Peer Coaching
Peer coaching and peer review are professional development strategies for educators to consult with one another, to discuss and share teaching practices, to observe one another's classrooms, to promote collegiality and support, and to help ensure quality teaching for all students.
In peer coaching, an experienced teacher is paired with a new teacher, or a veteran teacher who requests assistance. The two share in conversations about teaching, and reflect on and refine their practice. Their relationship is built on confidentiality and trust in a non-threatening, secure environment in which they can learn and grow together. Peer coaching is generally conducted for formative (development) rather than summative (for personnel decision) purposes (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development). Formative evaluation activities provide instructors with information they can use to improve their teaching. It is intended for personal use rather than public inspection. All information gathered is private and confidential.
Components of the peer coaching process include:
- Pre-observation conference
- Review criteria
- Review course syllabus
- Discuss contextual issues
- Discuss areas of special focus
- Discuss logistics of classroom observation
- Observation
- Follow criteria on the forms
- Take descriptive notes
- Identify suggestions for improvement
- Consider videotaping the classroom session
- Include an SGID session, if requested by the faculty
- Post-observation conference
- Discuss notes and suggestions
- Review SGID results, if used
- Mutually reflect on micro and macro issues
- Build a strategy for improvement
- Review videotape of classroom session, if used
- Continued discussions
- Conduct additional observations as desired
- Engage in additional conversations as desired
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