Faculty Peer Coaching

Strengthen Instructional Practices and Improve Student Learning

What is Faculty Peer Coaching?

Faculty Peer Coaching pairs full-time SHU faculty members to participate in reciprocal confidential classroom observations. Through pre- and post-observation discussions, faculty can use the feedback to improve their teaching practices.

In addition to the learning from the observation process, faculty will also participate in a faculty cohort to hone their coaching skills and discuss effective teaching strategies. By sharing collective experiences, faculty not only learn additional ways to improve their instructional skills, but also develop professional relationships with and learn from colleagues across the university.

Theory of Action

When faculty members learn evidence-based instructional practices and engage in peer coaching, they learn effective instructional practices that can be implemented in the classroom, resulting in improved student learning.

Who Should Participate in Peer Coaching?

The Peer Coaching program is open to all SHU full-time faculty. Whether you're new to teaching or want to improve your teaching practices, you'll learn skills and strategies to increase student engagement and learning outcomes.

To get the most out of this program, you must be willing to make your instructional practice public to the team and facilitators, use the feedback for critical self-reflection, and most importantly, implement the new teaching skills and strategies you learn.

Outcomes & Process

By participating in this program, you'll be able to apply effective teaching practices in your classroom by:

• learning strategies to increase student engagement
• observing another faculty member and engaging in a post-observation debriefing
• receiving peer feedback after an observation of your teaching practice
• participating actively in peer coaching team sessions throughout the process

Confidentiality

Information gathered from peer coaching will not be forwarded to leadership at any college or the university, except to note that you participated in the program.

To get the maximum benefit from this work, we ask you to take professional risks and know that we will protect your psychological safety throughout the process.

Time Commitment

The total time commitment is approximately 20 hours in the fall and spring semesters:

• Attend a one-hour overview session
• Attend two professional learning sessions of 2–3 hours each
• Attend a model peer observation and debrief session conducted by the facilitator
• Conduct one observation of each other, including pre-conference, observation and post-conference in both the fall and spring semesters
• Attend a mid-semester check-in in the fall and spring semesters
• Participate in a half-day wrap-up session in mid-May to assess the experience and determine next steps

Straight From the Source

Hear from faculty about the supportive peer coaching experience. 

Additional Resources

Clinical Associate Professor David Title, chair of the educational and literacy leadership department, and Associate Professor and Literacy Program Director Kristin Rainville collaborated on the following books:

• Faculty Peer Coaching in Higher Education: Partnerships to Support Improved Instructional Practices (Transforming Teaching and Learning in Higher Education)
• Faculty Peer Coaching in Higher Education: Opportunities, Explorations, and Research from the Field (Transforming Teaching and Learning in Higher Education).

Have Questions?

If you'd like to speak to a Peer Coaching program participant, contact one of our facilitators or faculty peer coaching participants. They would be happy to give you more details and tell you about their experience.