Moving Peer Observation of Teaching Online: Factors for Success

Peer Observation of Teaching (PoT) can provide a structured professional dialogue opportunity by which observers and observees share and develop their perspectives on teaching. These professional conversations can generate opportunities for both parties to gain perspectives on practices that may have been taken for granted. Over 6 months, participants from Dublin City University, Maynooth University and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland engaged in cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional initiative PoT. 3 years on from the original initiative, against the backdrop of the rapid adaptation of learning and teaching practices due to the COVID-19 pandemic, participants revisited their original feedback conversations and explored how to conduct and support PoT in online environments. Based on this work, our poster captures the factors for success that enabled continuing online conversations on teaching and learning, and will consider how professional dialogue about teaching and reflection on practice can be constructed and supported online.