Peer Alliance for Classroom Excellence (PACE)

The 2026 Peer Alliance for Classroom Excellence cohort will be during the 2025-2026 academic year. Registration information for those interested in participating will be posted in Winter 2026. Fill out our PACE interest form to stay in the loop! Faculty of all ranks are eligible to express interest.

Peer observation plays a crucial role in the continuous improvement of teaching practices. By engaging in structured observations of peers, educators can gain valuable insights into alternative teaching methods, effective classroom management strategies, and innovative approaches to student engagement. 

The Peer Alliance for Classroom Excellence (PACE) program is an easy way for faculty to participate in small teams to get peer support and feedback on their teaching practices. Specifically, the goals of PACE are to:

• Promote student success by discussing practical and implementable evidence-based pedagogy.
• Adapt to the ever-evolving educational landscape by providing a space for structured peer feedback and pedagogical exploration.
• Connect faculty across campus by forming teaching teams as a community of practice.
• Expand upon teaching practices through peer observation.

The 2024-2025 Faculty Academy for Teaching Excellence (FATE) cohort piloted a version of PACE and faculty found peer observation inspiring and validating, as well as a great way to build community.

Structure

Once accepted into the program, faculty can expect the following:

1. Welcome session – at the beginning of each quarter, DTEI will host a welcome session focusing on peer observation.
2. Observations and meetings – to be organized by individual teams.
3. Check-ins – at the beginning of each month, faculty can participate in a check-in session to build community and share about what they’ve learned so far.

Note: for faculty applying individually, DTEI will place you in a peer observation team.

Optional and Highly Encouraged

Use the DTEI Peer Observation Protocol. This protocol includes a pre-observation meeting and a post-observation debrief and ideation meeting. Written feedback will allow faculty to more deeply reflect on their own teaching practices, as well as the teaching practices of other faculty. This structured reflective practice can be used in the Reflective Teaching Statement or in preparing documents for Merit and Promotion Review.