NOVA Interobservation Programme

The NOVA Interobservation Programme, PIN, is a project of the Núcleo de Inovação Pedagógica open to all teachers at the University.

This programme is multidisciplinary, voluntary, and confidential.

Groups of three teachers are organized to observe lessons between peers in the group. Following these actions, observers and observed give and receive feedback on the lesson observed.

It begins with two sessions prior to the observations: the first is dedicated to presenting the project and identifying what to observe; the second is dedicated to the feedback and reporting techniques to be used in the development of the project.

This is followed by the lesson observation period, in which the participants organize themselves into trios and establish the work schedule.

PIN promotes a network of support and feedback between NOVA professors and instructors by observing each other’s classes in different areas of knowledge.

The goal is to share reflections around good practices, with a view to improving each other’s performance.

In the first instance, participants receive training in observation and feedback techniques. At this stage, the aspects to be observed are negotiated between the observer and the observed. In the second instance, the actual observation takes place, focusing on the agreed aspects using a specific instrument.

Following this, a feedback meeting (post-observation) occurs. The objectives are formative. This initiative aims to contribute to the professional development of teachers, enhance the value of teaching as a dimension/function of higher education faculty, reflect on pedagogical practices in the classroom, stimulate collaboration among teachers from the same and different organisational units at NOVA University Lisbon, and identify aspects of pedagogical practice that require improvement.