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Article
Publication date: 5 June 2017

Peter R. Whipp and Richard Pengelley

The “Colleague Review of Teaching” programme (CRT) aimed to enhance reviewees’ confidence to teach. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

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Abstract

Purpose

The “Colleague Review of Teaching” programme (CRT) aimed to enhance reviewees’ confidence to teach. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

Case studies using mixed-method, interview and questionnaire, repeated measures intervention were employed whereby academics in an Australian university science faculty volunteered to participate in a multi-faceted teaching review programme. Underpinned by confidence and self-determination theory, the CRT included peer coach training, reviewee choice, and a strengths-based approach to peer reviewing and coaching colleagues.

Findings

The reviewees declared an enhanced confidence to teach, teaching skills and unit design knowledge in an environment that was supportive of psychological needs. The peer coaches reported the CRT to be a positive experience that should continue. The strengths-based approach to peer observation of teaching and peer coaching facilitated department collegiality and was positively received by all participants who completed the programme.

Research limitations/implications

The indifferent response to the CRT protocol completion reconfirms that peer review is a complex science and needs careful negotiation.

Practical implications

Review, peer coach and mentor training, review practice, choice protocols and the multi-faceted approach (pre-observation meeting, observations, written report and post-observation meeting) were positively received.

Originality/value

This paper provides rich insight into the experiences of a teaching review process.

Details

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, vol. 6 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6854

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 2005

Jacqueline A. Blackmore

To provide a best practice framework for peer review via teaching observation as a method of appraising teaching performance within UK higher education (HE) institutions.

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Abstract

Purpose

To provide a best practice framework for peer review via teaching observation as a method of appraising teaching performance within UK higher education (HE) institutions.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses secondary data analysis via the current literature on peer review and peer appraisal, as well as use of primary data obtained via the design, implementation and analysis of semi‐structured interviews with management and teaching staff within the Faculty of Business and Management Science within a fictitiously named Riverbank University.

Findings

Provides a best practice framework for peer review based on the literature, where the case study university benchmarks well against the framework and an insight into the perceptions of teaching staff on the scheme.

Research limitations/implications

The sample of 40 teaching staff was from only one faculty, in one university. Before generalising the findings it would be prudent to widen the research to include a larger sample from more universities across the HE sector in the UK.

Practical implications

The research has massive implications for the UK HE sector if peer review is to be used as a method of assessing teaching performance.

Originality/value

The paper is valuable as a guide to senior management wishing to implement a peer observation scheme within their own institution.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 August 2012

Helle Merete Nordentoft and Karen Wistoft

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process and learning outcomes of peer collaboration in a Danish health developmental project in school health nursing. The paper…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process and learning outcomes of peer collaboration in a Danish health developmental project in school health nursing. The paper explores how peer collaboration influences the school nurses' collaborative learning and competence development.

Design/methodology/approach

The article is based on data from a three‐year health educational development project at primary schools in Denmark. These data are observations from 12 reflective workshops with school nurses, two questionnaire surveys, and five focus group interviews with five of the six sub‐projects after the project was over. In the workshops, the questionnaire surveys and the focus group interviews the school nurses were asked to reflect on the developmental process, their collaboration, own and mutual pedagogical competence development.

Findings

Systematic peer collaboration between school nurses qualifies their learning and ability to reflect on practice, their communication with colleagues and children, and the development of new and innovative approaches to school health nursing. The introduction of peer collaboration, however, takes time and energy and it can be a challenge to introduce peer collaboration into a working culture in which school nurses traditionally work alone under prominent work and time pressures.

Research limitations/implications

The study is explorative. Further research could explore the connection between collaborative learning among school nurses and the development of their competences in school health nursing.

Practical implications

The paper outlines how and why collaboration among school nurses should be introduced in a more systematic way into school health nursing.

Originality/value

The paper investigates the connection between informal educational activities for SNs and possible learning outcomes for practice. Specifically, the paper looks into different ways in which SNs collaborate and the findings contribute to new understandings of how SNs' practice can be organised in order to stimulate school nurses' participation and collaborative learning and increase the quality of school health nursing.

Article
Publication date: 2 July 2020

Wowek Sean Kearney, James Jurica and Theresa Entzi

This study examined the value of using near-peer video-based feedback to help train aspiring school leaders in coaching strategies. This research is part of a larger study in…

Abstract

Purpose

This study examined the value of using near-peer video-based feedback to help train aspiring school leaders in coaching strategies. This research is part of a larger study in which feedback was solicited from both aspiring teachers and aspiring school leaders. The current study focused on the responses provided by the aspiring school leaders.

Design/methodology/approach

This study utilized a phenomenological design. Undergraduate students enrolled in a public university in the Southwestern United States were recorded delivering instruction during their final semester of student teaching. These videos were uploaded to a secure website using EdPuzzle. Graduate students aspiring to be principals who were enrolled in a supervision course at the same university observed these classroom videos and provided feedback.

