Zimmerman (2020) identified a very real paradox about college teaching when he wrote, “College teaching is a highly public act that has remained mostly private” (p. ix).  Certainly, any college professor may teach hundreds or even thousands of students over their career; from this perspective, teaching is a very public act. However, it is quite possible this same professor may never have their teaching observed by a colleague or peer; from this perspective, teaching is a very private act. Indeed, college teaching is both a very public (with students) and a very private (with peers) act!

Does it have to be this way? Should we want it to be this way? This book is predicated on the argument that the answer to both of these questions is a resounding “No!”.  We should want to make our teaching public to our colleagues, and we should want our colleagues to make their teaching public to us. We further argue that one of the absolute best ways of doing this is through Peer Observation of Teaching.

At its simplest level, peer observation of teaching occurs when one professor invites another professor to observe their teaching, and to have a subsequent conversation about teaching based on this shared experience. Although subsequent chapters will have much more to say about peer observation, this simple definition will provide the basic level of understanding necessary for us to now explore the question that may be at the front of your mind. Namely, “Why in the world would I ever want to do that?”

Why You Should Participate

There are many reasons to participate in peer observation of teaching, both as the observer and as the one being observed! These reasons include: (1) improving teaching, (2) creating a community of teaching practice, (3) documenting teaching performance, and (4) making teaching public. We will briefly explore each of these reasons in this section.

Improving Teaching

The number one reason to participate in peer observation is to improve teaching practice. A successful peer observation will improve teaching for both the faculty member being observed and the faculty member doing the observing (Kohut et al., 2007). It is this mutual benefit that makes peer observation of teaching such a powerful tool for teaching improvement.

As the teacher being observed, you will benefit from the detailed observations your peer observer will make about your teaching methods, student engagement, technology use, pace and flow of the lesson, etc., and any other areas of particular interest or concern you and the peer observer may have discussed. Because of their classroom experience and “student’s eye” view of the class session, the peer observer is uniquely situated to make relevant, insightful observations during the class. These observations will then serve as the basis for a collegial, non-judgmental, two-way conversation about the class session. This conversation will include discussion of what went well and why and, because no class session is perfect, discussion of what didn’t go quite so well and potential strategies for improvement.  Teaching improvement blossoms through such conversations!

As the observer, you have the opportunity to learn new teaching methods, see familiar teaching methods employed in different settings, observe a variety of teachers and teaching styles, and observe student engagement from a “back of the room” perspective, and reflect on teaching. You will undoubtably see many excellent teaching practices that you will want to consider for use in your classes. In addition, the post-observation conversation will quite likely cause you to reflect deeply on your own teaching and lead to new insights for personal improvement (Hendry et al., 2021; Kapota et al., 2024).

Creating a “Community of Teaching Practice”

According to Mercieca (2017), “Communities of practice are voluntary groups of people who, sharing a common concern or a passion, come together to explore these concerns and ideas and share and grow their practice” (p. 3). Participation in peer observation brings together faculty interested in teaching and teaching improvement and facilitates meaningful reflection and conversation between these individuals. As peer observation of teaching expands across a college or campus, there is real opportunity for these conversations to deepen and expand as more faculty become involved. According to Potter et al. (2011), peer observation fosters a campus culture where “teaching is an open and shared endeavor [and that] peer observations done well will advance a healthy culture around teaching” (p. 30).  Various researchers (Hendry et al., 2020; Mercieca, 2017) have documented the role of peer observation in promoting communities of teaching practice on college and university campuses.

Documenting Teaching Performance

At the university level, evaluation of teaching has historically relied on student course and instructor evaluations. Kreitzer and Sweet-Cushman (2021) indicate the use of student evaluations is “ubiquitous” (p. 73) in the academy. However, almost since their inception, the validity of student evaluation has been questioned (Geen, 1950). Heffernan (2022) analyzed 183 research papers published between 1990 and 2000 and concluded that student evaluations are biased against female and minority instructors and against certain disciplines and subject areas.  In addition, Wieman (2015) indicated, in order to be valid, student evaluations must correlate with student learning, but that students are “poor at evaluating their own learning” (p.9). Additionally, Berk (2018) indicated that students were not qualified to evaluate important aspects of college teaching such as “content expertise, learning outcomes, teaching methods, course design and organization, use of technology, quality of course materials, assessment instruments, and grading practices” (p. 74).

