REFLECTING ON YOUR PRACTICE THROUGH PEERSUPPORTED REVIEW Peer

REFLECTING ON YOUR PRACTICE THROUGH PEER-SUPPORTED REVIEW

Peer supported review at UCA Encouraging reflective cultures: Creative Arts CPD scheme Moving beyond instrumentalism P-SR examples from scheme Lessons learned along the way

Peer supported review at UCA ‘Peer Supported Review provides a mutually supportive means of developing your teaching/supporting learning practice. Benefits include gaining an understanding of the practice of a colleague, finding out how someone else perceives your teaching/supporting learning and working collaboratively to explore and share ideas around your professional practice’

Peer supported review at UCA

Peer supported review at UCA

Encouraging critically reflective cultures through professional recognition

Moving beyond instrumentalism ‘The constructive input I received from colleagues through the Peer-supported Review process really expanded my thinking about key elements in my teaching. It provided a level of reflection which shifted patterns of thought and made new approaches possible…’

Promoting the value of P-SR Not just retrospective Dialogic (rather than evaluative) No hidden criteria Mutuality/reciprocity Situated/context specific reflective conversation Conceptual expansion (moving beyond a cosy chat!) Opportunity to work with a new colleague Do not need to be a pedagogic expert!

EXAMPLES OF HOW P-SR IS USED ON UCA PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION SCHEME

DOING A P-SR

HOW IS P-SR INTEGRATED INTO HEA PORTFOLIOS?

LESSONS LEARNED P-SR has enabled: • Structured, reflective conversations about teaching and learning; • multi-disciplinary/inter-professional conversations; • deeper reflective commentaries around the UKPSF • Reflective commentaries in PSR used as triggers for Areas of Activity (especially A 5) • Emergence of critically reflective teaching and learning cultures particularly around inclusive practice

LESSONS LEARNED Lows: • Still viewed by academic/technical staff as a one off exercise to fulfill the requirements of professional recognition process • Difficult to counter views that this requires a pedagogic expert • Some staff experience difficulties finding a reviewer, especially when no culture of reflective communities of practice.

AUTHENTIC REFLECTION? The opportunity to conduct Peer Supported reviews has been really enlightening. Whilst I always reflect on my teaching practice, it has been beneficial to be able to discuss this openly with my colleagues and reflect on that discussion. It has opened a more collaborative way of working within the FMM team to explore ideas and enhance them through discussion. It was interesting taking the two roles of reviewer and reviewee as this allowed me to learn from peers and pick up points for development for both of us. The P-SR process has triggered some new ideas which help develop my practice (UCA portfolio, FHEA, 2015).