Does reciprocal peer observation promote the transfer of learning to teaching practice?

This paper investigates whether Reciprocal Peer Observation is an effective practice for promoting Teacher Professional Development. It focuses on analysing the Improvement Goals transfer processes stemming from teachers' own educational approach, which teachers identify during Reciprocal Peer Observation. A total of 230 teachers, paired together, conducted a second classroom observation, focused on a specific Improvement Goals to assess the extent of their transfer. The findings indicate that Improvement Goals transfer to classroom practice occurs predominantly. The study analyses predictive and facilitating factors that contribute to this process. The results reveal that collaborative culture and collective agency are predictive factors for transfer. Similarly, personal factors arising from reflection and awareness of one's own practices, alongside the support of the partner, could promote the identified processes of improvement. In conclusion, Reciprocal Peer Observation can be regarded as a highly effective practice for identifying Improvement Goals and transferring them to the classroom, benefiting Teacher Professional Development.

Practitioner points
Participation in one cycle of Reciprocal Peer Observation promotes the transference of Improvement Goals to the teaching practice and significantly contributes to Teacher Professional Development.

School's collaborative culture and collective agency, focused on positive interdependence, are predictive factors for the successful implementation of Improvement Goals in classroom practice.

Personal competencies—such as perceived efficacy, responsibility, and motivation—and contextual factors—such as the value of partner support and the availability of opportunities to implement Improvement Goals—act as levers for the successful Improvement Goals transference.