Woo-hee!  This is a scary concept - having a colleague come in to your classroom to observe your teaching (and then to give you feedback).  I know it’s intimidating (for a lot of reasons), but I’m going to write about it anyway and encourage you to access this as a feedback method.  Here are some ideas to keep in mind when you considering inviting someone to observe you as you teach.

First, think about who you might ask.  You could invite

• An experienced instructor in your own department - whom you know well.
• An experienced instructor in your own department - whom you don’t know well, other than by reputation.
• An experienced instructor in another department - whom you know well.
• An experienced instructor in another department - whom you don’t know well, other than by reputation.
• Someone who has been assigned as a peer mentor.
• Someone who has been assigned as an experienced faculty mentor.
• Someone from your institution’s faculty teaching/learning center (or one of their specially-trained faculty consultants).
• A graduate student from your department (or an undergraduate student from your department (or another one).

There are many ways to set up the observation, but here are a few guidelines:

1. Ask the person if s/he would be willing to observe your teaching and provide you with feedback.  If the answer is yes, proceed.  If no, thank the person and assure that there are “no worries.”
2. Determine a time that is mutually convenient for the two of you.
3. Discuss the expectation of confidentiality - both for your students’ sakes as well as yours.
4. Provide whatever background information the other person might need about your teaching, the particular lesson you’re teaching, the students in the class, and any other pertinent context.
5. Define, as specifically as possibly, what you want the other person to ‘look for.’  If no direction is provided, then the feedback you may receive could end up being less than helpful.  In addition, the other person may feel like a ship adrift when walking into your classroom and in fact, feel less confident that if the direction had been provided.
6. Discuss the ways that the observer could make notes, depending on his/her style as well as whether or not you have a particular form you want used.  In many cases, I felt most comfortable using a laptop where I could script nearly everything that was said, much faster than I could have hand written it (plus, with a laptop, at least someone could read it later!!)
7. Set up a time when the two of you can debrief.  Note:  The debrief is better sooner rather than later in terms of making sure that memories are still intact about what happened in the classroom interactions.

Note that there is significant risk in this process unless you are absolutely comfortable with the person observing your teaching and that person, likewise, is comfortable playing this role. If the person you chose declines - for perfectly understandable reasons - resist applying pressure of any kind. The simple fact that you invited him or her to participate in the process might plant a seed that will bear fruit at some later time. Note too that an informal assessment may be especially useful when there is a formal process in place that you must satisfy later - your colleague’s observation can serve as a trial run. Therefore arrange it far enough advance so that you have time to make changes based upon its feedback.

Having a colleague observe your classroom and give you feedback is invaluable - regardless of whether you are an outstanding teacher or someone who is struggling a bit.  I won essentially every award available at my institution and had observers constantly - and it helped me.  AND, sometimes, I asked observers to attend my class because I was struggling with an entire class or a whole group.  It was always scary - and always helpful, too.  Don’t miss this chance for growth.

Professors who strive for excellent gather data in numerous ways, knowing that each method provides different data points for the faculty member’s benefit.  Let’s say that you have already gathered data from students and perhaps a peer and have no doubt begun to identify several significant tendencies in your teaching style. As a way of confirming these initial findings and/or gaining additional insights, consider viewing yourself in action - that is, on video. If your institution has a teaching and learning center or other faculty development entity, you would be wise to find out whether its staff can assist you in this.

If you decide to videotape yourself, here are several recommendations. First, be aware that the tape may well give you more information than you can digest. You might therefore want to approach this type of self-assessment incrementally by first audiorecording a session. An audiotape presents a narrower set of data - you can focus on your vocal style, your timing, and your ease in making transitions between segments of the class meeting. Reviewing this data first may enable you to focus more objectively on a video recording of your teaching.

For your videotaping session, you will need to recruit a camera operator in advance. We suggest you find a person somewhat familiar to your students, but not a member of the class. A colleague from your department or a former student would be two possibilities. Tell your students about the videotaping at least one class session in advance. Orchestrate it as a learning opportunity for them by explaining that you are dedicated to continually improving your performance, just as you hope they will be when they enter their profession. If students who normally sit on the front row are uncomfortable about being in the video, allow them to change seats. At the same time, you do want to have some student faces in your tape, so invite others to move up for the occasion. Prepare the camera in advance of the class meeting, and check that the lighting, sound, and framing will give you the finished product you need. To minimize the impact on your students, you will not want to make more than one video during a given course, so make sure you get it right the first time.

You will probably want to view the finished video by yourself, at least the first time through.  In order to maximize your objectivity - and minimize the emotionality - of your review, consider particular questions and foci for your viewing. For example, maybe you want to focus on how well you explain the lesson’s concepts.  Just focus on that.  Or, maybe you wonder whether you are inclusive to all students.  Just focus on that when you watch the video.  Or, possibly you have the question, “Does my voice sound interesting or boring?”  Just listen for that.  A great option I’ve recommended (and used) is to turn the sound off and just WATCH.  Is it interesting enough that someone would want to turn it up?  If not, that’s an area of growth.

Regardless of your perceptions, congratulate yourself on your courage in conducting an activity that many would not attempt - it says a great deal about your professional dedication. Keep the videotape and review it later, perhaps with the input of a colleague or mentor. After you have reflected on this first effort, consider conducting a second videotaping session, in a different class.