The Peer Dialog takes place in year 1 of the 3 year evaluation cycle. It is meant to encourage faculty to support, learn from, and provide formative feedback for each other about teaching and student learning. It might be as simple as mutual class observations among several faculty members along with a discussion of those observations afterwards, or a faculty study group, faculty interest group, or learning community, or one of several other department approved options. The point here is to engage with your peers to discuss teaching and support each other. This can be between two or more faculty members, either from the same department or cross-discipline. Results of this project will be used for formative purposes only; the faculty evaluation only considers whether this project is completed or not, it does not evaluate the activity itself in any way.

Examples

• • Mutual class observations followed by a discussion about the things you noticed afterwards. More information about conducting peer observations and some questions to consider can be found here.
  • Form a discussion group among several faculty teaching the same class during the semester. Meet (virtually or in person) several times throughout the semester to discuss issues such as course setup, types of major evaluations, keeping students engaged in the class, project ideas, and common problems. Faculty teaching a course for the first time might find it particularly helpful to partner with others who have more experience with the course.
  • Form a discussion group between faculty in a couple of closely related departments to discuss how the material in your courses interact with each other. Meet (virtually or in person) several times to discuss how you might use material from the other subject to motivate students in both courses.
  • Form a faculty interest group or learning community around an area of mutual interest.