Peer Cooperation

Peer Cooperation for teaching improvement is a process whereby individuals seek to increase their teaching effectiveness through the support and advice of colleagues. While the enhancement of one's teaching is an on-going, essentially personal affair, there may be times when TAs feel that they need a fresh perspective on their teaching and that peer help and advice may assist them in their quest for ways to revitalize their teaching. The Office of Instructional Development and Technology has recently i nitiated a Peer Cooperation programme to assist in this structured reflection on university teaching in 1992. This group will be the nucleus of a much larger and more active Peer Cooperation program during the 1994-95 academic year.

The dozen faculty members of the Peer Cooperation group were all volunteers who sought to gain some experience with the peer cooperation process both by having their teaching observed and by being an observer of teaching. The Peer Cooperation process i s undertaken on a voluntary basis by individuals and the academic administration is neither involved in the observation plan nor is it a party to the results.

The Typical Peer Cooperation Process