| The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze the characteristics of a peer observation program for Graduate Teaching Assistants (TAs). This study examined peer observations in the Department of Physics in the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign during the 1998--1999 academic year.;The TA Peer Observation Program was initiated and conducted by the Academy for Excellence in Engineering Education, a college-wide organization for instructional development. In this program, experienced TAs acted as classroom observers for small groups of new TAs. The experienced TAs were nominated by faculty and participated in training that included a discussion of the goals, activities, and processes involved in classroom observation and the modeling of a post-observation consultation in which observers feed back information about the observation to the new TAs who were observed. Forms used for written documentation target major strengths, areas for improvement, and ideas for improvement.;The participants in the study consisted of 24 TAs from the Department of Physics. Survey methods of data collection including interviews, document reviews, and questionnaires were used in this study; data analysis included both quantitative and qualitative methods.;The findings of this study indicated that peer observations were viewed as valuable for improving the teaching of those TAs participating in the program. Findings indicated that TA observers were able to provide valuable feedback to new TAs through classroom observations and consultations. TAs also indicated that they found it was valuable to observe other new TAs and that these courses in particular were an ideal context for implementing peer observations.;Feedback from TA observations targeted a wide variety of teaching-related topics, provided detailed suggestions as well as general comments, and was balanced in both positive and negative feedback. Findings from the study also indicated that the benefits from the program included direct improvements in individual teaching and a more collaborative environment supporting excellence in teaching among TAs. |
