Introduction

Definition of Peer Review

Definition of Peers

Types of Reviews

Formative Procedures

• Course Materials
• Classroom Observations

Summative Procedures

• Course Materials
• Classroom Observations

Summary of Best Practices

References and Resources

Main

Introduction

This site focuses on the Peer Review of Teaching which can be considered a component of the scholarship of teaching and part of the formative and summative evaluations of teaching.  Peer Review enhances the dialogue related to teaching effectiveness, recognizes that faculty peers are the best judges of course content, pedagogical methods, and assessment strategies, and elevates teaching as a scholarly activity.

In 1990 a discussion of the scholarship of teaching began with the publication of Scholarship Reconsidered (Boyer), and then refined later in Scholarship Reassessed (Glassick, Huber, Maeroff, 1997). The scholarship of teaching has evolved into two equally important activities---scholarly teaching and the scholarship of teaching. Lee Shulman, President of the Carnegie Foundation and Professor of Education at Stanford Unviersity, defines scholarly teaching as "teaching that is well grounded in the sources and resources appropriate to the field. It reflects a thoughtful selection and integration of ideas and examples, and well-designed strategies of course design, development, transmission, interaction and assessment. The scholarship of teaching is developed when the work of teachers becomes public, peer-reviewed and critiqued, and exhanged with other members of the professional communities so they, in turn, can build on our work."