Peer Review for Distance Educators: Two Case Studies

Abstract

Introducing peer review of teaching in any Faculty can be a complex and challenging endeavour at the best of times (Harris et al., Peer review of teaching in Australian higher education: A handbook to support institutions in developing and embedding effective policies and practices, 2008a), but challenges can multiply in online and distance teaching environments. Although new Australian research is providing much needed resources and framework, the implementation and exploration of online peer observation is still in its infancy (Harris et al., Peer review of teaching in Australian higher education: A handbook to support institutions in developing and embedding effective policies and practices, 2008 and Harris et al., Peer review of teaching in Australian higher education: Resources to support institutions in developing and embedding effective policies and practices (Final Project Report), 2008; Wood et al., Peer review of online learning and teaching, 2009; Bennett and Barp, Teaching in Higher Education, 2008, p. 559–570). One Australian Higher Education Provider is exploring initiatives in both online and distance peer review with positive outcomes. Within a selection of Think Education Group’s online offerings, two formative, developmental peer review programs have been introduced to support educators as they share ideas about their respective teaching practices. This paper reports on the different processes, outcomes and lessons learnt from these case studies.