Documentation:CTLT programs/PRT/Program

Formative Program & Purpose

What is it?

The Formative Peer Review Program coordinated by the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology offers you the chance to participate in a cross-Faculty formative peer review of teaching process. The formative program described below is open to anyone at UBC.

Though the process outlined on this site is uni-directional (i.e., a reviewer giving feedback to an instructor), we highly encourage you to consider a reciprocal peer review process where instructors observe each other's teaching, reflect on what they learned through the observation, and share feedback.

How does it work?

As a reviewee (i.e., person being reviewed), you will select and meet with up to two volunteer peer reviewers. The reviewers are experienced in the peer review of teaching at UBC and have completed at least one workshop offered by CTLT on becoming a peer reviewer; they are listed on our website.

The peer review process is typically organized around your goals and a structured classroom observation. In such a case, a peer reviewer will meet with you before the observation, observe you teach a class and then provide you with formative feedback based on your goals and what they observed during the class.

What aspect of my teaching is being reviewed/observed?

Teaching is a complex and multi-faceted. A review of teaching can potentially include a focus on anything from sensitivity and attention to student diversity, to the articulation of learning outcomes, to the clarity of one's presentation slides, to the design of one's syllabus (and/or many other elements). In a formative review, you, the person requesting the review, gets to decide what aspect of your teaching you most want feedback on based on your goals for growth as a teacher.

How will I benefit?

The Formative Peer Review Program aims to encourage dialogue about teaching amongst instructors (faculty members, graduate students, instructors and others who teach) of all ranks at UBC. By talking with your reviewers, you will likely gain new insights into your teaching and information about different teaching strategies or ideas; you can use these in your current teaching or incorporate them into lesson and course planning in the future. Reviewers also learn a lot about teaching by participating in the process.

If your reviewers provide written feedback and they agree that you can share it, you may choose to use it as evidence in your teaching portfolio and/or in your case for tenure and promotion.

What support is available to me?

At least once a year, we offer a workshop on the peer review of teaching through the UBC Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology. Customized workshops and consultations are available for individual departments, schools, and Faculties upon request.