Online and Hybrid Course Observation

Instructors may wish to have their online and hybrid course materials reviewed. CELT utilizes Quality Matters (QM), a faculty-centered, peer review process based on best practices to measure online and hybrid courses’ quality.

QM self-review tool

Course self-reviews engage instructors in deliberate thinking about the critical components that make their online courses effective. A Quality Matters Self-Review tool uses the QM Rubric to help instructors reflect on their plans around the course-specific logistics, learning objectives, assessments, instructional materials, learner activities, interaction, course technology, learner support, and accessibility and usability. 

ISU’s instructors can create a free QM account to activate the semi-automated Self-Review tool inside the QM website under “Course Review Management Systems” in the top navigation bar. Once completed, a pdf version of the self-review can be exported and shared with peer observers.

Quality Matters as a collegial peer review process

Upon request, CELT can perform an internal review of online course design through a consultation centered on course and pedagogy before instructors’ teaching is observed by teaching peer reviewers. The internal review uses the QM self-review tool performed by the CELT experts trained in the QM review processes and the QM underlying principles of collegiality, collaboration, continuous course improvement, and research-based commitment practices. Such reviews focus on course design only and are formative by nature. Not under review are the actual delivery of online courses and student-to-student and student-to-instructor actual interactions. Sharing the review results with teaching peer reviewers is at the discretion of observed instructors.