teachers have received formal teaching education. Along with individual and organizational barriers to participation in teacher training programs, increasing numbers and altered distribution of physicians away from major teaching centers have increased the difficulty of attendance. Furthermore, it is not known if traditional faculty development formats are the optimal learning options given findings from existing studies document both positive and negative outcomes. There is a gap in research that explores how medical teachers learn to teach and also limited research regarding how medical teachers actually teach. The purpose of this study was to provide insight into how physicians describe their teaching of trainees, and the nature of their teaching development and improvement to inform faculty development programs. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 36 physicians, with a broad range of teaching experience, purposefully selected from five disciplines: Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Surgery, and Family Medicine. A qualitative, inductive approach was used to analyse the data. Results Teaching was described as being centered on the needs of individual trainees, but was dependent on patient presentation and environmental context. For this group of physicians learning to teach was perceived as a dynamic and evolving process influenced by multiple life experiences. The physicians had not learnt to teach through formal education and then put that learning into practice, but had learnt to teach and improve their teaching through their trial and errors teaching. Life experiences unconnected with the medical environment contributed to their knowledge of teaching along with limited formal learning to teach experiences. Teaching practice was influenced by peers and trainees, feedback, and observation. The findings suggest these medical teachers learn to teach along a continuum largely through their teaching practice. Conclusion The findings suggested that the participants’ major resource for learning how to teach was informal experiential learning, both in and out of the workplace. This may have implications for faculty development strategies for medical teaching education.