Summative Peer Review of Teaching (SPRT) at UniSA is a formal process for evaluating an academic staff member's teaching for professional development purposes, probation or promotion.
SPRT is available to academic staff at UniSA who have teaching as part of their role. It can only be performed by trained UniSA staff reviewers. An SPRT is formally initiated for a staff member by their Dean of Program (or a delegate) in any of the following three instances:
UniSA established the Summative Peer Review of Teaching (SPRT) process to provide individuals with additional evidence and feedback about their teaching.
The SPRT supplements other forms of teaching and learning data (such as student and course evaluations, learning analytics, pass/fail rates, assessment profiles, retention figures, etc) that collectively can be used to inform decision-making activities such as probation, promotion and performance improvement.
SPRT may provide some qualitative feedback which can be used to improve performance, however, its primary purpose is summative. The SPRT generates evidence to make and substantiate a judgment about a person’s ability to teach, or their performance with respect to some other aspect of teaching and learning. For example, SPRT might be used to evaluate the design of a learning activity or assessment task in a course.
The SPRT process involves the following steps:
The following video by Dr Shashi Nallaya details the processes, responsibilities and resources associated with SPRT and captures all the elements previously highlighted in the reviewee training workshops.
As a Reviewee: In order for staff to initiate a SPRT, they need to firstly go to their line manager/Professorial Lead. Once the review is initiated, Reviewees are encouraged to make themselves familiar with the SPRT resources below to help make the most of their preparation and pre-review meeting.
As a Reviewer: SPRT Reviewers are staff from across the University who have been nominated by their Dean of Program (or equivalent) as demonstrating teaching excellence and who have completed the SPRT Peer Reviewer training conducted annually by the TIU. To become an SPRT Reviewer, discuss your interest and eligibility with your Dean of Program (or delegate). Trained reviewers may be invited to carry out up to 3 Peer Reviews per year, with each review comprising a 3 hour workload.
A current list of trained UniSA SPRT reviewers can be viewed in the resources below.
Training for 2023 has been completed. Currently there are no plans to run any more training sessions for 2023. Please contact Dr Shashi Nallaya for more details.
The SPRT process at UniSA is supported by specially designed software that facilitates and documents each stage of the review process:
The following resources inform and support UniSA's SPRT process.
Additional resources:
The Teaching and Innovation Unit offers a variety of options for professional development, including short courses and symposiums. Check out the calendar to find out what's on.
Core concepts, quizzes and online lessons: To adapt your teaching requires a commitment to developing your skill-set and possibly collaborating with the TIU.