About the course

With IU’s increasing demand for high quality peer reviews of teaching, the need for faculty who are qualified to conduct peer review informed by best practice has increased significantly. Drawing on best practice for peer review, this course will help you master a comprehensive conceptualization of peer review as part of a process to improve teaching and student learning. The course is self-paced, self-enrolling, and free. It is designed to serve as a resource for those conducting peer reviews of teaching and as preparation to serve IU as a qualified FACET Peer Reviewer.

These modules begin by focusing on the peer review process itself (Module 1 Performing a peer review). They then address ways to enhance a peer review by looking beyond the actual teaching that takes place in the in-person or online learning environment (Module 2 Enriching your review). Finally, the modules consider documentation of formative and summative review (Module 3 Documenting your review). Throughout the course, you will encounter examples, reflection questions, and other activities that support best practice in peer review.

Learning outcomes

After completing the modules, you will be able to:

• Conduct complete professional teaching observations including pre-observation meetings, full class observations, and post-observation discussions.
• Review and evaluate key course documents such as the syllabus and the Canvas site.
• Review and evaluate asynchronous courses as well as synchronous online courses.
• Write evidence-based formative memos for yourself (reflections) and for those you review.
• Write evidence-based summative letters suitable for inclusion in tenure and promotion dossiers, award applications, or other places where evaluation of teaching is requested.