Teaching Observations

Purpose 

As with peer review of scholarly and creative work, having a colleague observe and give feedback on teaching and pedagogy is a valuable aspect of professional development. Classroom observations and reviews of teaching materials (syllabi, assignments, student work, LMS pages) are intended to make teaching a more collaborative practice and allow the teacher and observer to learn from one another as they share experiences, activities, and practical tips. The process facilitates conversations about student learning and innovative pedagogical approaches and provides an opportunity to ask colleagues for advice and troubleshoot classroom strategies.

The main components of a Teaching Observation are

• Pre-Conversation: Teacher and observer discuss the process, teaching goals, and bring up any questions and necessary contextual information.
• Review of teaching materials: Observer reviews syllabus, LMS, and sample of assignment sheets/descriptions 
• Classroom observation: Observation of roughly 45 minutes of class time
• Write-up of narrative and/or review: Observer drafts a narrative of the observation 
• Discussion of observation and review: Teacher and observer discuss the narrative.

Template Document for Narrative Approach to Teaching Observation

Teaching Observations for Tenure-Track Faculty

Assistant professors often cite difficulty in obtaining documentation of their teaching. In response, processes have been created to ensure that tenure-track faculty receive teaching observation support via their peers and their individual mentoring.

More information on the specific process and timeline can be found on the Academic Mentoring page. 

Part-Time Faculty Classroom Observations

Part-time faculty interested in being trained to be a peer evaluator should contact Susan Kerns at skerns@colum.edu.

Additional Resources (Coming Soon)