Peer Observation

An excellent way to gain insight into your teaching is to be observed by a colleague. The observer may be someone from your department, but it could be a colleague from another department, or someone from the Office of Educational Development.  Peer observation is useful as a "check-up" on your teaching, whether or not you have any particular issues.  But it can also be more directed, for instance, in response to student comments on evaluations.

Some experts suggest that you first meet with your observer to discuss your goals for the course and any issues you would like the observer to pay particular attention to.  Whether or not you do have a preliminary meeting, you should provide the observer with a syllabus in advance, so the observer will have a context for the particular class being observed.  If you have a small class, you might want to let the students know that there will be visitor who is observing you and not them.  After the class, you and your colleague meet to discuss the observation.  Again, there is no "right" way to do this: some experts suggest that you meet immediately while others want time for the observer to write up notes, which then you go over together.

An excellent resource is the handbook Preparing for Peer Observation, prepared by the Center for Teaching Effectiveness, UT Austin. You might also find useful the Classroom Observation Checklist that we have developed at Berkeley or materials from the University of Wisconsin.

If you would like to have someone from the Office of Educational Development observe your teaching, contact Steve Tollefson.