Using video-reflection and peer mentoring to enhance tutors’ teaching

ABSTRACT

Tutors have an important teaching role in higher education (HE), but rarely receive professional development beyond one-off generic workshops or seminars. Any feedback on their teaching is typically in the form of an evaluation, rather than focussed on enhancing tutors’ teaching practice. To address this gap, we devised a professional development programme that incorporated video-recorded observations, informal student feedback, self-reflection, and peer mentoring. Twelve tutors and six mentors participated in the programme. Data included focus group interviews and audio-recorded meetings between mentors and tutors. Benefits to tutors included enhanced self-reflection, collegiality, increased confidence in teaching ability, and positive outcomes for their students’ learning. The interdisciplinary pairing of tutors and mentors resulted in dialogue that was non-evaluative, supportive, and collegial. We argue that video-recorded observations combined with peer mentoring and student feedback can enhance teaching quality by providing tutors with contextual, relevant, and individualised professional development.

KEYWORDS:

• Peer observation
• peer mentoring
• tutors
• sessional teachers
• video reflection
• academic development

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to Drs Catherine Hartung and Gwynaeth McIntyre for their valuable support and to the participants for their enthusiasm and openness to further their professional development

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ako Aotearoa Southern Regional Hub [S1803] and the University of Otago (New Zealand).

Notes on contributors

Rob Wass

Rob Wass is a Lecturer in higher education who works on project-based research with staff and students. His research interests are focussed around improving student experiences of learning using metacognitive strategies and supporting sessional teachers. He works in the Higher Education Development Centre at the University of Otago where he has a lead position running the academic peer-learning programme.

Tracy Rogers

Tracy Rogers is a Teaching Fellow working in the area of academic development for students and staff. Her interests include peer-supported learning, metacognition, and peer review of teaching. Tracy facilitates academic skills development workshops for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and is the co-ordinator of a reciprocal peer observation of teaching initiative, Teaching and Learning Circles, aimed at enhancing teaching culture and practice at the University of Otago. Tracy’s doctoral research investigated the factors supporting under-privileged girls’ educational persistence in rural Cambodia.