Learning from Each Other: Use These Tools for Peer Reviews in Teaching
If we create a culture where every teacher believes they need to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be even better, there is no limit to what we can achieve.
– Dylan Wiliam
INTRO
This peer review activity for teachers uses your school’s shared student outcomes and fosters encouragement and strategies for teachers given by teachers. This is a means to improve teaching skills, as well as to be accountable for goals. Identifying what strategies should be implemented provides a focus for teachers and a starting point from which to navigate.
OBJECTIVES
- Identify strategies that are working well in the classroom.
- Provide teachers with concrete evidence.
- Provide peers insights/solutions/strategies toward achieving goals.
ACTIVITY
For each schoolwide student outcome, have each teacher identify for their peers:
- 3 strategies going well in their classroom connected to the shared student outcome
- 2 strategies they are actively working on in their classroom connected to the shared student outcome
- 1 question they have about implementing strategies in their classroom connected to the shared student outcome
- Have them also identify any other objectives or goals they would like their peers to look out for during this process
Have peer observers provide concrete evidence for the classroom teaching they observe
- For the 3 strategies going well and the 2 strategies the teacher is actively working on, have the observer provide concrete evidence (i.e. cite students/teacher dialogue, count hands, count how many students speaking/engaged, etc.)
- For the 1 question the teacher has about using strategies connected to the shared student outcome, have the observer provide insights/solutions/strategies to the teacher. This should include a follow-up discussion around an action step the teacher can take in the next 7 days to address the question they have.
TIPS
- Revise the provided feedback sheet (or create a form, etc.) to match your school’s shared student outcomes
Responses