Peer observation in professional development : occupational therapists perceptions

Aims: peer observation of practice is used to promote reflection and facilitate personal and professional development. However, there appears to be no published research on the use of peer observation by occupational therapists working in higher education. This action research project explored the perceptions of occupational therapy staff within a higher education setting towards the use of a peer observation of practice scheme. Methods: all colleagues within a directorate of occupational therapy were invited to complete a questionnaire. Additionally, five staff were invited to take part in semi-structured interviews and core themes were identified following thematic analysis, typified by grounded theory. Findings: staff used a range of methods to support professional development, including peer observation. Key themes identified were the concept that peer observation has both positive and negative connotations, that feedback must be carefully managed, that the relationship between observed and observer is important and that staff want clear ground rules for peer observation schemes. Conclusions: findings indicated the need for further research into peer observation and how such a scheme could be formally implemented

Peer observation : a tool for continuing professional development

Peer observation has been advocated as a means of monitoring and improving the quality of teaching within Higher Education, whilst peer support and review have been used to provide feedback and monitoring within the clinical context. The process of peer observation of practice within educational, managerial and clinical settings could facilitate improvements in all aspects of practice, have relevance as a tool for continuing professional development (CPD) and help improve the quality of care for service users. This article presents the background and relevance of peer observation to health care professionals, suggests a process that can be implemented and considers relevant contextual issues. Finally it suggests that peer observation has potential benefits for all areas and levels of health care practice

Guidelines for peer observation of learning and teaching

These guidelines have been prepared as a starting point for schools of education or education departments wishing to undertake peer observation of learning and teaching, particularly as preparation for a Subject Review. While the guidelines are designed to have general applicability to any department, the particular circumstances and the requirements of specific subjects will almost certainly mean that there will be variations in practice between departments and subject area

Neural mechanisms of resistance to peer influence in early adolescence

During the shift from a parent-dependent child to a fully autonomous adult, peers take on a significant role in shaping the adolescent’s behaviour. Peer-derived influences are not always positive, however. Here we explore neural correlates of inter-individual differences in the probability of resisting peer influence in early adolescence. Using functional magnetic-resonance imaging (fMRI), we found striking differences between 10-year old children with high and low resistance to peer influence in their brain activity during observation of angry hand-movements and angry facial expressions: compared with subjects with low resistance to peer influence, individuals with high resistance showed a highly coordinated brain activity in neural systems underlying perception of action and decision making. These findings suggest that the probability of resisting peer influence depends on neural interactions during observation of emotion-laden actions

Beyond peer observation of teaching

OBJECTIVE To summarize the evidence on effectiveness of translational diabetes prevention programs, based on promoting lifestyle change to prevent type 2 diabetes in real-world settings and to examine whether adherence to international guideline recommendations is associated with effectiveness. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Bibliographic databases were searched up to July 2012. Included studies had a follow-up of ≥12 months and outcomes comparing change in body composition, glycemic control, or progression to diabetes. Lifestyle interventions aimed to translate evidence from previous efficacy trials of diabetes prevention into real-world intervention programs. Data were combined using random-effects meta-analysis and meta-regression considering the relationship between intervention effectiveness and adherence to guidelines. RESULTS Twenty-five studies met the inclusion criteria. The primary meta-analysis included 22 studies (24 study groups) with outcome data for weight loss at 12 months. The pooled result of the direct pairwise meta-analysis shows that lifestyle interventions resulted in a mean weight loss of 2.12 kg (95% CI -2.61 to -1.63; I(2) = 91.4%). Adherence to guidelines was significantly associated with a greater weight loss (an increase of 0.3 kg per point increase on a 12-point guideline-adherence scale). CONCLUSIONS Evidence suggests that pragmatic diabetes prevention programs are effective. Effectiveness varies substantially between programs but can be improved by maximizing guideline adherence. However, more research is needed to establish optimal strategies for maximizing both cost-effectiveness and longer-term maintenance of weight loss and diabetes prevention effects

A method and tool to support the analysis and enhance the understanding of peer-­to-­peer learning experiences

In this paper we look at how a web-based social software can be used to make qualitative data analysis of online peer-to-peer learning experiences. Specifically, we propose to use Cohere, a web-based social sense-making tool, to observe, track, annotate and visualize discussion group activities in online courses. We define a specific methodology for data observation and structuring, and present results of the analysis of peer interactions conducted in discussion forum in a real case study of a P2PU course. Finally we discuss how network visualization and analysis can be used to gather a better understanding of the peer-to-peer learning experience. To do so, we provide preliminary insights on the social, dialogical and conceptual connections that have been generated within one online discussion group