Peer Review & Learning Environments: Teacher's Response - Unit 6

This report details a teacher's reflection on a peer review observation of their classroom and teaching methods within a unit focused on the nature of learning and learning environments. The class consisted of 6-year-old children, and the aim was to provide a stimulating learning activity. The teacher chose a colleague to observe the class to identify weaknesses in their teaching ability and understand the strengths and weaknesses of the children. The general feedback from the reviewer highlighted issues such as a lack of compassion, failure to connect with the children, and the absence of a relevant topic for conversation. The teacher acknowledges the feedback and plans to improve by reading more, encouraging communication among children, and understanding their cognitive mentality. An area above expectation was the conversation with children, while an area below expectation was motivating the children. The teacher aims to improve their ability to encourage and challenge the children to foster their development. The report concludes with a bibliography of relevant sources.

Running head: NATURE OF LEARNING AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
Nature of Learning and Learning Environments
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

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NATURE OF LEARNING AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
Table of Contents
Background information about the class....................................................................................2
Defending choice of colleague...................................................................................................2
General feedback from the reviewer..........................................................................................2
Response as a teacher.................................................................................................................2
Describing perspective of feedback...........................................................................................3
Indicating an aspect that was above expectation........................................................................3
Indicating an aspect that was below expectation.......................................................................3
Bibliography...............................................................................................................................4

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NATURE OF LEARNING AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
Background information about the class
The class consists of 30 children aged 6 years. The aim is to provide the class with a
stimulated learning activity that can help them to understand the type of learning situation
that they need to be involved with. The teaching session is approximately 30 minutes long in
which conversation is made between the teachers and the fellow children so that proper
guidance about the manner of speaking can be provided can be provided.
Defending choice of colleague
The reason for choosing a colleague to observe the class is to identify any weakness
that as a teacher I may have while providing lesions to the class. At the same time the
children also need to be observed so that one can understand the weakness and strengths that
the children possess and based on it strategies can be formed. The reviews can be both
positive as well as negative depending upon the performance.
General feedback from the reviewer
The general feedback that is provided by the reviewer is that there are 3 main issues in
my teaching ability. The first being I did not possess any signs of compassion but instead
continued to apply pressure on the children. I even failed to connect with the children
properly during the stimulating session. At the same time I could not find any relevant topic
based on which the children can make conversation with the fellow children.
Response as a teacher
My response as a teacher is to improve my performance is that I need to be read
various books so that knowledge about different aspects can be taken into account for making
relevant conversation. I need to encourage the children about the manner in which they can

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NATURE OF LEARNING AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
maintain communication with the children. Along with this, I need to understand the
cognitive mentality of the children so that I can connect with the children in a positive
manner.
Describing perspective of feedback
The feedback provided had been received by me in a positive manner. I agree with my
peer in all sections mainly because I tend to not show empathy towards the children. I even
do not feel that motivation of the children can be a solution to help in the development of the
children and gain their confidence while trying to implement the stimulated learning ability
among them. Hence the feedback complies with my inability.
Indicating an aspect that was above expectation
An aspect that was above expectation was during the time I made conversation with
the children about various topics. However, one of the areas in which I would like to work
and develop is my ability to converse based on a specific topic. This can help in
understanding the knowledge of the children and the manner in which the knowledge can be
used for the development of the children.
Indicating an aspect that was below expectation
The one aspect that was below expectation is that I fail to motivate the children. Every
children need to be encouraged so that their development can take place properly. The topic
that is provided to the children need to be encouraged so that they can accept the challenge.
This is one aspect which I need to comply by so that I can continue with the development of
the English speaking ability of the children.

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NATURE OF LEARNING AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
Bibliography
Fernandez, C. E., & Yu, J. (2007). Peer review of teaching. The Journal of Chiropractic
Education, 21, 154-161. doi:10.7899/1042-5055-21.2.154
Siddiqui, Z. S., Jonas-Dwyer, D., & Carr, S. E. (2007). Twelve tips for peer observation of
teaching. Medical Teacher, 29, 297-300. doi: 10.1080/0142159070129145
Sullivan, P. B., Buckle, A., Nicky, G., & Atkinson, S. H. (2012). Peer observation of teaching
as a faculty development tool. BMC Medical Education, 12(26), 1-6.
doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-12-26
Van der Leeuw, R. M., & Slootweg, I. A. (2013). Twelve tips for making the best use of
feedback. Medical Teacher, 35, 348-351. doi: 10.3109/0142159X.2013.769676