Scholarly Approaches to Peer - Review of Teaching : Emergent Frameworks and Outcomes in a Research - Intensive University

This article examines scholarly approaches to peer-review of teaching within and across disciplinary contexts in a Canadian research-intensive university. Qualitative methods were employed to investigate the processes and outcomes of innovative peer-review of teaching initiatives over a 10-year period at the University of British Columbia. Analysis suggests that as part of a larger context of higher education and programmatic (undergraduate and graduate) reforms, scholarly approaches to peer-review of teaching in research-intensive universities is key for successfully integrating formative and summative approaches to teaching; for providing reliable and valid evidence for administrative decision-making about the effectiveness of teaching practices for tenure, promotion and/or teaching award adjudications; and, is not only consistent with the research excellence and methodological rigor espoused by these institutions, it is responsive to their diverse needs and circumstances in multi-disciplinary contexts. The following insights are grounded in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning literature and over 10 years of peer-review of teaching experiences within and across disciplinary contexts at the University of BC.