Peer Observation Research Articles

Affiliation and negative assessments in peer observation feedback for foreign language teachers professional development

AbstractThe growing use of peer observation in teacher professional development has created an interest in understanding how it is carried out and what the benefits are. Post-observation feedback is a crucial component of peer observation practices. This study seeks to contribute to a better understanding of peer observation feedback in foreign language teacher’s professional development. Adopting a conversation analysis perspective, we aim to establish how the interactional infrastructure is developed between observers and observees after a negative assessment during peer observation feedback. The results show that, when the observer is assessing a specific teaching action negatively and the observee expresses alignment with the observer’s position, the observer adopts an affiliative stance through the use of his/her epistemic expertise in two ways: either putting his/her self in the shoes of the observee or, in other cases, expressing the affiliative stance by appealing to the epistemic community to which they both belong.

Humanising online teaching through care-centred pedagogies

One of the main challenges regarding online teaching involves creating spaces in which learners establish and maintain connections with the teacher, other learners and the content. By exploring the concept of care in online learning, we aim to address this challenge. Framed by Noddings' (2013) ethics of care, this qualitative case study explored effective course design elements and instructional behaviours in an online course to identify practices that suggest the presence of care. Data collected through student feedback and peer observations provide insights into effective pedagogical practices, and our analysis reveals that these practices overlap with some of the four components of Noddings’ care-centred model of education: modelling, dialogue, practice, and confirmation. Our study suggests that what makes an online course effective might be the invisible care elements underlying its design and implementation. Implications for practice and policy: Online education experience can be enhanced by applying care-centred pedagogies into online settings to guide course design and instruction. Educators can incorporate care principles into courses without putting excessive emphasis on emotions, which may be more preferable at higher education levels.

Vicarious learning and communication self-efficacy: A pediatric end-of-life simulation for pre-licensure nursing students.

End-of-life clinical experiences, particularly in pediatrics, are quite limited for pre-licensure nursing students. Though effective, end-of-life simulations can be costly, require facilitators trained in palliative and end-of-life care, and are restricted by limited space and time availability. Such barriers prompt the question as to whether there is an effective alternative to simulation by which students can gain improved self-efficacy in therapeutic communication during pediatric end-of-life situations. Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory and work exploring self-efficacy posits that vicarious learning provides learners opportunities to gain experience and knowledge through observation of peers in simulated settings. This study evaluated the effectiveness of vicarious versus active learning on pre-licensure nursing students' perceived self-efficacy in providing therapeutic communication during a pediatric end-of-life situation. Data were collected over three time points - pre-simulation, post-simulation, and post-debriefing - using a modified Self-Efficacy in Communication Scale. Learners in both groups had significant improvement in self-efficacy across all time points. Only two items had significant differences between vicarious and active learner groups, but the effect was minor. Vicarious learning presents as a viable pedagogical approach for providing pre-licensure nursing students important learning opportunities related to pediatric end-of-life simulations during both the scenario and debriefing.

Effects of peer observation on risky decision-making in adolescence: A meta-analytic review.

Effects of peer observation on risky decision-making in adolescence: A meta-analytic review.

EFL Instructors’ Attitudes towards Professional Self-Development

This descriptive study aimed to find out whether instructors practiced self-development activities, whether some factors hindered the practice of self-development activities, and to what extent the instructors implemented self-development activities in their classes to solve a problem. Additionally, it aimed to find out whether the instructors differed in the use of self-development activities in terms of age, gender, experience, education level, and teaching hours. This study was conducted with 348 EFL instructors and four teacher trainers. Three research instruments including a questionnaire, interviews with teacher trainers, and four EFL instructors were used to investigate the self-development activities which were journal writing, self-appraisal, peer-observation, reading, writing a research paper, and action research. The analysis of data revealed that EFL instructors practiced self-development activities on a limited scale except for peer observation, which was carried out as a school policy. The results also showed that the workload was the most important hindrance in practicing self-development activities. Additionally, EFL instructors did not transfer the information gathered from self-development activities in their EFL classes to solve problems and they differed in the use of self-development activities to some extent in terms of age, gender, teaching experience, ELT qualifications like BA, MA, or Ph.D. and teaching hours.

