Cross-curricular peer observation. Can it work?

In the educational context, peer observation consists in teachers observing each other and involves constructive cooperation. For it to be beneficial for both observer and observee it requires clear objectives, a shared format and etiquette, and attention to the professional and the emotional components. The practice has become increasingly common in Higher education, but may still be unexplored ground in the online teaching scenario which has developed since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. At Parma university (northern Italy), an EAP lecturer and a Signal Processing professor experimented with inter-disciplinary peer observation of each other’s classes (approx 40 EAP students; over 100 Engineering undergraduates) during the spring 2020 lockdown, when all teaching went online overnight. What started as reciprocal help, with no academic research intent, slowly developed into semi-structured practice, which on later reflection proved its value in terms of professional development for both observer and observee. Several elements contributed to the success of the experience: both had been previously observed in face-to-face classes but had basically no experience of online teaching; thanks to previous discussions both were familiar with each other’s approach to teaching and did not feel judged; before class the observee would focus the observer’s attention to a specific point for the observation to provide real help; the observer‘s presence was very discreet; feedback was provided as informal discussion after class with a chance to explain choices and problems. After describing the initial objectives of these reciprocal observations, the talk will explain how the observations were carried out, and how a shared format and etiquette came to be developed over time. The importance of didactic and psychological factors in this process of constructive cooperation will be highlighted, with an emphasis on the impact of truly being a learner in each other’s class on the outcome.