Here's a good resource: an adapted version of “Looking for Good Teaching: A Guide to Peer Observation,” by B. B. Helling (1976). It is a surprisingly lengthy checklist for teaching observations that focuses on the "good" elements of the teacher's performance, in the name of specific and positive criticism, rather than "generalities that do not deal with behavior we can do anything about...[which] rather than providing the guidance we had hoped for, they leave us feeling threatened, helpless, and discouraged." I like the optimistic tone of this -- the emphasis on reward rather than punishment. Whether you're looking for help when evaluating or observing another teacher, or simply interested in what sort of things "good" teachers do, you might want to take a look at Helling's checklist.

Discovered at the wonderfully generous Center for Teaching and Learning at Western Michigan University.

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