Fair Trade: Peer 2 Peer Framework
Lindsay Johnson
Angelique Mondeville
Virginia Pow
University of Alberta Libraries
- Library Instruction: discipline focused, teaching by request
- Range from large first year courses to specialized smaller ones
- Librarians set own priorities for how to meet needs of departments
- Individual work has advantages and disadvantages
- Mostly one-shot sessions in 50 minutes or less, targeting specific assignments
- Challenges: speaking the language of the discipline, time management, improving teaching
- How to improve if only one doing it?
Why experiment
- Lots of research on peer evaluation
- Are we poor teachers, and how would we know that if we were?
- Looked into qualities of good teachers. Literature: passion, show respect for students, speak plainly, ability to improvise, active teaching methods, desire to learn about the effects of teaching and how it could improve
- Wanted to improve and enhance skills
- Desire to overcome “silo-izaiton” of discipline work since everyone is teaching
- Meet ACRL Standards for proficiencies for Instruction Librarians
Looked at:
- University Teaching Services Peer Consultation (University program for faculty)
- Polishing Diamonds-cross institutional peer observation (program across a few institutions) Discipline specific: observe at every teacher in the group, not necessarily about feedback, more focused on learning from others in group.
Objectives
- enhancing individual performance
- for evaluation
- What are your goals and institutional context?
“…create an environment that is conducive to experimentation in the classroom.” Cox, Skarl, & Vanderpol 2004
UofA project focused on formative, improvement, supportive environment, learning new strategies/techniques, manageable time commitment, learning opportunity for staff at all stages of their career, cross-disciplinary, enhanced student learning (will study this for outcomes later on)
Peer 2 Peer Framework
- Three phases: Preparation phase, observation, and Dialogue & Learning
- Peer partners
- Not from reporting structure
- Goal for formative assessment
- Voluntary
- Confidentiality
- Unobtrusive observation (not chiming in at any point)
- Flexible protocol
Pre-Observation Talking Points
- About the class
- particular challenges
- what to focus on
- Weakness and strengths
- Anything to adapt in observation
- What hoped to gain
- Logistics (where to sit, mention role of observer, follow up scheduling?)
- Instructor could ask about specific things they wanted to get feedback on, specific anxieties, etc.
- Prep includes customizing observation protocol to each session, helped with collaboration. Their form includes 5 man areas with subpoints for each.
They projected the sheet that they used and talked about modifications. I would like to see a copy of this, as my eyes weren’t good enough to make out everything. It looked like a comprehensive list. (Update: it’s on the ACRL conference website)
Observation of Teaching
- Several studies noted the observer has the more difficult job of the peers
- Must observe both students and teachers
- Gave good perspective: found students pay less attention when faculty don’t attend, helped reinforce both the observer and teacher wanted professional training in instruction
- Need strategies for how to keep the observer unobtrusive when students ask observer for help.
- Easy for observer to get caught up in content, or how they would teach it, rather than observation.
Post Observation Talking Points
- How do you think it went?
- What do you think went well? What didn’t go as well?
- You asked me to focus on certain aspects, how do you think those went?
- Reflective questions for specific events: Why do you think that happened? What would you change or do next time? How did you feel at that point?
- Were there any issues with this class/session would you like to discuss?
- How much did my presence (as observer) affect the session?
- What I learned as an observer…
- Entire process is about an hour and a half, though conversations continue on
Framing Conversations
- Not all feedback is negative; this model focuses on positive
- The observer isn’t the only person with information to share, both bring observations to the session… feedback is two way
- Must be honest and constructive
- Be as specific as possible about what and how
- Situation, behaviors, and impact
- Timing: don’t have the conversation immediately after the session
Findings: Challenges
- Being observed, though not as threatening as they thought at the start
- Observe ONLY
- Focusing only on points instructor requested
- Observing both students and teaching
- Giving constructive feedback
- Would be good to have a coordinator or process to save time on scheduling
Findings: Advantages
- Articulating anxieties as challenges
- Discussing possible strategies
- Hearing honest feedback
- NOT focusing on the negative
- Opportunity to reflect (set out an action plan for professional development)
- See different teaching techniques and approaches, new active learning techniques, etc
Next Steps
- Small scale pilot they want to expand on, for system-wide implementation and assessment (on perceived success, adaptations, etc)
- Share findings here, also at WILU2009
- Professional development, both for teaching and for training to observe
Thinking about doing this:
- How would you present this to your peers?
- Would this formative approach fit your institutional culture?
- How feel about crossing disciplines?
- Other challenges?