Faculty members participating in the peer review of teaching (PRoT) process as observers may find the following tips useful for preparing for the program. The tips are organized under the different points of discussion or reflection in the PRoT process. 

Before the pre-observation meeting 

• Agree on a mutual time and location (typically the office of the faculty member you plan to observe) for the pre-observation meeting. 

During the pre-observation meeting 

• During the pre-observation meeting, your goal is to develop a rapport with the faculty member, learn about his/her teaching philosophy and goals for the interview. To accomplish this, you may want to ask the following questions: 

• What are your goals for the teaching observation? What areas of your teaching do you want me to focus on? 

• What are your learning objectives for the class? 

• What strategies or methods will you use to help your students achieve the learning objectives? 

• How will you asses what your students have learned during this class period? 

• Is there any other information that would be helpful for me to have prior to reviewing the class, such as relevant student background, relevant course history, previous experience with peer review, etc… 

• Do you have any concerns about the process? 

• What would you like to know about me? 

During the classroom observation 

• Review notes from the pre-observation meeting.  

• Arrive to class early, and sit in an area agreed upon by you and the instructor being reviewed. 

• When observing the instructor, pay close attention to the aspects of teaching that the instructor noted as areas for improvement. 

After the classroom observation 

• It is beneficial to the faculty member being reviewed if any notes taken during the observation are typed and distributed to the faculty member. The report formats available from the Office for Teaching and Learning may help you organize your thoughts. 

During the post-observation meeting 

• Invite the instructor being reviewed to discuss how things went. 

• Communicate your observations and reflections with respect to the goals/issues you and the faculty member discussed in the pre-observation meeting. Start with anything positive you noted during the observation. 

• Be sure to provide constructive and supportive feedback.