Examining Peer Observation Practices of Online Teaching and Learning Through Analysis of Existing Instruments

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 10:50 am
  In Roundtable Session: Observing Diverse Teaching Practices (Table 6)

Abstract

As online teaching gains increasing popularity in higher education, the need for valid measures to assess course quality and instructional effectiveness has become paramount. This study aims to analyze peer observation instruments used in higher education institutions in the U.S. Using the Online Teaching Competencies (OTC) framework by Farmer and Ramsdale (2016) as a coding basis, a total of 34 instruments were collected and examined. Coding results based on OTC revealed three highly observed competencies. However, a substantial number of competencies in the OTC framework were never utilized by any of the collected instruments. This study offers insight into the current state of peer observation practices for online teaching and highlights areas for improvement and refinement of evaluation frameworks.

Authors

• Stella Yun Kim, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• Kristen Wright, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• Carl Westine, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• Marah Lambert, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• Ting Sun, University of Utah