“Because more trust now”: The Role of Peer Observation of Teaching in Building a Faculty Community of Practice

As the main facilitators of teaching and learning, faculty developers’ views as individuals and as members of their academic communities are essential to higher education research. Yet, developers’ perceptions of their own growth and learning as practitioners are underrepresented in the extant literature. This qualitative study explored perceptions of a peer observation of teaching (PoT) program and its role in building a community of practice (CoP) amongst a nine-member team of faculty developers in a large university in Saudi Arabia. Participant data were collected through semi-structured interviews after two years of the program. A thematic content analysis of interview responses revealed four themes: 1) authentic collegiality and mutual communication improved through the shared experiences, which provided a foundation for the CoP; 2) participants’ perceptions of PoT shifted from an evaluative experience to a developmental one with noticeable challenges; 3) teaching and learning strategies and practices were enhanced from the observation experiences; and, 4) PoT contributed to building community through shared practice and/or sense of belonging. Implications of this study support explicit discussions about the foundation and underlying values of proposed PoT and related programs; a balanced, outcome-oriented yet still developmental program with follow-up opportunities; and, learner-centered and sustainable development that empowers a bilateral role and identity as both academician and faculty developer.

How OER can support teacher collaborative learning to enact equitable teaching practices

PurposeMany K-12 teaching practices unwittingly reproduce social privileges. To transform their teaching and provide more equitable learning opportunities for students from minoritized communities, teachers need professional learning experiences that are collaborative and “close-to-practice” (Ermeling and Gallimore, 2014). This study aims to propose an approach to open educational resources (OER) to support teacher learning to enact equitable teaching practices.Design/methodology/approachBased on an integrative review of research on OER, equitable teaching and teacher collaboration, the authors propose the “Open Guidebook Approach” (OGA) to realize and sustain enactment of equitable teaching. OGA materials are practical, available and adaptable for teachers to learn together to transform their practice incrementally and continually within small, job-alike teams. The authors illustrate OGA with Making Meaning (https://edtechbooks.org/making_meaning), which offers information on equitable teaching through graphically illustrated scenarios and guides teachers to plan lessons together, observe each other, debrief and analyze implementation and reflect on and revise lessons based on peer observation and student learning goals.FindingsTeachers using Making Meaning recommend ways to enhance its adaptability and practicality, e.g. by providing repositories of lesson ideas for and by teachers, using classroom videos in addition to illustrated scenarios and emphasizing teacher dispositions underlying equitable teaching practices.Originality/valueOGA provides a promising way for educators, designers and researchers to work arm-in-arm to transform schooling for teachers and students. Further research is needed to identify structural conditions requisite for OGA use and how OGA materials can optimize teacher collaboration to enact meaningful and effective opportunities for minoritized students to participate and learn in classrooms.

Online peer observation: Reflections on a process-based job-embedded professional development activity through video recordings

Guided by the sociocultural approach to teacher learning, this collective case study describes in-depth online peer observation experiences of six English language teachers and how they reflected on the scheme carried out for a semester at a university. Data were collected via an interest analysis form, 24 reflective diaries, 24 video recordings of pre- and post-observation meetings, and two experience sharing day colloquiums. Thematic analysis was conducted to reveal emerging themes and codes. OLPO led the participants to telecollaborate, scrutinize their online classes, offer solutions for improved teaching, test these solutions in their practices, and reflect on the whole process.

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF VIRTUAL PEER MENTORING IN MICRO TEACHING CLASSES

This study aims to explore the implementation of virtual peer mentoring in Micro Teaching classes and to identify common teaching aspects assessed by peer observers. Employing an online observation form and focus group discussion, data were collected to address the research questions. The participants were 59 English language education students enrolled in three classes of Micro Teaching. Every student was assigned to do an observation on their peer teacher and give feedback to their performance. At the end of the semester, nine student teachers, representing the three Micro Teaching classes, were invited to a forum group discussion. The current research findings suggest that peer virtual peer mentoring is perceived positively by the participants. Breakout rooms in Zoom platform is a useful tool to give them more personal interactions, especially when sharing the result of observation. Even though giving feedback virtually is a challenge for the student teachers, they appear to see the activity as a valuable process. When observing and commenting on their peer teachers, they also do self-evaluation and reflection. Their peer teaching performance is a way to assess their own performance. Furthermore, other findings reveal common teaching aspects observed, namely linguistic aspects, pedagogical skills, and communication skills.

