Dr Tessa Dunseath said staff feedback was incorporated into the tool's development.

The peer review programme will be implemented this year across Monash campuses to measure the effectiveness of all teaching academics.

An initial batch of 60 Monash University Sunway campus academics who received training on peer-review instruments last year will form the first group of “reviewers”.

“We have trained them and now it is upon them to train others in their School,” said Professor of Medical Education Dr Tessa Dunseath.

She added that the panel of 60 would be given refresher sessions.

Last year, Dr Dunseath had secured a grant from Prof Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching) Professor Marnie Hughes-Warrington.

“Peer review is an important mechanism for developing excellence in teaching. It is also a reflective tool that is growing in importance for both personal growth and professional development,” Dr Dunseath said.

In developing the tool, the project team considered cultural differences in feedback, behavioural influences of observers, changes in practice as a result of peer feedback and the design of remedial strategies.

Discussions with staff across Schools were held to incorporate their views in order to improve the peer review instrument.

The peer review program will soon be implemented at the School-level.

Ms Susan Thomas was co-project leader on the peer review instrument project.

Dr Dunseath, together with Co-Project Leader Ms Susan Thomas, collected data from over 240 volunteers from the Sunway campus and the Clinical School in Johor Baru.

The respondents were divided into five groups and their feedback sought. Among the reactions, Dr Dunseath said, was that some respondents felt it was culturally unacceptable to criticise a fellow academic.

“Thus we have tweaked the peer review evaluation tool, and this questionnaire will be disseminated to all Monash University campuses by end August,” she said.