Further Investigation into the Use of Peer Observation for Professional Development: Piloting the AL Toolkit

• Project Team: Tatiana BlackmoreJudith Wilson-HughesLiz Wright
• Subject Discipline: Social Sciences and Global Studies
• Theme: Online and blended tuition
• Project Aim: Enables more students to achieve their study goalsImproves and enhance the learning experience of students
• Status: Complete
• Date: October 2022 to March 2024

This is a project building on the findings of "An Investigation into the use of Peer Observation as a Tool for Professional Development and an Aid for Developing a Professional Evaluative Culture among Associate Lecturers" conducted in 2020-2021 that explored peer observation in online tutorials. Following the successful completion of the original co-created project we believe that the findings have highlighted that peer observation could be an effective form of reflective practice in online teaching and a professional development opportunity.  This follow-on project aims to research the efficacy of a co-developed toolkit to enable a wider use of peer observation across Associate Lecturer community in the Open University’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Four of the original project participants have worked with us to produce a peer observation toolkit, which explains the background, process, and resources for peer observation.

This proposed project has a two-fold focus:

• to test the effectiveness of the practical toolkit for Peer Observation
• to evaluate the effectiveness of an ambassador/mentor role

The primary focus of our research will be investigating the usability of the toolkit for enhancing online teaching practice, alongside the usefulness of the ambassador/mentor role for successful implementation. Secondly, we are exploring how the ambassador role could be part of the peer led process we are developing and an alternative route for professional development.