Overview of project activities and findings

This project sought to develop, implement and evaluate a scholarly framework, processes and resources for peer review of learning and teaching in online and blended learning environments, for improvement and for recognising and rewarding good teaching. The project used a co-productive, action learning approach, involving a core, cross-institutional project team, and institutional teams of six academics from each of the five Australian Technology Network universities.

Project activities included:

• Reviewing relevant literature on peer review;
• Developing a scholarly framework for peer review in online and blended learning environments;
• Forming teams of six academics in each institution and supporting team members to engage in peer review;
• Developing protocols, guidelines and resources for peer review and for professional development and guidance for institutions;
• Evaluating through feedback from peer review action learning cycles, document analysis and interviews;
• Dissemination through workshops that engaged others with the peer review process and sought feedback, and awareness raising through forum and conference presentations.

Peer review was seen as an activity that could contribute to peer learning as well as providing evidence about teaching. The project developed a framework for peer review, based on an adapted version of the qualities of scholarly work (Glassick, Huber & Maeroff, 1997) with prompts informed by literature on good teaching, scholarly teaching and the particular qualities of good teaching in online and blended learning environments. Teams of academics trialled the framework and associated review protocols and guidelines. Feedback was obtained from team members, with informal feedback from workshop attendees, promotion committee members, and a meeting of institutional teaching and learning leaders.

The project confirmed many of the issues that have been identified in the peer review literature and other ALTC peer review projects, including the need for formative feedback and professional development. There were some nuances related to online and blended learning environments. Specific insights included:

• There was value in using a flexible, scholarly framework for both formative and summative purposes. The framework supports and structures peer review of teaching goals, preparation, methods, communication and interaction, outcomes, reflection and subsequent improvement;
• Peer review in online and blended learning environments needs to be carefully scoped, with specific aspects of teaching and subjects considered in relation to the whole of a subject or teaching context;
• Peer review in online and blended learning environments is often best conducted by peers with similar or more advanced levels of experience in these environments, particularly when the reviewee is using innovative approaches;
• Approaches to the use of peer review for promotion may range from formative, indirect approaches in which close-up observation from peers is used to inform scholarly practice and contextualised in promotion applications, to summative voluntary approaches where the reviewee retains choice and control over what is reviewed and who is involved, to summative mandated approaches with independent reviewers. It is suggested that peer review in online and blended environments is most useful when it includes a formative focus and voluntary elements, to enable insightful evidence to be provided by reviewers who enter into the learning and teaching environment.