Teaching culture through films in the EFL classroom

Abstract. The present article aims to identify useful tips derived from an action research experience in teaching culture with films in an online high school class. To achieve this objective, an action research methodology was developed, in this sense, lesson plans were designed and implemented over four weeks through an academic intervention in first year high school students belonging to the "Luis Fernando Ruiz" Educational Unit. The data were obtained through some instruments applied, which included a teacher's reflection form, a peer observer´s table and a survey to students to obtain their comments. As a result, analysis of the data suggested some useful tips to teach culture with films in an online high school class, such as: a) Give clear instructions; b) Consider the length of the films; c) Use didactic material to attract students’ attention; d) Motivate students; e) Select online tools carefully; f) Give enough time to complete activities, g) Analyze student’s connectivity; h) Take into account the time; i) Promote students’ participation; and, j) Provide some feedback. However, there were some limitations, which were related to number of classes taught to students, number of students who attended classes, and those students who completed the survey. From these results, it is concluded that the use of films in teaching English contributes to students´ cultural knowledge and reinforces language learning. By integrating all these tips in the teaching process, it is possible to teach culture to students in a motivating way, permitting to achieve the lesson objectives about improving cultural knowledge.
 Keywords: Films, culture, language teaching.

PEER OBSERVATION OF TEACHING: IN THE EYE OF THE OBSERVERS AND OBSERVED TEACHERS

Teaching in higher education in the Indonesian context has received more attention in the past two decades. Actions have been taken to improve teaching quality. One of the attempts conducted by a department in an Indonesian university is peer observation of teaching. The objectives of this study are twofold. The first objective is to investigate the observers’ and the observed teachers’ perspectives of their participation in a POT. The second objective is to discover the perceived benefits toward their teachers’ professionalism. Two observers and two observed teachers participated in this study. Data were obtained through in-depth interviews. The findings uncovered that the observers and the observed teachers claimed to have improved their pedagogical competence and believed that the institution required further action. The data also revealed the benefits that the observers gained because they could see a teaching model and that the observed teachers received feedback from more experienced teachers. Participants also considered skills in giving and accepting criticism were necessary for their growth and that the POT served them as a moment of self-reflection. The limitation of the study is that it lacks information on the teaching performance upon the POT and peer relationship. The study implies that the institution should follow through the results of the POT.

Peer Observation in Facilitating Teacher Professional Development: A Study of EFL Novice and Experienced Teachers Perceptions

Novice and Experienced English Teachers are inevitably confronted with a must to be a qualified and professional teacher. This is particularly relevant in Indonesia, where English teachers are graduates of English Education departments has challenged to teach not only English language, but also culture and should have preparation for their duties as English teachers. Peer observation has the potential to facilitate teachers to develop their teacher professional development, particularly those who teach EFL in navigating challenging elements of their teaching practice. For this reason, this qualitative study explored 10 participants’ perceptions of peer observation as an aid to professional growth. Data were garnered from questionnaires and in-depth interview. The findings of the study suggest that the participants’ understanding of peer observation as an opportunity for them to learn each other to improve their teaching quality and construct their professional identity. Then, the participants also talk about their experiences in doing peer observation, which Experienced Teachers (ET) are more confidence than Novice Teachers (NT). Further, both ET and NT need peer observation to negotiate issues and solve problems. Finally, peer observation enabled the participants to reflect on themselves and their respective weaknesses in teaching English for professional development as both novice and experienced teachers.

Practices of Pre-service Science Teacher Education Program: Review and Reflection

This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of the pre-service teacher practicum program of M. Ed level from the perspective of the campus supervisor of Gorkha Campus, Gorkha. There were altogether six students who appeared in the practicum program, and the researcher was their internal mentor for them. The teaching practice (practicum) program was conducted for about two months in six phases (four on-campus and two in cooperative schools). Based on peer observation and researcher observation analysis for each student-teacher classroom, five findings were identified and interpreted as Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) and related other theories. The analysis indicated that the theoretical, pedagogical knowledge was not much implemented in teaching. Their teaching was more traditional without ICT except for on-campus teaching practice. The obtained pedagogical and content knowledge was not tried to link their teaching with life-world knowledge, except a few student teachers did so. The pedagogical skills mentioned in the peer observation form were not developed fully even after the completion of the theory classes and the end of teaching practice. The critical scientific thinking (SCT) model is new and may be appropriate for the practicum program. This teaching practicum program was insufficient to fill the theory-practice gap using this model.

