Learning through observing peers in practice

Abstract

Learning through peer observation in higher education is most frequently investigated from the perspective of the teacher who is observed. What is under-examined is how learning arises for the observer by watching a peer in practice. This paper provides insight into this question through an interpretive-phenomenological analysis of a case study of an observer, elicited from a semi-structured interview following a peer observation. A three-part model of change resulting from observation is hypothesized, and two important social conditions unique to this peer observation are identified that appear to have causal import for learning. This paper adds to the increasing evidence about the value of peer observation for learning and development for the observer.

Keywords:

• peer observation
• interpretive phenomenological analysis
• change of practice
• professional development
• workplace learning

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Sally Fincher (University of Kent) for collaboration on the project from which this interview was drawn and numerous discussions on teacher change and learning. Thanks as well to Natalie Jolly and Ingrid Walker, colleagues at the University of Washington Tacoma, for comments on early drafts of this manuscript. Finally, I wish to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments.

Notes

1. The ‘course’ as unit of instruction is referred to by different names in different English-speaking countries, such as ‘module’ in the UK and ‘paper’ in New Zealand. When taught in a standard classroom (i.e. not as a ‘distance education’ course), it refers to the instruction, assessments, instructional materials, and learning that results from a sequence of class sessions that meet regularly at one or more times each week over a single academic term with a single topic as the focus (e.g. ‘Shakespeare's Tragedies,’ ‘Introduction to Ethics,’ or ‘Technical Writing’).