Faculty Release New Peer Observation Guide Through Libraries' OER Program

Peer Observation of Teaching: A Practice Guide for College Teachers is the newest title in the Libraries' Faculty Success Collection, an expanding series of open resources created to support teaching, learning and mentorship. The guide offers faculty members practical tools for giving constructive feedback, including observation templates, sample reports and step-by-step guidance meant to bring clarity and structure to the peer observation process. 

The text was created through a partnership between the Libraries' Open Educational Resources Program and leaders of the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center's Peer Observer of Teaching program. Don Johnson and Lynn Meade, both former TFSC co-directors, collaborated to adapt the center's in-person peer observation training into an online accessible format faculty can use anytime. 

TFSC co-director Richard Cassady, who requested an asynchronous component for the project, said the book is a major step forward for the program's reach. 

"For several years, the Teaching and Faculty Support Center has supported a Peer Observer of Teaching program," Cassady said. "Training has traditionally been offered only a couple of times a year. With this new guide, faculty can now access training at any time, and I expect a rapid increase in the number of certified peer observers." 

According to Johnson, the project aims to reassure faculty that peer observation is meant to be a collaborative and supportive experience.  

"Our hope is that this book will serve as a valuable resource for faculty as they improve teaching and learning through peer observation," Johnson said. "For faculty considering inviting a peer observer into their classroom, this book should reassure them that this is a collegial and helpful experience between equals. For those considering becoming peer observers, this book provides practical guidance on how to be an effective peer observer." 

Meade, who has authored several OER texts, emphasized the Libraries' role in making the work widely available.  

"Partnering with the University Libraries' OER Program allowed us to share our work not just with UA faculty, but with educators everywhere," Meade said. "I value OER because it is about sharing knowledge freely, which is such a giving way to do scholarship." 

She also noted that faculty development is deeply connected to student success.   

"I am always looking for ways to help students," she said. "Helping faculty grow as teachers is one of the most powerful ways to help students succeed." 

The guide is available at no cost through the University Libraries' Pressbooks catalog.