A 'How-To' Guide And Checklist For Peer Appraisal Of Teaching

In tertiary teaching it can be quite rare for academics to talk to each other about their actual teaching: their practices, motivational techniques, approaches to students and methods of assessment. By this we mean focused discussion about personal teaching practices as distinct from discussion revolving around student performance or the type of 'jockeying for position' which is part of the political process. Given that teaching is considered to be an important element of the academic role and institutions are under increasing pressure to better serve their clients, it is necessary for academics to engage in discussion and evaluation of their teaching performance. Peer appraisal is one method of evaluation which can provide feedback on teaching for both personal development and provide information for institutional or personnel purposes. The following paper provides a step-by-step guide for peer appraisal that has been developed and used successfully by the authors. While this process has been designed principally for self-development purposes, if each stage is documented and justified the outcomes may be useful, in conjunction with other material, for institutional purposes such as promotion and grant applications. The paper is written as a form of checklist for academics wishing to engage in peer appraisal and includes some notes based upon our personal experiences.