Record of Observation or Review of Teaching Practice
Session/artefact to be observed/reviewed: 2 x online tutorials of 30mins each
Size of student group: students meet one-to-one with tutor
Observer: Misha Xu
Observee: Paul Bench
Note: This record is solely for exchanging developmental feedback between colleagues. Its reflective aspect informs PgCert and Fellowship assessment, but it is not an official evaluation of teaching and is not intended for other internal or legal applications such as probation or disciplinary action.
Part One
Observee to complete in brief and send to observer prior to the observation or review:
What is the context of this session/artefact within the curriculum?
These are the final tutorials before student submission of their final year extended essay for Contextualising Your Practice. Grades count towards final degree grade.
Students receive 3 tutorials, which are supplemented with group seminars at points during the unit and drop-in sessions before submission. They should have begun planning their projects before the summer. Not all attend tutorials. A tutorial record sheet is produced during the tutorial and emailed later to the student by the tutor.
How long have you been working with this group and in what capacity?
Since early Oct 2024 as an associate lecturer taking seminars and tutorials.
What are the intended or expected learning outcomes?
LO 1 Demonstrate a critical awareness of a range of theories and knowledges relevant to your chosen topic (Knowledge)
LO 2 Critically analyse diverse concepts and ideas (Enquiry)
LO 3 Evaluate and apply appropriate methods related to your research questions (Process)
LO 4 Clearly articulate your research and ideas through an extended essay (Communication)
What are the anticipated outputs (anything students will make/do)?
An extended essay (4,500 words) presented in academic format, including bibliography and references.
Are there potential difficulties or specific areas of concern?
It can be hard to fit everything into the session and offer a good balance, especially at this final opportunity and if students have either not done much work or want me to read a finished essay. It can also be hard to balance useful discussion about their topic with making sure they have relevant notes on their record sheet to refer to afterwards, as well as making them aware of the resources available and answering questions, while sticking to time.
How will students be informed of the observation/review?
Students recorded have consented on e-mail in advance.
What would you particularly like feedback on?
Any tips for how I could improve the delivery of everything that needs to be covered and anything specific relating to the type of student that I could improve on.
How will feedback be exchanged?
Use of this form. Further notes or online meeting if necessary.
Part Two
Observer to note down observations, suggestions and questions:
Paul briefed me in advance that the observed sessions are 2 individual final tutorials before students submit their final-year extended essay for the unit of Contextualising Your Practice.
At the beginning of the tutorials, Paul thanked students for giving consent to record the meeting for observation purposes; warmly welcomed students; and checked their progress during the winter break. Students have been offered several opportunities to ask questions before moving on. The submission deadline has been highlighted, Paul also kindly suggested the students submit a bit earlier by considering the potential risk, i.e., technical issues.
The 1st student managed her own time very well, and made good progress; then Paul kindly checked her drafts and pointed out a few potential areas where she could further improve before submission. The tutorial record form has been completed in the last 5 mins, students left the tutorial confidently with a clear understanding of improvements.
The 2nd student was a bit behind the progress as he got new ideas during the break and was still in the planning stage for the whole essay. Seems like the student was not sure about the methodology yet, Paul shared the screen and went through the Learning Outcomes in the unit’s Moodle page with the student together. The record form has been completed in detail for the student. Paul goes through and highlights information with the student professionally even some surprises happened to the student’s progress. I am just wondering how the student should submit his Ethical Form for approval, as this is the last tutorial?
The 2 observed tutorials have been managed well in both structure and time with a well-balanced speaking speed. Considering it’s the final tutorial before submission, Paul shared the relevant screens and reminded students of the key date, format requirements, and who can be contacted for further information during the tutorials.
Overall, the online tutorials are very changeling because of the “online” nature, especially for the last tutorial, but Paul managed both tutorials well with a high standard of professional knowledge. In the future, maybe the tutor can request students to update their progress before the tutorials by email at some certain point, especially for tutorials with big breaks in the middle, to avoid “supervised” big changes.
Part Three
Observee to reflect on the observer’s comments and describe how they will act on the feedback exchanged:
Much of my work is one-to-one online tutorial, which is widely seen as the most effective but hard to implement/costly form of learning (Bloom, 1984; Wiliam, 2011). To write my feedback for Misha, I drew on Jeffrey Fletcher’s notes on the ‘collaborative model’ of peer review (2018, p. 52). This also highlighted that colleagues can be reticent to offer criticism of each other (Fletcher, 2018; Cosh, 1998). I found this to be the case in my observations and interpret this in Misha’s feedback on me. It is also difficult to ascertain how the discrete session responds to the wider curriculum and previous related sessions, which is reflected in the feedback, which necessarily preferences observable behaviours and protocol in the moment.
I appreciate Misha’s note on the introductory elements of the tutorials. These can sometimes be missed in what can be a stressful line up of student tutorials online. It reiterates for me, the importance of maintaining clarity in the purpose of the session as well as the warm welcome, space for questions and administrative aspects, such as deadlines.
Misha noted my attention to student work and the record sheet. It can be difficult close to submission, with students wanting feedback within a brief online meeting, while it remains important to uncover major gaps. It is also always challenging to produce a meaningful record sheet for students to refer back to while reading and talking. I’m pleased that Misha saw what I was aiming to achieve and judged it successful from the perspective of the student.
Misha noted some challenges with the second student, who had good attendance but had surprisingly limited progress. She flagged an ethics form. This is rather a participant consent form, which students are instructed to their tutor. They are reminded of how to submit consent forms in e-mail updates from the unit leader. However, this reminds me of the need to verbally continue to reiterate administrative factors.
Misha highlighted the difficulties of the online tutorial and it reassures me that she found my approach of professional standard. Her point that an update would be helpful is pertinent. However, it is policy that the tutorial remains the space for interaction and feedback. This stresses the significance of timetabled teaching as well as the need for student parity. However, I do sometimes ask students to email work shortly in advance of the session if they want me to look as a specific part of their writing, to avoid time wasting technical difficulties.
Misha interpreted the student’s difficult as a switch in topic, but from my knowledge of his topic across multiple tutorials, it was rather that he hadn’t done much work, including reading. In this case it is frustrating, so I prioritise directing the student as to some fundamentals they need to include to meet learning outcomes and link these to available resources that can support them after the tutorial. This sometimes includes drop-in and Academic Support tutorials, as well as Moodle Toolkits and briefs.
Bibliography
Bloom, B. (1984) ‘The 2 stigma problem: the search for methods of group instruction as effective as one-to-one tutoring’, Educational Researcher, 13(6) pp. 4-16.
Cosh, J. (1998) ‘Peer observation in higher education – a reflective approach’,
Innovations in Education & Training International, 35(2) pp. 171-176.
Fletcher, J. A. (2018) Peer observation of teaching: a practical tool in Higher Education, in The Journal of Faculty Development, 32(1) pp. 51-64.
Wiliam, D. (2011) ‘What is assessment for learning?’, Studies in Educational Evaluation, 37 pp. 3-14.