Peer evaluation
Assessments from peer groups, both internal and external to the university, about the candidate’s impact in teaching and learning
Peer evaluation is the primary means by which research achievement is evaluated during academic promotion, based on evidence – such as journal publication and research grant income – that has already been subject to critical external review. Peer review plays a similarly important role in the evaluation of teaching achievement; the key difference is that the assessment often takes place as part of rather than prior to the promotion process. Peer assessments typically relate to one of three aspects of a candidate’s teaching achievement – (i) impact within the candidate's institution; (ii) impact beyond the candidate's institution; and (iii) indicators of esteem and recognition – as outlined below.
- Impact within the
candidate's institution - Impact beyond the
candidate's institution - Indicators of esteem
and recognition
Impact within the candidate's institution
A wide range of peer-reviewed evidence can be used to demonstrate impact beyond the candidate’s institution, in both pedagogical knowledge and educational practice. Examples include:
- Peer observation of teaching: a small but increasing number of universities worldwide are incorporating mandatory peer review of teaching into the academic promotion process and/or requiring a peer observation of all teaching-active academics at regular intervals. Resources available to inform and support peer review/observation of teaching include a study, commissioned by the Australian Office for Learning and Teaching, which offers protocol documents that can be adapted to suit institutional contexts and priorities.
- ‘Trial lectures’: in a number of countries, for example Finland and Sweden, candidates seeking promotion to selected levels are often required to deliver a ‘trial lecture’. Although the content of these ‘lectures’ is typically focused on a candidate’s research interests, formal and informal reviews are often solicited from department staff and students in relation to their communication skills and delivery style.
- Assessments and letters of reference: Assessments or letters of reference can be requested from a wide range of individuals, including students, alumni, teaching mentors, teaching mentees, course leaders, industry partners, external course collaborators and departmental/institutional leaders. These assessments can provide significant insight into the approach, impact and range of influence of the candidate relating to activities within the ‘classroom’, outside the curriculum and across the university’s teaching and learning environment. Where possible, it is important that such letters offer concrete examples to demonstrate the candidate’s quality and impact in teaching and learning rather than simply identifying their roles and responsibilities.
Examples of evidence:
The process of reappraisal led to the student deciding to leave and pursue a course of study at a university that, unlike Olin College, was not engineering-focused. Dr Adler explained, “I imagine it is quite unusual to include students who transfer out of one’s university in one’s promotion materials, as these students are so often seen as failures of the institution, given the importance of student retention. But at Olin, one of the key domains in which faculty are assessed is ‘developing students.’ I saw this as a clear example of my work to help a student develop to his full potential, even though it involved leaving Olin to do so. The student transferred to a highly-selective liberal arts college and is now working on a PhD at Harvard, so I look back on our advising sessions over the course of his one year at Olin as a success and wanted to include this perspective in my promotion dossier”.
Impact beyond the candidate's institution
Peer assessments can be used to offer evidence of a candidate’s impact on teaching and learning within their institution. Examples include:
- Refereed conference and journal publications in teaching and learning
- Research grants and income for teaching and learning development projects (in national contexts where such funding is available)
- Other funds raised towards educational activities, projects or spaces
- External reviews, case studies and/or unstructured feedback from institutional visitors, demonstrating the recognition and influence of the candidate’s educational ideas and/or practices
- Authorship of widely-used text books and e-learning materials
- Letters of reference from peer institutions, professional bodies, leaders of relevant teaching and learning communities, research partners and external collaborators in courses, programmes or teaching and learning projects
Indicators of esteem and recognition
Other indicators of esteem and recognition can offer important evidence of the candidate’s teaching achievement both within and beyond their institution. Examples include:
- Institutional teaching awards/prizes
- National teaching fellowships/awards/prizes
- National or global press coverage of the candidate’s educational ideas or activities
Dr Rodriguez-Falcon describes her work as “scholarship in action: taking the [pedagogical] knowledge and putting it in practice in the classroom… the outputs for scholarship are grants and publications, but the way you measure ‘scholarship in practice’ is through impact on the culture of the institution”. Her promotion case indicated significant contribution to the institutional environment for teaching and learning through descriptions of her professional activities, such as leading significant curricular innovations/reforms in enterprise engineering, driving development of the university’s enterprise strategy and co-authoring the university’s Inclusive Teaching and Learning Handbook. The case also demonstrated broader educational influence within and beyond her institution through a diverse range of peer assessments:
- Institutional impact and leadership: a wide range of testimonials from across divisions, departments and hierarchy at Dr Rodriguez-Falcon’s institution were used to demonstrate the breadth of her activities and their perceived impact on the university’s educational culture and capacity.
