Enrich Your Teaching and Your Students' Learning: Become a MERLOT Peer Reviewer
Brief Abstract
As a professional, you want to support your students in their learning. Each MERLOT review gives you an opportunity to think about how a material would be useful in your classroom, as you look for quality of content, ease of use, and potential effectiveness as a teaching tool. Tune in….
Presenters
Extended Abstract
As an educator, you want to support your students in their learning. At the same time, you want to develop your skills as well. MERLOT Peer Reviewing allows you to become acquainted with new materials, techniques, and tools that can enrich your teaching and your students' learning. As you examine the material in your disciplinary area, you are asked to determine its quality of content, its potential effectiveness as a teaching tool, and its ease of use. As a result, you often find a material that can enhance your course, or a tool that makes your life or your students' lives easier. This is great professional development that can take as little (2 reviews per year) or as much (15+ reviews per year) as you'd like.
MERLOT Peer Reviewers are instructors or designers in higher education, or in the case of Teacher Education, instructors in K-12.
To become a Peer Reviewer for MERLOT, individuals should have:
• Expertise in the scholarship of their field
• Excellence in teaching, with a few exceptions
• Experience in using technology in teaching and learning, and
• Connections to professional organizations in their discipline.
MERLOT has developed an orientation for Peer Reviewers to ensure that they become familiar with MERLOT processes and policies on Peer Review. MERLOT Management conducts GRAPE Camp (Getting Reviewers Accustomed to the Process of Evaluation) to assist Peer Reviewers on a regular basis. GRAPE Camp consists of a series of three one-hour workshops online, one per week. In these webinars, participants will:
• Develop an understanding of MERLOT
• Learn how MERLOT evaluates Learning Materials
• Conduct a group review
• Complete an Individual Review
• Learn how to use the Workspace tool, and
• Introduce participants to the Editorial Board of their disciplines.
The webinar includes people from a variety of disciplines and is archived so participants can review the material as needed.
You can attend GRAPE Camp Orientation three ways:
• You can attend the live webinars at the dates and times listed below
• You can sign up for the asynchronous session in which the recording of the live session is sent out right afterwards.
• You can opt for our self-study which you complete on your own.
Live sessions are scheduled on the following dates and times
Comments from GRAPE Camp Participants:
“I’ve been reviewing papers for years, but this is the first time I’ve actually been taught how to do it properly. Grape Camp will improve the quality of my work as an author and as a reviewer.”
“It helped me a lot t learn how to make my lesson and materials better by reviewing others. I could find my own problems by watching peer's lessons.”
“I didn't realize that peer reviewers normally receive awards. This definitely interested me”
“It is apparent that MERLOT is a fine organization that appreciates its reviewers and operates as a team.”
“This was a really enjoyable training experience. I'm quite excited at the prospect of applying the skills I learned toward (potentially - hopefully!) improving the OER experience for educators in search of materials.”
“I realized that we can learn a lot by communicating with others who are in the same field with you and MERLOT just provides us this great platform to upgrade ourselves.”
"Overall, this was very well done. I'm glad I participated."
:Cathy is prompt in responding to me (once time zones have been factored in), and has been a useful contact point throughout.”
”Well-designed orientation.”
“It was very helpful for me to do this asynchronously due to changing computer systems in the middle of the training! I am pleased to be part of your reviewer group.”
“Respectful of participant's time by keeping sessions valuable and on-time.”
“I think it’s a great idea and appreciate the time of the facilitator.”
"Grape Camp was a good learning experience. The materials were organized and clear."
"The instructor is knowledgeable, enthusiastic and responsive. Thank you."
"It was an enjoyable and comfortable 'classroom' environment."
"I think Grape camp is a good way to learn about doing reviews. The format is flexible, as in my case I missed a session and could watch the archived presentation".
"I thought the amount of time was just right and the instructor was available for questions between instructional sessions."