PAROSL

EPIC is now supporting an on-going campus-wide initiative from CRESST called the Peer-Assisted Reflections on Student Learning or PAROSL. This UCLA program supports faculty who are interested in (i) incorporating more student-centered, inclusive practices into their teaching and (ii) building their professional teaching portfolios.

PAROSL is different from many peer observation processes in that it is non-evaluative. It is designed to foster collaboration, reflection, and innovation, not to judge an instructor’s practice. Participants receive training in how to conduct a non-evaluative observation and how to support a colleague in authentic reflection about student learning.

Faculty pairs complete their PAROSL cycle over the course of a quarter, meeting several times to observe each other’s lessons, discuss student learning, and develop an instructor-selected pedagogical innovation that is tailored to the course and the instructor’s goals. Each pair works with a dedicated PAROSL facilitator who trains participants, attends meetings, and answers any questions participants have during the process. Upon completion of their PAROSL cycles, faculty summarize their experience, including the innovation they implemented, in a “teaching innovation narrative.” This document is suitable for inclusion in a professional teaching dossier (if the instructor chooses), as is the official certificate of completion awarded at the conclusion of the program.

EPIC Innovations

This innovation was a collaboration between EPIC and CRESST. The goal was for faculty to engage in the 3-part logic of pedagogical innovation: 1) recognizing a need to better support student learning, 2) implementing an innovation, and 3) reflecting on the process. In these videos, instructors describe how these innovations were implemented in their teaching, the rationale for the innovation, and their reflection on its success.