TEP and UO Online offer a peer review template as a resource (pdf, Word document with checkable boxes, or an accessible Word document). You can use it to:

• observe any course, regardless of modality (in person, online asynchronous, etc). 
• recognize teaching practices that align with professional, inclusive, engaged, and research-informed standards. 
• structure specific, collegial conversations between instructors. 
• prompt self-reflection. 

Depending on unit norms, peer reviewers might submit the completed Peer Review Template itself as the peer review observation and report; alternatively, the template might inform a separate written report.  

Interspersed through the template are partial inventories of teaching practices that are professional, inclusive, and research-informed, along with references to research showing the link between these practices and enhanced learning. Many of the references contain suggestions for implementing the practices.

Before the observation of a class (if synchronous) or Canvas course (if fully online), peer reviewers should: 

• Communicate with the reviewee about timeline, process, priorities and materials that will be used in the review.  
   
• The reviewee should know when you’ll visit their class or screen Canvas materials and have a chance to tell you directly their goals with this slice of instruction. They should also identify key aspects of their teaching they’ve been developing. Peer reviews can give feedback on these areas and note ideas for improvement, too—these stories of reflection, iteration, and change are essential examples of engaged teaching.
   
• Peer review should be selective, not exhaustive. When your colleague’s teaching is formally evaluated, your efforts to document some specific examples of professional, inclusive, and research-informed practices will deepen the picture that emerges of their achievement in teaching. Plan to draw these examples from multiple sources—say the class meeting itself, the syllabus, and the discussion forums on Canvas. Indeed, because Canvas use is required for all undergraduate courses with five or more students, we recommend that the instructor being reviewed add the peer reviewer to the Canvas course site as a Teaching Assistant (if you have questions about adding a user to your Canvas course, see  this Canvas guidance or call 541-346-1942). Peer reviewers are expected to respect the Student Records Privacy Policy for Faculty and Staff. 

During and immediately after the observation, peer reviewers can: 

• Perform a “fact-based” observation during class: record what the instructor and students do, examples used, etc. while keeping the guide beside you to remind you what to look for. You might find it helpful to use TEP's Class Observation Organizer during your class visit.

• Fill in the form that starts on page 2 of the Peer Review Template (accessible version), adding comments and notes to give a more complete picture of the class session (if synchronous) or observed modules (if fully online). 

After the observation, peer reviewers might consider: 

• Meeting with the instructor to discuss your observations, including any practices the instructor requested you look for, and to identify one or two areas that the session seemed to be supporting objectives effectively in and one or two areas the instructor might want to work on.

UO's Department of Human Physiology uses nationally recognized self assessment and peer review instruments designed for STEM--and compelling across disciplines as examples of drawing the reviewer’s attention to specific, itemized "actions" of teachers and learners.

An annotated list of other available observation instruments, self-assessment tools, self-efficacy scales, and instruments for graduate student teacher development and self-efficacy can be found on the Stanford Weiman Group's Teaching Practices Inventory. The instruments on the list have generally been extensively tested for reliability and validity.