Evaluation of TALIS 2018 Results in the Context of Professional Development: Turkey Sample

In this research, participation in professional development (PD) activities, perceptions of PD needs and barriers for PD, and differences in terms of seniority were examined in Turkey sample based on the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2018 data. A total of 15,498 teachers, including 3,204 primary school teachers, 3,952 secondary school teachers and 8,342 high school teachers, were included in the sample of the study. The results of the research show that teachers participate more in-service trainings within the scope of mandatory PD policies. Peer observation, coaching, and observation visits to workplaces, public institutions or non-governmental organizations and other schools are the least PD activities that teachers participate. Teachers need PD more in the field of teaching students with special needs and in multicultural or multilingual environments. According to teachers, the biggest barriers to PD are the lack of any incentives and support to participate in PD, incompatibility with the work schedule and the lack of appropriate PD activity. In addition, PD activities that teachers participate in, PD needs and barriers to PD are significantly different in terms of seniority. The results were discussed in terms of PD literature and Turkey context and suggestions have been made based on the results. Keywords: TALIS, OECD, teacher development, professional development, barriers for development

Mixed-reality simulations as a tool to enhance parent-teacher conferencing in initial teacher education

Communicating effectively with parents and carers is an important skill for pre-service teachers to develop. However, they often graduate underprepared due to limited opportunities for parent interaction during their course. When engaging with parents, pre-service teachers must be able to confidently articulate their pedagogical choices, provide examples of what students will do and justify why these choices have been made. One solution lies in providing opportunities for pre-service teachers to practise parent-teacher conferencing using mixed-reality simulation technology. In this study, differentiated instruction served as the context, and reflective practice, teacher self-efficacy theory and experiential learning theory were employed as the theoretical frameworks to build on an existing parent-teacher conferencing model developed by Dotger et al. (2008) to develop a new model for use with pre-service teachers. The model uses mixed-reality simulation technology and incorporates standardised parents and students, peer observation and opportunities for feedback and reflection. The model was developed and trialled with pre-service teachers in a core unit in an initial teacher education course at an Australian university. Results indicated that the pre-service teachers felt more prepared for parent-teacher conferencing after the technology-enhanced role-play experience. Implications for practice or policy: Mixed-reality simulation technology can be a valuable tool for authentic role-play experiences for pre-service teachers when preparing for parent-teacher conferencing. Simulation technologies can provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to practise aspects of teaching, such as parent-teacher conferencing, in a safe and low-stakes environment. Simulation technologies can provide powerful opportunities for pre-service teachers to reflect and learn from peers through peer observation and reflection.

The reality of practicing some Reflection tools among students of science teachers at Sultan Qaboos University

The current study aimed to reveal the extent of the use of reflective practices tools among undergraduate students from the science curriculum majors at the College of Education at Sultan Qaboos University. To achieve the objective of the study, the quantitative approach was used to answer the main question: What is the degree of use of reflective practice tools among undergraduate students from the science curriculum majors at the College of Education at Sultan Qaboos University? An electronic questionnaire prepared by the researcher was applied to determine the degree of practice (high - medium - weak - non-existent) for several reflection tools, namely: action research, portfolio, reflective reports, self-assessment of performance, listening thinking, peer observation, ideas record, and learning groups. The study sample consisted of (58) undergraduate students from the science curriculum majors at the College of Education at Sultan Qaboos University, (48) of them were female, and (10) were male. The results of the study showed that the average total score of student-teacher responses about the degree of their practice of reflection tools was (1.79) with a standard deviation of (1.00) and a weak practice degree, and the averages of the degree of practicing most of the tools were at a weak degree except for three of them were at a medium degree. The study recommended the necessity of including reflective practices in teacher preparation courses in various disciplines and employing these reflective practices within assessment methods in teacher preparation programs.

Exploring English as a Foreign Language High School Teachers’ Perceptions of Reflective Teaching Strategies in Language Teaching

<p style="text-align: justify;">This study aimed at exploring teachers’ perceptions of reflective teaching strategies in their teaching practice and the barriers that hinder the implementation of reflective teaching strategies. Quantitative and qualitative data were obtained by using a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The study took place in the context of high schools in most of the provinces in the Mekong Delta. The respondents involved in this research were fifty English as a foreign language (EFL) high-school teachers. The results revealed that most teachers have positive perceptions of the significance of reflective teaching strategies in their teaching. At the same time, the participants found barriers preventing them from implementing reflective teaching strategies in their language teaching such as lack of awareness of reflective teaching strategies, time or workload limitations as well as some obstacles related to the application of peer observation as a strategy of the reflective process. Finally, accordingly, the findings gained from two types of research tools, some pedagogical implications, and research suggestions on the effectiveness of EFL teachers’ application of self-reflection strategies in the teaching-learning process were proposed in the study.</p>

Peer Observation of Teaching Program for the Busy Hospitalist.