- Impact and influence beyond the institution: (i) peer-reviewed pedagogical publications and research grants, (ii) national and international case studies of good practice that featured Dr Rodriguez-Falcon’s curricular innovations, and (iii) a variety of testimonials from her professional community outside her institution, including visitors to the university who had subsequently adopted her educational ideas, “attesting to the fact that they thought that what I had done was valuable enough to be replicated at other universities”.
- Indicators of esteem and recognition: (i) national awards, prizes and fellowships, and (ii) evidence of national media impacts, including relevant press releases and articles. In reference to the considerable national press attention generated by her educational innovations, Dr Rodriguez-Falcon noted, “this must demonstrate something of your standing in the profession. I realised that this was also evidence that I had to include”.
Impact beyond the candidate's insitution
A range of peer-reviewed evidence – such as funds raised towards educational projects – can be used to demonstrate impact beyond the candidate’s institution, in both pedagogical knowledge and educational practice.
A range of peer-reviewed evidence – such as funds raised towards educational projects – can be used to demonstrate impact beyond the candidate’s institution, in both pedagogical knowledge and educational practice.
Impact within the candidate's insitution
Peer assessments – such as peer observations of teaching and letters of reference from students, alumni, mentors etc.– can be used to offer evidence of a candidate’s impact on teaching and learning within their institution.
Indicators of esteem and recognition
Other indicators of esteem and recognition – such as teaching prizes/awards, fellowships and press coverage – can offer important evidence of the candidate’s teaching achievement both within and beyond their institution.
Impact and influence beyond the candidate's insituion
A wide range of peer-reviewed evidence can be used to demonstrate impact beyond the candidate’s institution, in both pedagogical knowledge and educational practice.
Examples include:
- peer-reviewed pedagogical journal and conference papers
- pedagogical research grants (in national contexts where such funding is available)
- funds raised towards educational activities, projects or spaces
- external reviews, case studies and/or unstructured feedback from institutional visitors, demonstrating the recognition and influence of the candidate’s educational ideas and/or practices
- widely-used text books and e-learning materials
- letters of reference from peer institutions, professional bodies, leaders of relevant teaching and learning communities, research partners and external collaborators in courses, programmes or teaching and learning projects
Impact within the candidate's insituion
Peer assessments can be used to offer evidence of a candidate’s impact on teaching and learning within their institution. Examples might include:
- Peer observation of teaching: a small but increasing number of universities across the world are incorporating mandatory peer review of teaching into the academic promotion process. Resources available to inform and support peer review of teaching during the promotion process include a study, commissioned by the Australian Office for Learning and Teaching, which offers protocol documents that can be adapted to suit institutional contexts and priorities.
- ‘Trial lectures’: in a number of countries, for example Finland and Sweden, candidates seeking promotion to selected levels are often required to deliver a ‘trial lecture’. Although the content of these ‘lectures’ is typically focused on a candidate’s research interests, formal and informal reviews are often solicited from department staff and students in relation to their communication skills and delivery style
- Assessments and letters of reference: Assessments or letters of reference can be requested from a wide range of individuals, including students, alumni, teaching mentors, teaching mentees, course leaders, industry partners, external course collaborators and departmental/institutional leaders. These assessments can provide significant insight into the approach, impact and range of influence of the candidate relating to activities within the ‘classroom’, outside the curriculum and across the university’s teaching and learning environment. Where possible, it is important that such letters offer concrete examples to demonstrate the candidate’s quality and impact in teaching and learning.
Impact and influence beyond the candidate's institution
A wide range of peer-reviewed evidence can be used to demonstrate impact beyond the candidate’s institution, in both pedagogical knowledge and educational practice. Examples include:
- letters of reference from peer institutions, professional bodies, leaders of relevant teaching and learning communities, research partners and external collaborators in courses, programmes or teaching and learning projects
Career Framework for University Teaching, 2024