Maureen Bell

Supported reflective practice: a programme of peer observation and feedback for academic teaching development

The outcomes of the evaluation of a structured, peer-supported teaching development programme for academic staff are reported. Supported reflective practice forms the conceptual framework for the programme, which includes feedback on observed teaching and feedback on reflection. Key themes identified are the effectiveness of the supported reflective practice process, improvements to teaching practice, developing confidence and congruent espoused theory and theory-in-use, ongoing professional development and developing collegiality. Factors that facilitate the programme are explored, including the support triangle, the role of the educational developer in providing feedback and monitoring, and the role of the support colleague. Suggestions for implementation of similar programmes are offered.

Elastic Practice in academic developers

The academic developer’s role is the focus of a growing body of literature. This paper builds on that literature by arguing the importance to current practice of making our theoretical underpinnings explicit. We excise and describe fragments of practice from the work of individual academic developers in order to discuss and consider the relationship between particular theories of Academic Development and particular approaches that these theories support. The three fragments of Academic Development practice we detail are related to reflective practice, collegiality and the scholarship of teaching. We also provide a fourth, more fulsome description of an approach to illustrate a highly responsive model of academic development: ‘Elastic Practice’. Elastic Practice describes the process of tailoring a specific approach or instance of Academic Development from the full professional ‘toolkit’ (techniques, experiences, ideas, values, theories) that academic developers collect during their evolution as practitioners. The idea of Elastic Practice is that multiple theoretical bases are melded or successively employed to support an adaptive, responsive approach to practice. We suggest Elastic Practice is particularly appropriate for the complex, at times contested, environment within which academic developers work. Le rôle du conseiller pédagogique est le sujet d’un corpus croissant de littérature. Cet article contribue à cette littérature en soutenant l’importance, pour notre pratique, de rendre nos bases théoriques explicites. Nous extrayons et décrivons des fragments de pratique du travail de conseillers pédagogiques de façon à discuter et à considérer la relation entre des théories spécifiques du développement pédagogique et les approches spécifiques que soutiennent ces théories. Les trois fragments de pratique du conseil pédagogique que nous décrivons sont reliés à la pratique réflexive, à la collégialité et au ‘scholarship of teaching’. Nous fournissons aussi une quatrième description, plus exagérée, d’une approche pour illustrer un modèle de développement pédagogique hautement sensible: la ‘pratique élastique’. Cette dernière décrit le processus d’ajustement d’une approche spécifique ou exemple de développement pédagogique provenant de la ‘boîte à outils’ professionnelle (techniques, expériences, idées, valeurs, théories) que les conseillers pédagogiques recueillent au cours de leur évolution en tant que praticiens. L’idée derrière la ‘pratique élastique’ est que plusieurs bases théoriques sont combinées ou employées successivement de façon à soutenir une approche adaptée et sensible à la pratique. Pour nous, le vocable de ‘pratique élastique’ est particulièrement adapté à l’environnement complexe, et parfois remis en question, au sein duquel les conseillers pédagogiques oeuvrent.

Peer observation of teaching in university departments: a framework for implementation

Academics in an engineering school at an Australian university participated in peer observation of a teaching program using a partnership approach. The present case study explains and discusses program aims, design, process and outcomes. The success of the program was dependent on four critical elements: educational leadership; a staged, voluntary, opt-in/out-out process involving a hands-on preparatory workshop and trial observation; partnering early-career and experienced academic staff; and an ‘external to faculty’ coordinator. The importance of these four elements, the stages of the program and the impact on the development of collegiality within the school and aspects of the teaching role are discussed. This case offers further insights into the complexities of peer observation of teaching and a tested framework for introducing peer observation of teaching programs within schools and departments.

Implementing Departmental Peer Observation of Teaching in Universities

We begin this chapter with a brief review of peer observation and the many benefits it brings. These include not only the direct benefit to the observee of the observer’s feedback but also less tangible benefits such as the reinforcement of collegial culture, and the opportunity for academics from diverse cultures to learn new approaches as well as to share their own traditions. We then present practical guidelines for implementing a departmental peer observation program, emphasising some key elements such as the benefit of preparatory workshops; getting participation from senior management; and integration with existing administrative protocols such as promotion processes. We also discuss some traps to be avoided, such as allowing the wrong impression to form about the purpose of the process.