Introduction
Donald Johnson and Lynn Meade
In 2020, the three then co-directors (Julie Trivitt, Lori Holyfield, and Don Johnson) of the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center (TFSC) at the University of Arkansas were exploring the development of a peer observation of teaching program for UA faculty. The team searched online for universities with robust peer observation programs and quickly identified the University of Michigan-Flint as having one of the premier programs.
In February 2020, with the financial support and encouragement of then Vice-Provost for Faculty Affairs Kathy Sloan, the team traveled to Flint, MI, to meet with Tracy Wacker, director of the Thompson Center for Learning and Teaching at UM-Flint. Over three days, Tracy graciously shared her time and expertise with the team and patiently answered their questions about program objectives and procedures, faculty buy-in, day-to-day operation, administrative support and funding, and the actual mechanics of peer observation of teaching. The team left UM-F inspired and committed to bringing a formalized peer observation of teaching program to the University of Arkansas.
However, the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic delayed the program’s start until summer 2021, when the co-directors invited Tracy Wacker to the summer teaching camp to begin training the first cadre of peer observers. This training was supplemented by an on-campus session led by Don Johnson and participants’ completion of three “practice” peer observations (two as the observer and one as the teacher being observed).
In fall 2024, TFSC co-director Richard Cassidy expressed a desire to develop an online textbook to assist with faculty training in peer observation. Don Johnson and former TFSC co-director, Lynn Meade were recruited in response to this request.
The authors hope that faculty on our campus and other campuses will find this a valuable resource as they seek to improve teaching and learning through peer observation.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the University of Michigan-Flint and Tracy Wacker’s support in developing and launching the peer observation of teaching program described in this book.
