Peer Review of Teaching: Insights From a 10-Year Experience

Abstract

Inconsistent teaching quality is a common problem at all levels of health profession training. Peer review of teaching offers the potential benefits of improving teaching, increasing teacher satisfaction, and creating a community of educators. To achieve these goals, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Academy of Medical Educators (AME) established the Teaching Observation Program (TOP). This program pairs faculty teachers with an AME faculty reviewer who clarifies the teacher’s goals in a pre-observation conversation, observes the teacher teaching, and engages the teacher in a confidential feedback conversation. Faculty reviewers are AME members who have been recognized for their outstanding direct teaching skills. Standardized observation forms tailored for the teaching setting guide the observation and feedback conversation. This report describes 10 years of experience in managing this program. From 2004 to 2014, TOP reviewers made 262 observations in different teaching settings (124 lectures, 88 small groups, 43 hospital or clinic sessions, and 7 surgeries). Program evaluation data over 3 years (2008–2011) indicated that teachers who were reviewed gained confidence, anticipated improvement in their teaching, and were inclined to discuss their teaching with colleagues in the future. Peer review programs require clear goals, infrastructure for program coordination and training of reviewers, a core group of dedicated peer reviewers, and champions to promote peer observation among faculty. Peer review creates opportunities to improve teaching quality and teacher satisfaction and promote a culture of teaching excellence.