COPUS-TA: An “Entry-Level” Peer Observation Tool to Support Teaching Assistant Professional Pedagogical Development

When coordinating teams of teaching assistants (TAs) in our courses, it can be time and resource prohibitive to provide mentorship for individual professional development of their teaching. Peer observation of teaching is a useful and effective approach for professional development and for forming a community of practice that TAs can engage in. However, structured peer observation can require substantial training – which may make it infeasible for large teams of TAs with variable teaching expertise and limited contract hours. This article describes the development of an observation protocol, adapted for the TA context, from the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS; by Smith et al. 2013). We have used this successfully, with very minimal training (15-min discussion plus one practice observation). I include the modified form (COPUS-TA) for practical and immediate use in supporting the development of TAs’ teaching skills.