Purpose of a Peer Observation

The College of Fine Arts expects that all tenure-track/tenured, practice series, and instruction series faculty members continually revise their teaching in courses to achieve excellence in undergraduate and graduate education, to improve student learning, and to keep course content and pedagogy current. 

Feedback is an essential part of the teaching improvement process. There are two formal pathways for faculty to receive feedback that may prompt revisions to their teaching and thus aid in faculty evaluation processes:   

1. student course evaluations completed by students at the end of each semester

2. peer teaching observations by faculty members at recommended intervals

Longitudinal Review

Peer teaching observations should be conducted longitudinally, meaning that the same course is observed during different semesters, with a peer teaching observation report documenting each instance. The observer can, but need not, be the same person. The advantage of this longitudinal method is to note whether the observed faculty member has developed their course and/or method over time and whether they were responsive to input. When it is not possible for faculty to have an observation of the same course, another of similar type (pedagogical methods or modalities) may b substituted. 

When possible, the department chair should ask newly hired and newly promoted assistant- and associate-rank faculty to select a course for observation with in which they hope to develop or improve learning experiences and/or pedagogical approaches.  

Art and Art History Obligation

Each faculty member is responsibility for making sure they are on track for the required peer observations. The minimum requirements for peer observation reports are as follows:  

• Three for any promotion or tenure case

• Two for any third-year review (aka mid-probationary review)

• One for any comprehensive periodic review (aka post-tenure review)

It is the responsibility the department chair (or delegate) to assign peer observers and to request observations of any faculty member for whom that seems necessary, whether an observations is required for advancement purposes. Faculty members may also arrange for additional peer teaching observations on their own.  

In general, the department chair will assign peer teaching observations as shown in the table that follows, adjusting the cadence if the faculty member pursues an accelerated promotion or elects prior years of service to count toward years in current rank at UT. This table outlines the frequency of peer evaluation for different faculty ranks in the college:  

The University P&T guidelines require that all peer teaching observation reports completed in rank be included in the promotion dossier and that peer teaching observations used for a promotion case must take place during at least two different academic years in rank.  

What is the Process?

Once assigned an observer, the observee is responsible for scheduling the observation for a day when they are actively teaching. Optional: a meeting between the observee and the observer can be scheduled before the class to discuss the goals and desired outcomes for the day being observed. The length of the physical observation need not be the entire length of the class period and may consist of multiple visits to a single class on different days. 

The observee should provide the following to the observer for review before the classroom observation:  

• Any specific requests for attention within the observation

• Syllabus and other pertinent course materials or Canvas access

• Any previous peer teaching observations of this course or course of similar type

• CES results and written comments from previous offerings of this course or a course with similar pedagogical approaches

• If informal student supervision, advising, student mentorship, and one-on-one coaching is a significant part of the observee’s teaching and career profile, the observee should specifically request and arrange for peer feedback on these activities by the observer

The Written Report

Following the observation, the observer will complete a written report using the designated template. This written report should then be shared with the observee. The various section titles in the template and their descriptions are as follows:  

Previous CES: Review, summarize, and respond to student course evaluations and student written comments from prior semesters in the observed course or a similar one.  

Previous Peer Teaching Observations: Observers should note previous peer recommendations in the report and follow up with the observee on any changes made, indicating whether adjustments were implemented and effective.

Content Knowledge: The observer should share the level of knowledge the faculty member has on the topic.   

Instructional Planning: Share observations regarding any planning done for the course/class. Discuss the structure of the syllabus and/or their Canvas site and any other materials they may have prepared.  

Instructional Delivery: Record broad observations concerning the candidate’s effectiveness as a teacher, including such elements as presentation, course content, organization, clarity of written materials, rigor and fairness of written examinations, appropriateness of methodology, and student learning outcomes. Take notes while watching, especially of innovative, effective, and ineffective methods in the classroom. Use the KEE method (identify what to Keep, Enhance, and Eliminate) to organize your recommendations. Look for evidence of teaching presence (pedagogical leadership in the classroom), cognitive presence (thinking and engagement with the subject matter), and social presence (an engaged learning community working together). Document any formal and informal student-faculty advising interactions and/or supervision witnessed.  

Description of Lesson: The observer should use this section to summarize the flow of the class. 

Strengths: The observer should take note of any markers of excellence about the syllabus, course material, instructional delivery, student engagement, etc.   

Recommendations/Suggestions for Improvement: The observer should take note of any areas for improvement in the syllabus course material, instructional delivery, student engagement, etc. or any distressing or consistent themes in previous observations and/or CES comments.   

Optional: The observe may choose to write a self-reflection on the observation, to be submitted with the observer’s written report.  

Final Steps

Upon receipt, the observee should schedule a meeting to discuss the report’s content and findings and be prepared to engage in dialogue regarding any questions or clarifications that may arise. Following completion of that meeting, both faculty members must sign the document. Please submit the finalized report to the department’s Assistant Director for official record keeping. The Assistant Director can also assist with coordinating signatures via DocuSign. It is recommended that the observee retain a copy for their personal records.  

Link to the Peer Observation materials including: template, example and guidelines.

For a more comprehensive guide to The College of Fine Art’s recommendations and best practices, please use the link below to visit their website:

Peer Teaching Observation Recommendations and Best Practices | College of Fine Arts Operations