A Study of Classroom Observation Procedures in Higher Education
Abstract
Developmental theorists have long recognized the significance of higher education in facilitating student growth in a number of domains including identity, critical thinking, and reflective reasoning. In addition, empirical research has demonstrated the importance of specific instructor practices on fostering student development. Two common methods of assessing instructors, student ratings and peer review, are useful tools but suffer from threats to reliability and validity. Instructional consultations, or classroom observations, conducted by staff at teaching and learning centers are becoming an increasingly common method of assessing instructors, and empirical research has also established their utility. However, no study to date has systematically examined how these instructional consultations are conducted by staff teaching and learning centers. The current study sought to explore how these processes are conducted across a sample ( N =60) of teaching and learning centers affiliated with American colleges and universities. Results indicate that while there is much variability across institutions in how classroom observations are conducted, there are also many similarities.
Location
Atrium/Concourse
Recommended Citation
Kornhauser, Zachary, "A Study of Classroom Observation Procedures in Higher Education " (2012). SoTL Commons Conference. 73.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sotlcommons/SoTL/2012/73
A Study of Classroom Observation Procedures in Higher Education
Atrium/Concourse
Developmental theorists have long recognized the significance of higher education in facilitating student growth in a number of domains including identity, critical thinking, and reflective reasoning. In addition, empirical research has demonstrated the importance of specific instructor practices on fostering student development. Two common methods of assessing instructors, student ratings and peer review, are useful tools but suffer from threats to reliability and validity. Instructional consultations, or classroom observations, conducted by staff at teaching and learning centers are becoming an increasingly common method of assessing instructors, and empirical research has also established their utility. However, no study to date has systematically examined how these instructional consultations are conducted by staff teaching and learning centers. The current study sought to explore how these processes are conducted across a sample ( N =60) of teaching and learning centers affiliated with American colleges and universities. Results indicate that while there is much variability across institutions in how classroom observations are conducted, there are also many similarities.
