A COMPENDIUM OF SCALES for use in the SCHOLARSHIP OF TEACHING AND LEARNING

offer guidance based on their experiences. Fellow teachers may provide a more objective
teaching evaluation due to the removal of various factors such as grade leniency and difficulty
of material (Keeley, 2012). Similar to student evaluations of instruction, peer evaluations are
available in several forms including in vivo, peer review, and teaching portfolios.
Peer Evaluation of Teaching
Peer evaluation of teaching, sometimes called peer review of teaching or peer consultation,
provides teachers with highly specific information based on a sample of actual teaching
behavior. This form of teaching evaluation involves a qualified peer (i.e., a person who is
knowledgeable in pedagogy or who has otherwise been trained in the intricacies of peer review
of teaching) observing an instructor teach a class session in order to gather observational
information that is then later used as the basis for offering constructive comments regarding
teaching content, style, and interaction with students. These facets of teaching, among others,
are difficult, if not impossible, to capture by other evaluative methods. In order to obtain the
most useful information from peer review of teaching, Ismail, Buskist, and Groccia (2012; see
also Buskist, Ismail, & Groccia, 2013) recommend a five-step, thorough practice that includes a
pre-observation meeting with the teacher, classroom observation, student focus groups, a
written report prepared by the observer, and post-observation meeting with the teacher.
Peer review allows for a more detailed and comprehensive analysis of teaching behavior than
other sources, and is held by some pedagogical researchers as the highest quality evaluative
measure for the analysis of teaching effectiveness (Ismail et al., 2012). Benefits of the peer
review process include empirical support for the effective improvement of teaching, and the
opportunity for teachers to improve their teaching if conducted mid-semester (as opposed to
the more typical end-of-the-semester SET). Peer review offers both observers and observees
the opportunity to learn new teaching techniques and participate in collegial discussions
regarding effective teaching practices (Ismail et al., 2012; Buskist et al., 2013).
Teaching Portfolios
Teaching portfolios may take many forms and sometimes can provide a more in-depth sample
of an instructor’s teaching than peer review. Portfolios are advantageous in that they are
particularly effective for self-reflection (Seldin, 2004). A portfolio can also be disseminated
widely, thereby benefiting numerous teachers in addition to the instructor who created it.
Instructors may choose whether their portfolio covers their entire teaching career or simply a
single course. Edgerton, Hutchings, and Quinlan (1991) suggested that the richest and most
beneficial teaching portfolios combine primary teaching documents such as syllabi, tests, and
presentations with corresponding personal reflective essays.
As an exemplar of the development of teaching portfolios, Xavier University of Louisiana has
long implemented what it calls the Course Portfolio Working Group (CPWG), which encourages
teaching improvement across colleges, departments, and content areas. Instructors who
participate in the group focus on important topics such as student learning outcomes, teaching
methods and practices, and assessment (Schafer, Hammer, & Berntsen, 2012). At the end of
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