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Types of Teaching Help that Are Available Types of Teaching Help that Are AvailableThe CET provides Boston University faculty on the Charles River Campus opportunities to receive formative feedback about teaching in a collegial, nonjudgmental environment. This is accomplished through the CET's teaching consultations program. The CET can facilitate two different kinds of confidential teaching consultations:
The Individual Consultations could include a classroom observation, one or more consultating sessions to examine pedagogical goals and objectives, or a focus on course content. Please contact us if you are interested in scheduling an individual consultation with the CET. Boston University faculty also may receive more structured assistance with their teaching through Faculty Peer Advising. A faculty member may request a classroom observation of their teaching by other faculty members through the Faculty Peer Advising program. The CET will recruit one or two faculty consultants who are recognized as excellent teachers and who have some knowledge of the subject area of the course(s) taught by the instructor requesting the consultation.. Faculty requesting classroom observation will meet with the consultants in a pre-observation meeting, will be observed in the classroom, and will discuss the classroom visit in a post-observation meeting. The suggestions offered by the consultants are advisory only, and no report or record of the consultation is retained. That is, no one besides the faculty member being observed, the consultants, and the CET director will be aware that a consulation has taken place unless the observed faculty member requests that another person be so informed. The Faculty Peer Advising ProcessFaculty contact the CET with a request to be observed using the online request form.
The Pre-Observation Meeting in Faculty Peer AdvisingThis meeting provides the opportunity for everyone to be introduced and for the instructor to:
The instructor and observers will also:
The Observation Instrument in Faculty Peer AdvisingThe Observation Instrument serves as a guide to observe key elements of teaching that contribute to a rich learning experience. It is divided into categories that address both form and content; not all categories will be applicable to every teaching situation. The categories include: organization, presentation, rapport, content, interaction, and active learning. The Instrument can be discussed at the Pre-Observation meeting and serve as a reminder to the observers of things to consider during the observation. It may also be used during the Post-Observation Meeting to identify the instructor's strengths. Use of the Observation Instrument is optional; it is meant to be a helpful guide, not a rigid plan of observation. You can download the Observation Instrument, which is in the form of two Word files, one a checklist and the other a form for taking free-hand notes. The Classroom Observation in Faculty Peer AdvisingThe consultants will observe the class, noting the instructor's methods and delivery, student response, behavior, and engagement, physical conditions and equipment in the classroom, and other elements that affect the quality of instruction and learning (see the Observation Instrument above). During the class observation the consultants will take notes that will form the basis of a post-observation commentary that will be discussed at the Post-Observation meeting. Prior to the Post-Observation meeting, it is helpful if the instructor undertakes a self-assessment to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of that particular class. The Post-Observation Meeting in Faculty Peer AdvisingThis meeting provides the opportunity to compare the faculty observers' and the instructor's impressions of the class. The consultants will present their observations and suggestions, which the instructor should place in context of his or her impression of the class. Together, they should develop a plan for improving both the presentation of the class and the learning environment. The latter might include assignments that will prepare the students better for the class, use of methods such as active learning with or without electronic student response systems, and motivational techniques. One or more additional observations may be desired if the instructor will adopt some of the suggestions and wishes to have the consultants determine whether they actually improve the class. ConfidentialityThe CET director will maintain a record that the consultation took place, but will keep this confidential unless the faculty member who was observed requests notification to another person or office. The Teaching Consultations Program is for professional development purposes only, hence all conversations and documents pertaining to the objective, descriptive feedback process are confidential and non-official and will not be used in the official merit and/or tenure review evaluation process. The instructor, however, is free to share information on the consultation to whomever he or she wishes, and can request that the CET and/or consultants do the same. In fact, the act of requesting and receiving a teaching consultation indicates the seriousness with which an instructor considers his or her teaching mission. Hence, divulging information on the consultation could be in an instructor's best interests. The CET recommends, however, that an instructor discuss this with one or more trusted senior colleagues from the same department or college before informing others of the consultation. The Teaching Consultations Program is available to faculty on a voluntary basis. At the present time, the CET does not initiate a consultation based on referral by a dean or department chair. Rather, the administrator should recommend or require that the instructor in question participate in the program, at which point the instructor should contact the CET by filling out the web form requesting a teaching consultation. For more information, please contact the CET at cet@bu.edu |
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March 26, 2008 |