Peer Observation Summary

Assumptions
● Most instructors have reasonable goals and good intentions with their teaching.
● We don’t see ourselves as others see us. Being able to view our teaching from a new perspective can
be an enlightening experience.
● The insights we discover for ourselves tend to be retained and acted on with more energy and better
spirit than those we are told about by others.
● Good data can be persuasive.
● Most instructors have alternate strategies available and can use them if they see a need

Goals
● Encourage the instructor to articulate pedagogical goals
● Provide the instructors with as complete a picture of his/her classroom as possible using observable,
objective data.
● Encourage the instructor to reflect on his/her course – particularly whether his/her goals for student
learning are being met and why (not).
● Help instructor find alternative strategies to use when current strategies are not helping the
instructor reach his/her goals.

Process for Peer Observation

(1) Pre-meeting, (2) observation, (3) reflection/debrief
o Pre-meeting
○ Brainstorm:
o What information would be helpful to you before observing a class?
o What would you want someone to know before coming to your class?
o Observation session
o Information to collect: (As an instructor, what would you want to know?)
Students: Instructor:
● When do they take notes? ● Material covered
● When do they interact with each other? ● Pacing of material
● What types of questions do they ask? ● Supplemental material – visuals, graphs,
● What types of answers do they give? handouts, PowerPoint
● How many and which students participate? ● Interactions with students
● Do they use laptops? How? Does this vary ● Type and level of questions to students
throughout class? ● Movement in the room
● Do they arrive on time? ● How are groups organized and implemented?
● Are they engaged or are they on their phone?

o Observation Tools
o Use observation notes form
o Create a classroom map showing student location and participation
o Take a picture of the board before instructor erases
o Use summary form (reverse of observation form)
o Debrief Meeting - Providing Constructive Feedback
○ First, ask the instructor how the class went from their perspective. Did things go as planned?
Anything they would like to discuss first?
○ As an observer, provide feedback that allows the instructor to reflect on their own teaching
○ Do not evaluate the instructor

Adapted from K. Gorman