The University has a policy of requiring all staff engaged regularly in the delivery of teaching to have their teaching peer reviewed.
We have agreed to ask for this process to be managed by academic units within the School of Medicine and teaching co-ordinators in NHS trusts as it is staff that need to be peer reviewed, not programmes.
1. Who will be observed?
All academic and academic related staff regularly involved in teaching.
All NHS and other staff not an employee of the University regularly involved in teaching.
Regular teaching is defined, for these purposes, as a minimum of three formal teaching session of any kind per year.
2. Who will observe the teaching?
It is recommended that all staff pair up with a colleague in their academic unit or NHS trust and make arrangements to observe each other. In this way the peer observation task will not be too onerous for any one staff member.
3. What types of teaching should be observed?
Any type of teaching can be observed, to be chosen by the individual being observed. It is expected that over time colleagues will choose to have a variety of different teaching sessions observed.
4. How frequently will observation take place?
Each person needs to be observed once every three years. Staff who teach on more than one programme need only be observed once but over time should ensure that their teaching on a variety of programmes and in different settings is observed.
5. What information do we give to students?
At the beginning of a session where observation will take place students should be informed of the name of the observer and the fact that the observer is there, as part of the School’s policy on teaching quality, to observe and comment on the teacher not the students.
A statement will be inserted in all undergraduate and taught postgraduate student handbooks explaining the peer observation process and its purpose.
6. Process
The teacher and observer should meet before the teaching session and reach a mutual agreement about those aspects of teaching that will be observed. Teachers may wish to ask the observer to focus on a particular aspect of teaching (for example audio visual aids, student involvement techniques etc) or may ask for more general feedback on the totality of their teaching. Agreement should also be reached about the use of any standardised observation forms.
The teacher and observer should meet as soon as possible and ideally immediately after the teaching session to review the observation and its findings.
7. Documentation
A standardised front sheet should be completed for each observation detailing the title and nature of the teaching, the date that the observation took place and recording any agreed actions and/or examples of good practice for dissemination.
Enclosed is the University of Leeds SDDU peer observation booklet. This contains a range of different forms that colleagues may wish to use to help structure the observation process.
A copy of all the documentation should be kept by the observer and the teacher. A copy of the standardised front sheet should returned to the relevant academic unit or NHS teaching co-ordinator.
8. Confidentiality
Discussions between teacher and observer should remain confidential. Copies of standardised front sheets retuned to academic unit or NHS teaching co-ordinators will be screened for common themes so that staff development opportunities can be provided good practice be disseminated more widely.
If agreed actions highlight serious concerns about teaching Heads of Academic Units and NHS medical Directors will be expected to ensure that appropriate action is taken to remedy the situation reported.
Staff are encouraged to use the information derived from peer observation during their annual appraisal.
9. How will the scheme be reviewed?
Heads of Academic Units will be expected to take responsibility for ensuring that academic, academic related and honorary staff engage in peer observation as per the University’s requirements. NHS Medical Directors will similarly be responsible for ensuring NHS staff take part in peer review. Academic unit and NHS teaching co-ordinators will be asked to provide an annual report on the take up of peer review within their academic units/trusts and a summary of common themes. These reports will be considered at the same time as the School is preparing its Annual Quality Management and Enhancement Report for the Faculty Learning & Teaching Committee.
10. The University Policy on Peer Observation
11. The Documentation Needed to Complete the Observation:
Faculty of Medicine and Health Peer Observation Guide and Form
N.B. A copy of the Peer Observation form should be returned to Ceri Coulby, Room 7.09, Level 7, Worsley Building, School of Medicine, University of Leeds, Clarendon Way, LS2 9NL Email: c.coulby@leeds.ac.uk Telephone: 0113 3431656.