Although the primary purpose of peer observation of teaching is formative and developmental, not evaluative, peer observation can be used as an alternative or supplemental method of documenting teaching performance (Berk, 2018). Once the teacher being observed receives the written peer observation summary, they may include it as part of their annual review or as part of a teaching awards packet if they choose to do so. The rich descriptions and observations of an experienced peer observer can provide insights into teaching methods, student engagement, student-instructor rapport, and evidence of student learning that is difficult to collect in any other manner. Of course, it must be stressed that the written peer observation of teaching document “belongs” to the faculty member being observed; the report may only be shared with others by that faculty member.

Making Teaching Public

College faculty are generally supportive of the important role that peer review plays in scholarship (Roberts and Shambrook, 2012). We argue that peer observation of teaching makes teaching public and can make an important contribution to teaching improvement.  According to Bovill (2010), peer observation of teaching “can bring discussion of teaching – which is often a hidden practice – into the public domain . . . and can contribute to enhancing the value of teaching” (p. 3).  Fletcher (2012) indicated that peer observation can help to make teaching “community property” as opposed to the “hidden practice” (p. 3) alluded to by Bovill.

Summary

Our goal in this chapter has been to make the case for your involvement in peer observation of teaching. Hopefully, we have done so! Peer observation can serve to improve teaching, create a community of teaching practice, document teaching performance, and make teaching public. We are confident that one or more of these reasons will resonate with you and inspire your participation!

References

Berk, R. A. (2018). Start spreading the news: use multiple sources of evidence to evaluate teaching. The Journal of Faculty Development, 32(1), 73-81.

Bovill, C. (2010). Peer observation of teaching guidelines. University of Glasgow. https://wiki.ubc.ca/images/0/0b/Peer_Observation_of_Teaching_Guidelines_-_Bovill_C.pdf

Fletcher, J. A. (2012). Peer observation of teaching: a practical tool in higher education. The Journal of Faculty Development, 32(1), 51-64.

Geen, E. (1950). Student evaluation of teaching. Bulletin of the American Association of University Professors, 36, (2), 290-299. https://doi.org/10.2307/40220724

Heffernan, T.  (2022). Sexism, racism, prejudice, and bias: a literature review and synthesis of research surrounding student evaluations of courses and teaching. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 47(1), 144-154. : https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2021.1888075

Hendry, G. D., Georgiou, H., Lloyd, H., Tzioumis, V., Herkes, S., & Sharma, M. (2021). ‘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. ttps://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2020.1819816

Kohut, G. F., Burnap, C., & Yon, M. G. (2007) Peer observation of teaching: perceptions of the observer and the observed. College Teaching, 55(1), 19-25. https://doi.org/10.3200/CTCH.55.1.19-25

Kreitzer, R. J., & Sweet-Cushman, J. (2021). Evaluating student evaluations of teaching: a review of measurement and equity bias in SETs and recommendations for ethical reform. Journal of Academic Ethics, 20, 73-84. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-021-09400-w

Mercieca, B. (2017). What Is a Community of Practice? In: McDonald, J., Cater-Steel, A. (eds) Communities of Practice. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2879-3_1

Potter, M., Haynes, S., Heyl, K., Phillips, K. R., Pozzi, R., Stroup, L., & Tull, T. (2011). Peer observation of teaching: a case for culture change. Teacher-Scholar: The Journal of the
State Comprehensive University, 3(1), 29-38. https://scholars.fhsu.edu/ts/vol3/iss1/3

Roberts, T. J., & Shambrook, J. (2012). Academic excellence: a commentary and reflections on the inherent value of peer review. Journal of Research Administration, 43(1), 33-38. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ976740

Wieman, C. (2015). A better way to evaluate undergraduate teaching. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 47(1), 6-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.2015.996077

Zimmerman, J. (2020). The amateur hour: a history of college teaching in America. John Hopkins University Press.