Foundation Skills/Peer evaluation of teaching practice/Objectives

What is peer evaluation?
A simple definition of peer evaluation can be found online at Dictionary.com:

"Evaluation of a person's work or performance by a group of people in the same occupation, profession or industry."

Peer observation of teaching
York St John University, in their publication Guide to Peer Observation of Learning and Teaching, define peer observation of teaching as:

"a collaborative, non-judgemental process involving two or more peers who mutually benefit from the dialogue that takes place."

There may be many benefits derived from observing the teaching of your peers, e.g.:
 * Learning from both experienced and new colleagues
 * Engaging in discussions and debate about teaching and learning
 * Getting new ideas from a course that you don't normally teach

Personal development plans and Continuing professional development opportunities
For new teachers, it will be useful to write a list of new teaching skills that you would like to learn more about, decide on whether you would want to tackle a teaching qualification, and get some idea of the range of professional development opportunities that your institution provides. Some institutions require their teaching staff to write an annual personal development plan (PDP) to show which professional development activities they will engage in to enhance their teaching skills. If you've just started teaching at a new institution, you may consider meeting with a suitable advisor before writing your PDP.

Summary
For those participants that are enrolled in the Foundation Skills course through Otago Polytechnic, you would have submitted evidence of your understanding of peer observation of teaching via the appropriate Moodle discussion forum.