Teaching Evaluation Tool Paper - Essay Example

Evaluating the teaching of nursing or healthcare in a higher education setting al affiliation Performance of nursing instructors: an examination of peer review tool Introduction An evaluation of tutor’s teaching methodologies and training methods is mandatory for successful nursing instructions. Nurses have varying and diverse roles imposed on their career. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the university or college’s management to ensure that quality education is given to the nurses.

Instructors dedicated to teaching of nurses must perform various roles ranging from instruction, guidance to follow up of content taught. According to Bell and Mladenovic (2008), nurses’ instructors must be evaluated for the purposes of quality education provision to the nurses. In all the roles performed by the instructors, from the classroom to the clinical milieu, evaluation is very important. Though this topic has become a contentious one, the most important thing according to Bell and Mladenovic (2008) is to ensure that the demands of the public in terms of health provision are met.

Public health demands can only be met if the quality of education offered to the future health practitioners is scrutinized at all levels. Research indicates that the rate of mortality and morbidity of patients in the world is increasing at an alarming rate. This survey has a great relationship with professional ability of the health practitioners. All health care practitioners must be evaluated on their ability to provide quality health care to the public. Quality health care is only possible if pressure is put on the institutions that provide educational programs in nursing.

The curriculum set must incorporate all the components necessary for creating triumphant nurses, with the important psychomotor abilities. This case study will highlight the peer review as a method of appraisal of nursing instruction in educational settings. Description of how peer review training tool is used to monitor the effectiveness of teaching strategies will be discussed in broad detail. Description and use of peer review tool Brown and Ward-Griffin (2004) argue that for teaching to be considered a successful endeavor, peer review has to be included as one of the teaching strategy.

Peer review has been adopted by many institutions as a method of evaluating teaching of nursing or healthcare in higher education settings. Studies indicate that out of ten educational institutions that offer education in nursing, six of them use the peer review tool to evaluate their instructors. Peer review entails observation of the methodologies used by the instructors to evaluate teaching by peers in relation with the learning and teaching contents. The peers go through their course outline materials and other materials offered to them as a way of review of the methodologies used.

Peer evaluation tools also involve the use of evaluation scales upon observation of teaching presentation. The evaluation scale assesses the instructors’ mastery of content, methodologies of teaching, incorporation of learning activities in the learning environment amongst others. Peers are allowed to record the instruction lessons and review the results at the end of the undertakings. In relation to the review of materials of instruction; peer evaluation tools undertakes to assess the projects prepared by the instructors to their students, the version of syllabus used, texts, leaflets, useful for successful teaching.

Brown and Ward-Griffin (2004) indicate that this method also assesses other attributes such as the grading system used by the instructor, his or her degree of fairness while marking, and the level of professionalism of the tutor. It is mandatory to note that the peer review model only relies on the observations made by the selected group of peers. Though some analysts argue, that observations are not reliable while assessing instructors, observations provide first hand information on the instruction techniques.

In the field of medicine, peer review has been documented to be very beneficial while assessing the performance of instructors in this delicate field. Bell and Mladenovic (2008) argue that, with peer review’s use in the subsequent years, nursing education will undoubtedly be a successful career. Over the years, peer review has been used as a mode of assessment, though many people term it as an outdated mode of assessment. Some even claim that peer review is very tedious and time consuming, not considering the practicability of the method.

Institutions of higher learning have adopted peer observations as a productive mode of improving the quality of education offered to the nurses. Conclusion Conclusively, peer review as a tool of evaluation is the best tool that educational institutions should embrace. This tool undoubtedly highlights on all aspects of teaching that are required to produce successful nurses. A broad survey of this method from institutions that have embraced it, it is undoubtedly the most effective way to assess and improve teaching in institutions of higher learning.

All minute details that concern nursing education are carefully examined and solutions derived for the missing links. References Bell, A. and Mladenovic, R. (2008). The benefits of peer observation of teaching for tutor development. Advanced Education. 2008; 55:735–752 Brown, B. and Ward-Griffin, C. (2004). The use of peer evaluation in promoting nursing faculty teaching effectiveness: a review of the literature. Nurse Education Today. 2004; 14:299–305