How to Become a Better Clinical Teacher: a Collaborative Peer Observation Process

Background: Peer observation of teaching (PoT) is most commonly done as a way of evaluating educators in lecture or small group teaching. Teaching in the clinical environment is a complex and hectic endeavor that requires nimble and innovative teaching on a daily basis. Most junior faculty start their careers with little formal training in education and with limited opportunity to be observed or to observe more experienced faculty.

Aim: Formal PoT would potentially ameliorate these challenges.

Methods: This article describes a collaborative peer observation process that a group of 11 clinician educators is using as a longitudinal faculty development program.

Results: The process described in this article provides detailed and specific teaching feedback for the observed teaching attending while prompting the observing faculty to reflect on their own teaching style and to borrow effective teaching techniques from the observation.

Conclusion: This article provides detailed examples from written feedback obtained during collaborative peer observation to emphasize the richness of this combined experience.