Stephen McNally
Western Sydney University, Australia
Title: Peer evaluation - ideas, thoughts and opinions related to leadership of large teaching teams
Biography
Biography: Stephen McNally
Abstract
Apart from anecdotal experiences, little is known about the qualities required from unit coordinator’s to effectively lead and manage a large teaching team within a Bachelor of Nursing course. Much of the research literature related to leadership in university education tends to benon- discipline specific. This is probably because it focuses on senior and not on lower end management levels. Historically, nurse academics have developed the leadership and management skills inherent in the unit coordination role "on the job". Ad hoc skill development is unreliable and inefficient and may have been responsible for the many anecdotal experiences where poor team leadership and management skills have been exhibited by unit coordinators. Peer evaluation is a valuable resource that has been used as a strategy to inform academics about their teaching practices. However, a recent search of the literature did not reveal studies specific to using peer evaluation as a strategy to develop teaching team leadership and management skills.Consequently, a peer evaluation survey was developed toencourage all members of the teaching team to provide their ideas; thoughts and opinions related to the unit leadership, management and the teaching and learning activities associated with the unit. This paper will present the results from thepeer evaluation survey that has provided unit coordinators with empirical evidence related to their leadership and management abilities, which can be used for their personal self-development. In addition, an overview of the workshop that was developed from the peer evaluation survey to enhance the leadership and management skills for unit coordinators will be presented.