What is a Teaching Portfolio & Why do you need one?
1. The Teaching Portfolio:
What it is & Why you need one
NANCY G. ABNEY
INSTRUCTOR & PROGRAM MANAGER
U A B G R A D U AT E S C H O O L
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
W W W. U AB . E D U / P R O F D E V
NABNEY@UAB.EDU
2. Goals
1. Overview of the Teaching Portfolio:
What it is
Why you need one
2. Getting started on your Philosophy of Teaching
3. Why do you need a portfolio? The benefits.
Balance evidence of your teaching &
research for a well-rounded CV Prepare for job talk
Teaching philosophy is required for most Reflect on & improve teaching
faculty positions
What should you put in yours?
4. What is your primary purpose for attending
this webinar?
Choose the best answer that describes your situation
A) I’m entering the job market soon ( within 6 months)
B) I want to improve and document my teaching
C) I have a teaching portfolio and want to enhance it
D) I’ve heard about teaching portfolios, but am not really
sure what they are, and am curious to learn more
5. Job Growth
Is the basis for Process Portfolio
Product Portfolio
Self-evaluation
Teaching Philosophy & methods
Reflect critically on your practices
Presenting the Evidence
Document your efforts
Document effectiveness
Evaluate the effects
Reflection over time
Snapshot
• Development of teaching
of Best • Describe & track Innovations
6. What is your level of teaching experience?
A) None
B) Assist professor (some guest lectures/ grading)
C) Teach laboratory sections
D) Fully responsible for teaching course(s)
E) Design and teach my own course(s)
7.
8. What the experts say
A coherent set of material that represents your teaching
practice as related to student learning (Mues & Sorcinelli)
Description of effectiveness & accomplishments
Documents & materials covering the scope and quality of a
professor’s performance (Seldin)
<10 pages of organized narrative, plus appendix of
supporting material (8-15 pages)
Peter Seldin (2004) “The Teaching Portfolio” 3rd ed. San Francisdo: Jossey-Bass
Fran Mues & Mary Sorcinelli (2000)“Preparing a Teaching Portfolio” The Center For
Teaching, University of Massachusetts Amherst
9. Elements of the Teaching Portfolio
Philosophy of Teaching
Values Beliefs Attitudes
Goals & Objectives
for self for students
Content delivery method Learning objectives (knowledge & skills)
Treatment of students Professional development
Growth in your field Personal development of students
Efficiency & evolution as a teacher
Evidence of Effectiveness
Student evaluations Innovations Video
Self reflection Teaching responsibilities Podcast
Peer observation New course design Web pages
Expressions of Teaching & Learning
Tests Quizzes Homework Syllabi
Web use Discussions Interactive learning Texts
Final papers Group projects Writing samples
Mid-term evaluations Assignments Other samples of student work
10. What constitutes a good philosophy?
Include specific, personal examples
Convey reflectiveness
Communicate the value of teaching
Tone of enthusiasm, commitment
Student- or learner-centered
Diversity & learning styles
http://www.crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/tstpts.php
Rubric, Strategies, Examples
11. Process: Freewriting
Think of a specific time when you had to
teach (convey information , train, explain
something important to) someone else.
How did you do it?
12. The Teaching Philosophy
“Just because you have never written a statement of your teaching
philosophy, does not mean you do not have a philosophy”
What it is
1-2 pages of first-person narrative
Reflective & personal (not generic)
Includes goals, methods, and assessments
How to write it
Describe your disciplinary context
Begin with the end in mind: What do your students learn?
Tell a story: Give concrete, specific descriptions of your teaching
See “What Constitutes a Good Statement” in CRLT paper
13. Big Questions
What is learning?
How does learning happen?
What are the outcomes of my teaching?
How does a teacher facilitate learning?
What are my goals for students?
How do I know when I’ve met my goals?
(i.e., How do I evaluate learning?)
How do my goals translate into ACTION?
14. Tips
Take time to reflect regularly
Keep a teaching journal
Look at lots of examples, from a variety of fields
Treat teaching as a research project
Gather plenty of evidence—sometimes the evidence
can influence the writing of your philosophy
15. Evidence
Evidence
Your Students Yourself Peers & Mentors
Course Evaluations Syllabi Letters/observations from
Letters & Emails Class Materials supervisors, peers,
Success Stories mentors about your
Assignments teaching
Products of Learning Innovations Evaluations of teaching
- Examples of work Reflections on how materials from others
-Pre/Post scores you improved Teaching improvement
activities
16. Evidence from Yourself: Reflection
Think of a time you overcame a difficult
communication or training issue.
What did you do? Why?
(Action/Method) (Philosophy /Belief)
This is evidence that
You are a reflective practitioner
You are committed to improving your teaching
You are attentive to student learning
17. Basic Elements of a Portfolio
• Classes/guest
lectures
• Training &
mentoring • How I teach & why I
• Lab sessions do it that way
• Personal beliefs • Formal evaluations
• Include detailed about teaching &
learning • Observations • Syllabi
description of role, • Letters
• Goals & objectives • Samples of
• Course credits, • Reflections student work
hours • Unique stories that
reflect my context & • Ongoing feedback • Assignments/
• Course description from classes Homework/
approach
Assessment tools
Roles &
responsibilities Philosophy Evidence Appendix
18. The Teaching Portfolio:
What it is, Why you need one,
& How to get Started
N A N C Y G . A B N E Y, M A - T E S O L
INSTRUCTOR & PROGRAM MANAGER
U A B G R A D U AT E S C H O O L
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
W W W. U AB . E D U / P R O F D E V
NABNEY@UAB.EDU
19. FAQs
Should I include “negative” student comments?
http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/cat.html
What if I don’t have much teaching experience?
Should I send my portfolio unsolicited?
Sometimes teaching is invisible: SOTL (writing poetry: a month’s work to produce a few lines that can be read in seconds and looks effortless) Most common purpose is for hiring, promotion, and tenure3. Prep for job talk even if outside academia: planning, problem solving, managing information & people4. The surgeon with a coach
Process = Bench Research. Product = Paper you publish. Just as with research, you cannot have the final product without the process behind it. The better your process, the better the product.
1.Philosophy, describe courses, TA responsibilities\\2. Unit plan = syllabus, assignments, group projects (summative & formative assessments, CATs)3. Any activity you undertake to become a better teacher, including this webinar, personal reflections5. MERIT program, for example6. Evaluations (student, peer, mentor)
Begin at end: bc when you start teaching, you begin with student learning in mind. Appendix—anything you created for class or used in class: (Scans of students’ drawings & mentored posters)What expressions to include: based on your philosophy, grounded in sound pedagogical practice: Evidence-based teaching, SOTL & Neuroscience. What you believe to be true about teaching & learning, the philosophy is the foundation on which everything else is built. (focus on learning goals for students) Wghterh Process or Product, you want to follow best teaching practices and keep in mind what employers are looking for:
Survey of search committee chairs reported these qualities.Link to rubric, highlight importance of reflection in addressing diversity. So this is the product. How do we get there?
Mention plagiarising others’ philosophiesMany students said “she’s very approachable & always available”—obviously a value, but not mentioned in the philosophy.
Create your own student & mentor evaluations for guest lecturesBase questions on your philosophy beliefs. Send ppt slides/ materials to profs for feedback (inlcludespecifiec questions for focused evidence)
Example: students did poorly on the mid-termThink about teaching in a broader context
Turn the negative Positive: Instructive feedback can fuel growth Keep an open dialogue w/ students get feedback early & often on content & teaching (1-minute paper, brief questionnaire) TA feedback example CATs