Peer Review of Teaching: A Transactional Perspective

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Peer Review of Teaching A Transactional
Perspective

• David M. Dees
• Kent State University Salem Campus
• Albert Ingram
• Kent State University
• Presented at the Twenty-Sixth Annual Lily
  Conference on College Teaching
• November 18th, 2006

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Teaching/Learning Transactional Model
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USING THE SYSTEMTHE REVIEWER

• Review the process and the form.
• Obtain key course documents from the faculty
  member.
• Hold a conversation with the faculty member
• Visit the classroom or review the online course
  materials and elements (the virtual classroom)
  

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USING THE SYSTEMTHE REVIEWER

• Follow-up with your colleague after the
  observation.
• Write a report based on your observations.

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USING THE SYSTEMTHE REVIEWED

• Review the process and form.
• Gather information the reviewer will need.
• Be open and honest with your teaching.
• Look for information throughout the process to
  inform your practice.

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THE SYSTEM IN ACTIONPlanning and Preparation

• Overall Approach to Teaching
• ? What does the syllabus tell you about this
  faculty members overall approach to or
  philosophy of teaching?
• What are the goals and objectives of the course
  and how well are they communicated to the
  students?
• What questions about do you have after reading
  the syllabus?
• Should those questions have been answered in the
  syllabus?
• What do the course assessments tell you about
  what the instructor values in student learning?
• How is the faculty member taking the learners
  into account in the class?

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THE SYSTEM IN ACTIONPlanning and Preparation

• Instructional Strategies (Modes)
• What does the course syllabus tell you about the
  teaching/learning strategies used in the class?
• What instructional strategies are used in this
  course? (Examples Lecture/discussion Problem
  Based Learning, Service Learning, etc.)
• Why are those strategies used?
• What is the relationship between the goals and
  objectives of the course and the strategies begin
  used?

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THE SYSTEM IN ACTIONPlanning and Preparation

• Content
• Has the faculty member reflected on the place of
  this course within the curriculum of her/his
  program and the traditions of her/his field?
• Does the course reflect these considerations?
• How does the course content fit in with the
  educational programs of which it is a part?
• How does the course content create personal
  meaning in my students lives?
• How does the course content area develop a global
  perspective or awareness in my students lives?

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THE SYSTEM IN ACTIONIn-Class Observations

• Style
• How does the teacher actively promote a positive
  emotional climate in the class?
• How does the teacher exhibit passion for the
  teaching/learning process?
• Do students feel safe (physiologically and
  psychologically) in the class?

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THE SYSTEM IN ACTIONIn-Class Observations

• Learners
• What types of learners appear to be present in
  this classroom?
• What learning styles are represented among these
  learners?
• What are student expectations, motivations, and
  attitudes toward this class?
• What developmental characteristics of adult
  learning are represented in these students?
• How is the faculty member taking the learners
  into account in the class?

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THE SYSTEM IN ACTIONFollow-up and Assessment

• Environment
• How did the teacher feel the physical or virtual
  environment affect the teaching/learning
  transaction in this class?
• Teacher
• How did the teacher feel his/her educational
  philosophy, theories or beliefs were exhibited in
  this session?

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Sample Paragraph

• Teacher
• During the pre-interview session, XXXXX stated
  that her teaching philosophy was to provide a
  hands-on learning experience for her students.
  She believes that it is important for students to
  be able to connect the course ideas to real world
  examples. Without question, this was a hands-on
  day. The students were able to process the
  material through video, lecture, and role play.
  Each part of the session consistently connected
  the ideas to the real world. This day was
  example driven.

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Teacher, Cont.

• XXXXXX and students personal stories during the
  lecture/discussion session provided another level
  of real examples. Each student, at one time or
  another, applied personal examples of each of the
  concepts that XXXXXX was writing on the board.
  For example, when defining the concept of
  indirect denial a student shared a story
  regarding the purchase of a new cellular phone
  plan. The students stated, So, when this lady
  said to me, yes, but dont you need a new plan
  now, she was using this idea, right? XXXXX
  answered Yes, and what technique were you using
  to stall? The student responded I used no
  needI told her my plan now was fine. Personal
  example after personal example continued during
  this part of the class session.

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Current Findings

• Positive Comments about the Process
• The written review and the model focused on what
  I think is essential. I felt like the observer
  was looking to see where my philosophies matched
  up with the class itself and the techniques in
  class. In other reviews, I was not really sure
  what my reviewer would be looking at. The risk in
  those is that if my style didnt mesh with
  theirs, they could judge you harshly
  unnecessarily
• It has definitely changed the way I think about
  my teaching.. I realize that I have to put more
  thought into how I word and structure my
  syllabus.
• I have always thought that I was very reflective
  about my teaching process. However, this model
  and system made me realize that I was not
  systematic in my thinking. I truly benefited
  from having something to ground my reflection on.
  I have now become more systematic in how I think
  about my classroom and the students' learning.

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Current Findings

• Negative Comments about the Process
• Considering the time it takes to do the actual
  interviews and observation, matched with writing
  up the review, it was about 7 hours of time. You
  have to be willing to be committed to it.
• The reviewed need to be willing to be
  reflective. If you are not willing to reflect on
  your teaching, you will not gain much from this
  process.
• (This comment was paraphrased) When my peer
  review was used for reappointment, it was
  immediately used to downgrade my file. Putting
  in areas of growth in my file provided the
  committee with ammo to question my ability. In
  the future I will only have completely positive
  reviews in my reappointment materials.

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Current Findings

• Changes in Practice
• I learned to think about the message I send to
  students. For example, I used to wait until the
  end to give quizzes back. Now, I am thinking
  that this may send a signal that I am ashamed of
  the quizzes or afraid to discuss this with them.
  I want them to see the quizzes as part of the
  learning processto do that means I need to give
  them back at the beginning and discuss the
  answers with my students.
• I have realized that my syllabus was filled with
  "do's and don'ts". That is really not the
  message I want to send them. I am going to stick
  with this "NO CELLPHONES". That drives me
  nutsbut I need to think of other ways to phrase
  what I want out of my students.

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Discussion

• What are the peer review practices at your
  institution?
• What strengths and weaknesses do you see with
  this approach?
• How can we create a climate of change that values
  the critical review of teaching?