Findings

In regard to what participants learned about using video recordings, responses of aspiring principals fell into three themes as follows: establishing trust, providing critical feedback and broadening perspectives.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited by it being a small-scale study conducted at one public university in the Southwestern United States. Accordingly, the findings of this study are limited in their generalizability.

Practical implications

This study highlights the usefulness of collaborations between educator preparation programs and principal preparation programs to enhance the learning of both student groups.

Originality/value

This research adds to the small but growing body of literature regarding near-peer video-based feedback and its potential value in helping aspiring principals practice coaching skills using written feedback.

Details

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, vol. 9 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6854

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 November 2015

Regina Ahn and Michelle R. Nelson

The purpose of this paper is to examine the behaviors and social interactions among preschool children and their teachers during food consumption at a daycare facility. Using…

1006

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the behaviors and social interactions among preschool children and their teachers during food consumption at a daycare facility. Using social cognitive theory, the goal is to identify how role modeling, rules, behaviors and communication shape these young consumers’ health-related food consumption and habits.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was conducted in a US daycare facility among preschool children (aged four years) over a three-month period. Qualitative ethnographic methods included participant and non-participant observation of meals and snack-time.

Findings

Findings from the observations revealed that teachers’ food socialization styles and social interactions with peers cultivate children’s food consumption. In addition, commensality rules set by the childcare institution also help children learn other valuable behaviors (e.g. table manners and cleaning up).

Research limitations/implications

The study was conducted in one location with one age group so the results may not be generalized to all children. As more young children spend time in preschools and daycare centers, the understanding of how these settings and the caregivers and peers influence them becomes more important. Preschool teachers can influence their young students’ food consumption through their actions and words. Training teachers and cultivating educational programs about ways to encourage healthy eating habits could be implemented.

Originality/value

The paper offers observations of actual behaviors among young children in a naturalistic setting.

Details

Young Consumers, vol. 16 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-3616

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 February 2014

Sarah R. Gewirtz

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how the author's library was able to enhance the collaborative learning and teaching environment, with secondary goals to improve teaching…

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how the author's library was able to enhance the collaborative learning and teaching environment, with secondary goals to improve teaching effectiveness and increase sharing among librarians of ideas and techniques used in first-year student sessions.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper describes the various measures of assessment (peer-to-peer, student feedback and self-reflection) that the College of St Benedict (CSB) and St John's University (SJU) Libraries implemented in 2011. The methods were used to improve teaching by listening to peers, getting feedback from students, and by also doing self-reflection. Many librarians were able to make changes that were beneficial to their teaching sessions.

Findings

The outcome allowed librarians to incorporate new ideas into their own instruction sessions; re-evaluate teaching methods based on student feedback; and, to realize that self-assessment was beneficial. More importantly, it led to the development of Learning Goals for First Year Students.

Originality/value

This is a significant contribution to the field of librarianship due to the lack of publications on the observations of peers. Articles about peer-to-peer feedback for librarians whose employment duties entail library instruction were difficult to find. Much of the literature focuses on faculty (who are not librarians) who go through peer-to-peer observations for their tenure files. This article focuses not only on peer-to-peer feedback but student assessment of librarians and self-reflections.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 42 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 September 2017

Zsuzsanna Eszter Tóth, György Andor and Gábor Árva

This paper aims to describe an internal quality enhancement system based on peer reviewing and summarizes the first results of application at the Budapest University of Technology…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to describe an internal quality enhancement system based on peer reviewing and summarizes the first results of application at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences.

Design/methodology/approach

A peer review framework has been developed to evaluate and further develop the teaching programs and practices. The questionnaire-based peer review program included 22 courses and involved almost 100 lecturers. Peer review outcomes are completed by end-of-semester student course evaluations.

Findings

The results allow us to map differences between lecturers and courses and to identify correlations between the assessment criteria applied for peer reviewing.

Practical implications

The implemented framework implies individual, faculty and organizational development to enhance a deeper understanding of how to create quality in teaching programs and processes. Secondly, the peer review program contributes to the establishment of a learning community with a growing common understanding of what is considered good quality in business education.

Originality/value

The paper is valuable as a guide to faculty management wishing to implement a peer review framework within their own institution. The novelty of the presented approach is that it focuses on a semester-long teaching performance including classroom performance, course outlines, teaching materials, course requirements and processes and means of student performance assessments.

