CENTRE for TEACHING and LEARNING
Teaching observation
Reflect on your teaching, exchange ideas with colleagues and grow as an educator in a supportive and collaborative environment.
If you have questions about how peer observation can enhance your teaching practice, we’d love to hear from you.
Teaching Triangles
In Teaching Triangles, instructors who are interested in discussing and reflecting on post-secondary teaching and learning meet with their MacEwan colleagues. You engage in a reciprocal process of peer observation, individual reflection and small group discussion with support from an educational developer.
Teaching Triangles are a great way to:
- Experience what other instructors are doing in their respective disciplines
- Gather and share innovative teaching methods and ideas with others
- Reflect on your own teaching practices
- Support your colleagues to grow and succeed in their teaching and learning goals
Peer Observation of Teaching
Peer Observation of Teaching (POT) provides you with formative, non-judgmental feedback about your approach to teaching and identifies areas where you may need additional support. In the peer observation process, you receive feedback in the form of “collegial discussion, observation and reflection with the overarching aim of advancing student learning outcomes” (Kanuka & Sadowski, p. 2).
Peer observation and appreciative inquiry
At MacEwan, our peer observation process is grounded in appreciative inquiry. We want to celebrate and build upon your successes as an instructor. Together with the help of a peer observer, you:
- Clarify and define the focus of the observation
- Celebrate the best of what is
- Reflect on your teaching practice and envision what might be
- Co-construct what ideally could be within the classroom
- Sustain, learn and adjust teaching practices accordingly
Faculty peer observers
The Peer Observation of Teaching program is led by faculty. While the Centre facilitates ongoing training, we do not manage or coordinate peer observations. You are invited to contact CTL-trained faculty members directly.
Process
Depending on faculty members’ schedules, the entire process can take at least one month to complete and requires a minimum of:
- A pre-observation meeting
- The actual observation
- A post-observation debrief (Note: The peer observer also needs time to write up your report prior to debriefing).
Request your POT early in the semester to:
- Ensure there is enough time to complete the POT process
- Account for people’s busy schedules
- Ensure there is a certified peer observer available to conduct your observation
Deadlines for requesting a POT:
Fall term
September 30
Winter term
January 31
Leaving the actual in-class observation to late in the term is not recommended. With end-of-term pressures, the last few classes do not make for an ideal time to be observed.
Recommended deadlines for scheduling in-class observation:
Fall term
Schedule observations for mid-September to third week of November.
Winter term
Schedule observations for mid-January to third week of March.
Are you interested in developing your leadership skills while contributing to a culture of reflective teaching? Faculty Peer Observers play a vital role in supporting teaching excellence at MacEwan.
Training is offered annually, typically starting in May. Space is limited. Email us to learn more.