School of Mathematics Teaching

Peer observation of teaching

The School has a system of Peer Observation of Teaching (POT). 

Peer Observation of Teaching

Each Semester, academic staff giving lectures or similar will have a colleague present one session only (ie. not multiple sessions if several courses are being taught by the observee).  Correspondingly, staff will be expected to observe a session delivered by a colleague. The observer and the lecturer will meet afterward to discuss the session and a short agreed report will be submitted.  The report will ask a few questions such as:

  • What worked well in the session?
  • What could be improved about the session?
  • How well did the class interact or engage with the teaching?

If there is a disagreement, the reviewer's opinions are entered but the observed member of staff can record their differing opinions. 

This is intended to be a process that offers the opportunity for professional development. The POT process will be connected with Annual Reviews in the sense that the reviewer will expect that those they review will have engaged constructively with the process in both roles and reflected on it.  A negative or positive report on a session will not itself be taken as evidence of performance.  Reports will be private and seen only by:

  • those involved,
  • their reviewer,
  • the School's senior management,
  • and the QA team. 

 

Completed forms should be returned to Stuart.Fitzpatrick@ed.ac.uk  (Teaching Organisation Manager) 

 

Reasons for POT 

We are not normally seen by other colleagues while lecturing. While we can learn and spread best practice by talking or reading about the subject, actually seeing others lecture live and getting feedback from colleagues who have seen us adds very valuable input for our performance.  

Feedback from a colleague is likely to pick out things that we were unaware of because we are focused on the lecture content.  We are also often so familiar with the material that we may not notice gaps or a lack of clarity. Watching a different lecture helps in improving our own teaching. 

Implementation    

It will be up to the observer to tell the lecturer when they are attending the lecture and to arrange the post-review discussion.  

POT Guidance 

  • No lecture or teaching session is perfect. For that reason, it should always be possible to identify something that could be improved. 
  • For the same reason, entries in the "what could be improved" section should not be taken as implying that the teaching session was poor. 
  • Teaching is only successful if there is learning and so the question about interaction and engagement is intended to focus on whether the teaching is working for the class. 
  • Observers should spend some time attending to the teaching as a student might, and focus on material, legibility and audibility. They should also try and "stand back" and observe the class: to what extent are the class interacting and engaging? Are they attending or talking amongst themselves, is it about the material?