7001 peer review 2013

Editor's Notes

• #2: This slideshow is a brief overview of the role of peer observation and review of teaching that you will participate in during the Foundations of Academic Practice module. In it we consider the purpose of peer review and how this links to the work you will do on the programme, the assessment you will do, and how this fits with your professional practice as an HE professional.
• #3: Giving and receiving feedback is clearly an important role that both you and your colleagues will play amongst your learning groups throughout the module, not least because you have the opportunity to not only benefit from the constructive feedback of others, but also because you are having the chance to practice a key skill in our professional roles and wider employability – that of delivering feedback effectively, cogently and supportively. With this in mind, at times during the programme y ou are required to actively participate in peer feedback activities. This supports our pedagogy as a programme team, that you will learn effectively by having opportunities to negotiate your own learning in participation with each other, a social constructivist view. Etienne Wenger, coming from a similar perspective, describes how our identity formation is connected to our participation in groups of people with common aims – in other words, that we see identity as a form of ‘belonging’ to a community of practice. Chapter 6 of Wenger’s book ‘Communities of Practice’, can be found with this presentation for your interest.
• #4: So what about peer observation then? What is it and how do we understand it? The term ‘observation’ is loaded with preconceptions that may well be based on prior experiences of ourselves or our colleagues having their teaching observed. In some contexts, this is not necessarily a positive experience – for example, I once taught in an FE college where Ofsted-informed observations felt very much like I was being measured, and this caused me some anxiety when I was being observed. So in order to make better sense of observation as a method of supporting the development of practice we need to consider a wider conception of observation. David Gosling (Gosling, 2002/09) presents us with a useful framework for what he views as three drivers to the practice of peer observation. A downloadable version of this work is available on the Blackboard site for you to consider in greater detail. In his framework, Gosling describes the evaluation model – much like my experience – whereby senior staff or external bodies observe other staff to identify areas of performance (or underperformance), usually in accordance with some form of legislative parameter. This view is one very much aligned to Quality Assurance processes, but can often feel as though it neglects practice development in favour of measurement: and as they say, ‘You can’t fatten a pig by weighing it’. So comes in the developmental model, where educational developers or expert teachers in a discipline observe practice, providing expert diagnosis and guidance on ways to improve practice. Many of us have experienced this approach, and value it. This mirrors a master-apprentice, or teacher-student model, which might not always be appropriate, particularly where the observation or review involves highly experienced practitioners. However, you are likely to use this approach during your study when undertaking observations with your practice mentor. The other view is a collaborative, or peer review, model. In this view, the relationship between observer and observed is supportive, dialogic, peer-to-peer and non-judgmental constructive feedback. From this perspective, the emphasis is on social participation – reflecting a slightly different pedagogy, and focusing on learning from the process. Through this process there are opportunities to get feedback, improve skills of providing feedback, enter dialogue, exposed to wider disciplines and approaches. It is far more informal and yields reflectivity and the sharing of practice. You might want to pause this slideshow for a few minutes to read Gosling’s paper, and consider the collaborative, peer approach to observation and review of teaching.
• #5: In practice, the adoption of peer observation and review that is true to Gosling’s conception of it, means that there should be: A Mutually beneficial observation with non-judgmental, constructive feedback. The generation of a dialogue about teaching that incorporate both self and mutual reflection. That successful is teaching is valued and discussed. And that it results in analysis of practices, discussion and wider experience of teaching methods.
• #6: In Blackboard there is an activity for you to engage in using the following three videos, although you may view them now if you wish. You will need to use the ‘Peer Observation and Review of Teaching’ proforma for this exercise – the same proforma that you will use when you observe one another.
• #7: As you know, there is a need for you to undertake a peer observation or review of teaching with someone else in your learning group. You need to make arrangements to observe a colleague, and also to be observed. This can be with the same or different peers. We suggest you begin to make these arrangements as soon as you can. The teaching practice being observed can be any planned teaching or learning support, regardless of the number of students involved. For example, it could be a seminar with 100 students, or it could be a tutorial with one or two. You may want to invite a colleague to observe your practice ‘in situ’, organizing for them to visit you in your place of work. However, this is not always possible, whether logistically, geographically or otherwise. For example, you may teach online, in which case your observation may take place over several days. You might also capture your teaching in some way in order for it to be reviewed latterly by a colleague – for example by video recording a snippet of the session. But it should be planned so that you can share an outline of the session with your observer prior to the event. You can use the proforma you’ve already seen for this, use the online version in PebblePad and you can share it privately with your observer. The advantage of using Pebblepad is that your observer can also add comments directly to the original form, so it is all in one place in the owners’ personal portfolio account. This makes life easier when it comes to linking evidence of your peer observation to your assignment work. You might use it in patches 1 or 2 of the patchwork assessment, or as evidence in your professional portfolio. You should also reciprocate observations with your practice mentor. These observations may have a slightly different ‘ flavour ’ in that they could be more representative of the developmental model described earlier. However, you can choose to take what you see of value from this interaction. Your mentor has agreed to support you in your learning, so make the most of them! Again, using the proforma in Pebblepad will help make your mentors ’ involvement clear, and again you can use the outcomes as evidence to inform your work, particularly in patch 2 and your portfolio. So in total, you should be aspiring to observe two people, one peer and one mentor. And be observed twice, once by
• #8: There is detailed information about the assignments in Blackboard. We would like you locate that now, along with the assessment criteria. Pause this presentation and consider the requirement for the assignments, and in particular, where there are opportunities for peer feedback, and how you think this will contribute to your learning.
• #9: If you have any thoughts or discussions about this slideshow, use the message boards in Blackboard. Put generic queries into the FAQs section. Questions about the assignments should go into the assignments message board.