Background: Peer observation of teaching (POT) is a well-documented faculty development tool, but published research focuses mostly on programs in which participating physicians had protected time in their schedule in which to complete observations. Most programs nationally depend on hospitalists who have minimal, if any, protected time in their schedule and thus in order to complete these observations, will need to figure out a way to schedule these into their regular working day.Objective: We determined whether a POT program, focused on hospitalists with minimal non-clinical time, scheduled around clinical responsibilities, could be feasible and acceptable.Methods: Seven hospitalists participated in a POT pilot program from January 2019 to June 2019. Each hospitalist completed three 30-minute observations during this interval. At the completion of the pilot, the hospitalists were surveyed on their experience and results were assessed via open-ended narrative questions, which underwent thematic analysis.Results: Twenty of the 21 scheduled observations (95%) were completed. Of the completed observations, 100% were completed while the observer was assigned to concomitant clinical duties. The survey response rate was 100%. From free-text responses, the following themes emerged: (1) Acceptable time commitment with minor inconvenience, (2) learning through observing and reflecting for personal growth, and (3) stress-free peer observations.Conclusions: This study demonstrates the successful development and implementation of a POT program that served as a faculty development initiative focused primarily on hospitalists with minimal protected time.

Peer-Observation: An Intensive Study and its Impact On the Teaching-Learning Process

Abstract : Peer observation in teaching-learning significantly impacts students' learning and understanding experience. It improves the quality of the content delivery by the instructor and provides the learning opportunity to observer also. It is threefold learning from all perspectives. Thus, it is a collaborative idea sharing and achieving excellence by incorporating the best of others. Authors have experimented with the peer observation and feedback strategy to improve students' academic performance and overall teaching cum teaching experience. One semester activity has been conducted to conclude the significance of the study with the help of z and t statistics parameters with alpha value 0.05. Different peer observations are taken into consideration and incorporated to improvise the teaching-learning experience of facilitator and student. As a result, it has been found very helpful and impactful on the students' performance and the development of an instructor's teaching style. Peer observation helps explore thedifferent approaches that help adapt to future challenges in anagogical instructional approaches. Keywords : peer observation, self-reflection, higher education, academic practices, teaching-learning process.

A quality improvement initiative using peer audit and feedback to improve compliance

BackgroundThe Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC) published by the WHO in 2009 is used as standard in surgery worldwide to reduce perioperative patient mortality. However, compliance with the SSC and quality of its application are often not satisfactory. Internal audits and feedbacks seem promising for improving SSC application.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study is to investigate whether an intervention consisting of peer observation and immediate peer feedback can be implemented with high fidelity and acceptance.MethodData were obtained from a national pilot programme that was initiated in Switzerland in 2018 to measure and improve compliance with the SSC using peer audit and feedback. A total of 11 hospitals with 14 sites implemented the full intervention. Each hospital formed an interprofessional project team that should perform at least 30 observations with feedback on SSC application documented in an observation tool developed specifically for this programme. Since the SSCs of the study hospitals differ greatly regarding checklist items, for each of the three SSC sections standard items were defined: four at Sign In, five at Team Time Out and two at Sign Out. Frequency analyses were performed for initiation characteristics, SSC application at item level, feedback characteristics and programme evaluation.ResultsThe 11 hospitals documented 715 valid observations, and feedback on SSC application was provided for 79% of the observations. In 61%, all team members stopped their work for the SSC application, and in 71%, the items were read off from the checklist (instead of recalled from memory). On average, 86% of the standard items were read out by the checklist coordinator, whilst the two items at Sign Out were read out only in 60% and 74%. Additional visual checks with another source (e.g. patient wristband) took place in only 41%, and verbal confirmation of the items (by someone else other than the checklist coordinator) was obtained on an average of 76% across all three checklist sections. The surgical teams reacted positively in 64% to the peer feedback.ConclusionBoth implementation fidelity and acceptability of the intervention were high—the present intervention seems suitable for regular monitoring of the quality of SSC application with internal resources. Peer observation facilitated identifying weaknesses regarding the SSC process and application at item level. Across all hospitals, the Sign Out section in general, visual control for item checks and lack of work interruption of all team members during SSC application showed up as the main areas of improvement.