Peer review of teaching
The University recently collaborated on a national project with a variety of other universities to develop a framework to support the effective introduction of peer review of teaching in ways appropriate to the higher education environment in Australia.
This project involved extensive consultation with staff from institutions across the sector and draws upon the experience of people who have developed and implemented peer review programs and those with particular insights into organisational policies and guidelines.
The collaborators recognised that while there are numerous examples of localised programs, broad-scale or university-wide formalised programs are rare. Ultimately, peer review of teaching is not practised universally in Australian universities.
The aim of the project was to develop resources to assist universities to design and embed peer review of teaching programs suited to their missions, priorities and contexts.
Proponents of peer reviewing point out the potential benefits of its widespread implementation for:
Students
Peer reviewing the full range of teaching activities and environments (not just classroom observation) including assessment, the development of teaching and learning resources, curriculum design etc., would increase the quality of our students’ academic experience.
Academic staff
Peer reviewing would enhance the data available to our academic staff in order to both inform the development of their teaching and to demonstrate its quality for purposes of appraisal and promotion.
The University
Peer reviewing would raise the status of teaching among academic staff as well as display a demonstrated commitment to the development of teaching to external stakeholders such as prospective students.