Dear faculty colleagues,
This semester, and year, continues to present new challenges that require us to consider how teaching and learning can best occur in the hybrid and online environments. Of course, there are no simple or universal answers, as each course requires its own creative approaches. We wanted to share information about how we hope peer observations will be conducted and how they will be used this year.
The peer observation is an important tool to help us provide the best learning environment possible for our students. Now that the majority of our classes are online, we want to make sure these observations reflect our current environment and help improve everything we are doing as much as possible.
For several years, we have been working to shift the focus away from classroom peer evaluations , occurring almost exclusively near the end of a faculty member’s promotion period. In the past, many assumed these last-semester evaluations were intended to pass final judgment on teaching effectiveness as part of a faculty member’s promotion package.
Instead, we have been promoting longitudinal observations that provide honest, objective, and constructive feedback by faculty peer experts, over a number of years, as an effective mechanism to foster reflection and constant improvement. Done well, longitudinal peer observations can be more effective in working to create a supportive culture through meaningful reflection of what works well and what we can improve. This approach has proved enormously helpful, not only for faculty members working toward tenure and promotion, but also for our full professors who continue to innovate their pedagogical approaches.
If you are looking for guidance, the Faculty Innovation Center has developed these resources.
It is important that this semester, above all others, all faculty members feel encouraged and supported to try bold and innovative ways to deliver content. This fosters experiences that engage, motivate, and inspire students in the hybrid and online environments, new to many faculty members and our students.
With boldness and innovation comes the risk that not everything will work out as predicted. In addition, we know that many of you are being challenged by obligations at home and in your life away from campus. This semester is also not about setting unrealistic expectations for ourselves or trying to do things perfectly. It is about understanding where we are today, and what we are able to learn and improve.
We would like to encourage everyone to take full advantage of what a constructive peer observation mechanism has to offer. As faculty members, we need to talk with and learn from one another. Accurate peer observations will tell us where we are today and how we can do better next semester. And they will help the university identify specific areas where we can provide greater support to improve the online learning experience.
The progress we’ve made to improve online teaching and learning since March has been extraordinary. We are sending this message to reassure everyone that, as members of the President’s promotion and tenure committee, we fully appreciate the incredible challenges faculty members are facing on a daily basis right now. In order to ensure frank and honest feedback from your peers, we want to assure everyone that we will consider the appropriate context. Your peer observations from this year will be thought of exclusively as an effective mechanism for rapid improvement while you are adapting what you do to the conditions imposed by the pandemic.
Above all else, we want to express a heartfelt “thank you” for all you are doing on behalf of our students.
Sincerely,
DANIEL JAFFE | Interim Executive Vice President and Provost
The University of Texas at Austin | provost.utexas.edu
MARK J.T. SMITH | Dean of the Graduate School and Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
The University of Texas at Austin | gradschool.utexas.edu
BRENT IVERSON | Dean, School of Undergraduate Studies
The University of Texas at Austin | ugs.utexas.edu