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Abstract
Peer observation is increasingly a feature of higher education (HE) practice. We argue that the principal drivers of quality assurance and professional development apply online as offline, given the growing importance of e-learning and related teacher development needs. Currently, discussion is largely restricted to traditional classroom-based contexts but this is non-tenable in the current climate of HE.
The challenges and opportunities presented online add a particular colour to emerging issues concerning the nature of ‘observation’, the role of the ‘observer’ and factors influencing the effectiveness of peer observation. Paradoxically, the flexibility of the online medium also raises questions and forces decisions that we need not address face-to-face. Challenges include what is observable online, how the observation process is managed and structured online and how the experience relates to expectations. As online and blended learning continue to expand new peer observation guidelines will need to reflect such issues.
Notes
1. This feature is available within the Merlin VLE developed at the University of Hull – http://www.hull.ac.uk/elearning/merlin/ and within First Class – http://www.firstclass.com.