Details

International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, vol. 9 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-669X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 February 2014

Rosa L. Rivera-McCutchen and Nell Scharff Panero

The purpose of this paper is to examine highly detailed “low-inference” transcripts (LITs) of peer coaching conversations, drawn from two public US high schools located in New…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine highly detailed “low-inference” transcripts (LITs) of peer coaching conversations, drawn from two public US high schools located in New York City, to explore the kinds of interactions that led peers to be more reflective about their instructional practice.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the constant-comparative method of analysis, highly detailed LITs of peer coaching conversations were analyzed to identify instances where peers had what the researchers identified as an “Aha!” moment, where the peer's prior belief or opinion about their instruction and/or planning shifted. Subsequent re-coding identified specific strategies that caused the shift.

Findings

Three kinds of interactions were identified as leading to an “Aha!,” all of which involved a thoughtful and strategic use of the LITs during the coaching conversation. Conversely, findings suggested that passive use of the transcripts was less successful.

Research limitations/implications

Future research should explore the nature and staying power of the shifts in peer thinking, and the extent to which these shifts lead to instructional changes and improved student performance.

Practical implications

–LITs are a promising tool for instructional coaching. The evidence suggests when in the hands of a skilled coach the transcripts can shift teachers’ thinking in ways that are likely to improve instructional practice and thus student outcomes.

Originality/value

This study highlights the value of pairing strategic and thoughtful peer coaching with highly detailed LITs, and identifies specific kinds of interactions that lead to shifts in thinking about instruction.

Details

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6854

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 November 2019

Kay E. Sanders, Monica Molgaard and Mari Shigemasa

This study aims to examine the interplay between culturally relevant materials, child racial ethnic classroom composition and positive emotional climate in regard to high levels…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the interplay between culturally relevant materials, child racial ethnic classroom composition and positive emotional climate in regard to high levels of peer play in low-income, urban preschools located in African-American and Mexican immigrant/Mexican-American communities in the USA.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample includes state or city subsidized child care programs in the USA which were traditionally African-American programs that experienced an influx of Latino immigrant enrollment. Instruments included structured observations of classroom peer play and cultural artifacts. Hierarchical multiple regression was run to determine whether cultural artifacts and child ethnic composition within classrooms contributed to the prediction of high-peer play over positive emotional climate alone.

Findings

The final model indicates that cultural artifacts reflective of African-American culture positively predict high levels of peer play, while Mexican-American cultural items are negatively predictive. In classrooms with a majority African-American population, predicted high-peer play is 7.994 greater than that predicted for majority of Latino classrooms.

Research limitations/implications

Positive emotional climate in these programs was not very high, and it is not clear whether the findings discussed in this report would hold in contexts that exhibit much higher levels of positive emotional climate. It is also not clear that the inclusion of cultural artifacts in contexts in which African-American children are the minority or in racial-ethnically heterogeneous classrooms would lead to the same findings.

Practical implications

ECE classroom should make specific choices as to what culturally relevant materials to include in early childhood classrooms. Teachers of young children of color must facilitate children’s engagement with these materials by ensuring that they are representative of the children’s cultural experiences and by supporting children’s engagement with peers through the formation of emotionally positive classroom climates.

Social implications

This study points to interesting relationships between what teachers have in classrooms and children’s engagement with each other within those contexts. The findings from this study also exemplify that a one-size-fits-all approach toward childhood development may be counterproductive. Children bring with them ethnic and cultural heritages, which when combined with the preschool culture, create unique experiences for them that should not be ignored or controlled for analysis, but rather, understood.

Originality/value

This study provides a unique analysis of seldom considered contexts by examining the use of culturally relevant materials in urban, early childhood contexts. Teachers of young children have been found to consider a focus on race and ethnicity as unnecessary or to engage in a colorblind approach with young children. This study demonstrates how paying careful consideration to the cultural environment in classrooms also supports children’s exploration and play quality.

Article
Publication date: 30 January 2019

Steve Sider

The purpose of this paper is to examine how peer coaching was introduced in one school in Egypt and to identify barriers and opportunities for successful implementation.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how peer coaching was introduced in one school in Egypt and to identify barriers and opportunities for successful implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology included semi-structured interviews with eight teachers, participant observation of their classes and meetings, and three focus group meetings with teachers and school administrators.

Findings

Ladyshewsky’s (2017) five key aspects of peer coaching are considered in the findings: establishing peer partners, building trust between the partners, identifying specific areas to target for learning, training on non-evaluative questions and feedback, and supporting each other as new ideas are attempted. Each aspect of these is reviewed in light of the implementation process in the school.

Practical implications

The study provides practical suggestions for teachers and school administrators that include considerations for implementation. Numerous connections are made to research on peer coaching that is relevant to the implementation of peer coaching in schools in Egypt and other countries in the Global South.

Originality/value

The study provides an examination of the implementation of peer coaching in a school in Egypt. Thus, it contributes to the limited literature on peer coaching in the Global South. The discussion and conclusion sections consider further questions and research opportunities for effective practices in peer coaching in international contexts.

Details

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, vol. 8 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6854

Keywords

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