The role of peer observation in teacher development

In this research study, a peer observation process was conducted at stanbul TechnicalUniversity, School of Foreign Languages, English Preparatory School to get the opinionsof ITU English language teachers about peer observation and evaluate whether it couldbe implemented in the instutition. After the data were collected and evaluated, an in-service teacher training model that could be applied at the instutition was developed.In this qualitative research, four participant teachers that voluntarily took part in theresearch conducted peer observation for two months. In order to get the participants?opinions about peer observation, the researcher analyzed and evaluated both the diarieskept by the participant teachers during the experience and the transcriptions of therecorded semi-structured interviews held with the participant teachers after theexperience, using content analysis.In the light of the results of the research, four participant teachers stated that the peerobservation process contributed to their professional development. They emphasized thatthey learned new teaching activities and that their teaching skills improved thanks to theexperience. Moreover, all the participants stated that the peer observation process wouldalso contribute to the teachers?professional development at the instutition if it wereimplemented in the future. Besides, all the participants stated that their self-awarenessincreased because they discovered their weak and strong characteristics during theexperience. Furthermore, all the participant teachers stated that the peer observationprocess encouraged collaboration among colleagues.After the data of the research were evaluated, it was concluded that the peer observationprocess was beneficial for all four participants and could be implemented at theinstutition where the research took place. Accordingly, an in-service teacher trainingmodel was developed.Key Words: Teacher Development, Reflective Approach, Peer Observation