The formative peer review of teaching (PRT) is a process intended to support instructional growth and collegial conversations about teaching, as well as enhance student learning.
In the PRT, peers may provide feedback on various elements of teaching, such as:
- Classroom teaching or online teaching
- Teaching materials (i.e. syllabi, assignments)
- Feedback on student work
- Instructor’s written statement of teaching philosophy
- Self-assessment documentation such as a teaching portfolio
Peer review of teaching, when focussed on growth and development, is a reflective and collaborative process in which the instructor under review works closely with a colleague or group of colleagues to discuss teaching (Hendry et al., 2020). Though the process outlined in this section is unidirectional (i.e., a reviewer giving feedback to an instructor), we highly encourage you to consider a reciprocal peer review process where instructors observe each other’s teaching, reflect on what they learned through the observation, and share feedback.
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Reference: Hendry, G. D., Georgiou, H., Lloyd, H., Tzioumis, V., Herkes, S., & Sharma, M. D. (2020). ‘It’s hard to grow when you’re stuck on your own’: enhancing teaching through a peer observation and review of teaching program. International Journal for Academic Development, 26(1), 54–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2020.1819816
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Watch our video series aimed to help reviewers and reviewees who are participating in the formative peer review of teaching. The first video is below.
