Overcoming Barriers to Peer Observation and Feedback on Teaching
CLIME | Recorded February 14, 2023
Somnath Mookherjee, MD
Dr. Mookherjee, MD is a professor of medicine at the University of Washington, where he practices perioperative and internal medicine. He directs the UW School of Medicine’s Center for Learning and Innovation in Medical Education (CLIME), supporting teaching excellence, educator development, and educational scholarship. He also mentors medical students as a Colleges faculty member.
Dr. Mookherjee’s scholarship focuses on optimizing clinical teaching, with published work on peer feedback, physical exam education, and more. He is co-editor of several books, including The Handbook of Clinical Teaching and Chalk Talks in Internal Medicine. His contributions have been recognized with national awards for teaching and educational scholarship.
This CLIME Conversation Café, explored the challenges educators face in giving and receiving peer feedback on teaching. Participants discussed common barriers, including discomfort, lack of clarity on best practices, and uncertainty about the value of feedback, and collaborated on practical strategies to address them.
Using evidence-based frameworks, the session emphasized the importance of objective observations, shared mental models, and creating a culture of feedback. Participants also learned how peer observation benefits both the observer and the observed, fosters community among educators, and supports professional development and promotion. Through guided discussion and reflection, attendees walked away with actionable ideas to promote more supportive, effective peer feedback practices in their own teaching environments.
WATCH THE RECORDING
Recorded on February 14 ,2023, Captions Available