Collaborative Observation On-Line (COOL): Addressing under-exploitation of the potential of Technology Supported Learning (TSL)

I was really interested to see how the project moved from, and between, a Development and Peer Review model of peer mentoring - this seems to be an appropriate way of ensuring that best practice can be shared with less experienced staff, while still offering experienced staff an opportunity to reflect on, evaluate and move forward their own practice. This is a really complex balance to maintain and relies greatly on clarity around the relationships, responsibility and results of the mentoring. The McMahon et al list of factors an observee needs to keep control of is especially useful.

Rebecca Galley
2:11pm 14 September 2009

Thanks for posting these notes, Rebecca - it is interesting to see what came across from the way we approached the topic.  :-)

For me too, one of the interesting things to emerge in the course of our work so far has been the different motivations participants have had for choosing to engage in peer observation of their online practice.  Our own intention was, and is, firmly grounded in peer support or mentoring as a process for for Quality Enhancement rather than Quality Assurance, leading us to develop the approach very much along the lines of Gosling's third, Peer Review, model.  The approach adopted remains very much aligned with this model (e.g. a form of negotiated contract is used in all instances), but participants' motivations for engagement, and what they wanted to get out of the process, often has more in common with informal variants of the  purposes/aims Gosling cites as for the first, Evaluation (or Management), Model and second, Development, Model.  What I mean is that those choosing to engage and BE observed, were often seeking either a form of evaluative confirmation that their online practice was appropriate or a form of developmental support to improve aspects of their practice causing them concern. I suppose, in this way, the questions of "power" indicated by Gosling for his 3 models, become less of an issue as the observee is empowered and chooses to grant the observer the "power" to comment on their practice.

I notice you are with the OU.  Do you have some sort of similar process in place with regard, for example, to tutors' online studient support or facilitation of discussion on OU courses making use of Moodle?

Shirley

Shirley Bennett
3:35pm 18 September 2009

Interesting, yes so the key is the negotiated contract and subsequest relationship rather than the model specified by the institution?

I am new to the OU so will have to go away and find out about the the review process for associate lecturers - a good question... R

Rebecca Galley
10:30am 21 September 2009

I think we see the key thing as raising awareness of the possibility of taking peer observation online as a means of personal development and broadening of understanding of different approaches to online learning and teaching.  Within this, yes, the negotiation as to the focus and nature of the observation and the arrangements between observer and observee is an important aspect of ensuring the process is non-threatening and targetted at quality enhancement and development.  However, negotiation is, in some places (such as many departments in Hull) an established part of the standard peer observation processes, so there will be variation in how novel the negotiated contract itself feels.

Did you manage to find out anything about practices in the OU?

Shirley

Shirley Bennett
10:12am 29 September 2009