Teaching Portfolio

What is a Teaching Portfolio?

A Teaching Portfolio is a representation of the teaching experience of a given individual. A well-developed Teaching Portfolio will show evidence of teaching reflected in a Curriculum Vitae (CV), student course feedback, observational feedback by peers and/or supervisors, self-reflection by way of a teaching statement (philosophy) and materials to ground all of the above, such as sample lesson plans and syllabi. As an additional resource, Graduate Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has a nice page on constructing a Teaching Portfolio Links to an external site..

Teaching Portfolios can serve multiple purposes.

Self-Reflection - A critically reflective teacher will compile a Teaching Portfolio simply to track his or her development as a teacher. A Teaching Portfolio is fluid like the teacher's style - always evolving to reflect the latest and greatest version of the teacher. As such, documents will come and go as new and improved iterations come to be. For example, revised teaching statements will replace old, less mature versions - capturing growth in perspectives about how students learn, how to integrate technology in the classroom, how to effectively align learning objectives and assessments, etc. Likewise, lesson plans and course syllabi will change (hopefully for the better) through the reflective process to show a parallel trajectory alongside the evolving teaching statement. Along the lines of self-reflection, a complete, up-to-date Teaching Portfolio will serve as a teacher's legacy once he or she has retired. Future faculty and students will appreciate the contributions made over a lifetime in the academy.
Getting the Job - Most institutions of higher education require a Teaching Portfolio as part of the application packet. What they expect in the portfolio may vary from institution to institution, depending on the emphasis placed on teaching; however, most will expect at the minimum: a CV, a teaching statement and student course feedback. Some institutions ask for the minimum initially and then request additional materials, such as lesson plans or syllabi, at a later time (you're on to round two!).
Keeping the Job - Teaching Portfolios are also a very useful evaluation tool, both for the above-mentioned self-reflective evaluation and also for the more influential reviews at Department and College level (e.g., Retention, Promotion and Tenure (RPT)). In addition, Teaching Portfolios are often needed to strengthen grant applications or award nominations.

Presenting Your Teaching Portfolio

There are various ways to present your Teaching Portfolio. Some institutions may have a set requirement for how you submit it for a new hire process. For example, they may request separate documents for each: teaching statement, student course feedback, CV, etc. They may require everything to be compiled into one document as single PDF file. In some cases, you might be required to submit an e-portfolio through a personal website. Raichle Farrelly, one of CTLE's consultant's developed a simple website Links to an external site. through WordPress Links to an external site. to showcase her professional information.

Teaching Statement or Philosophy

There are many ways to write a teaching philosophy and it is often the case that the best model for an instructor will be a teaching philosophy written by a colleague from the same (or similar) discipline. Given the variety of disciplines in the academy, it is hard to provide a template that will serve everyone. However, there are some universal benchmarks to keep in mind.

In Developing a Philosophy of Teaching Statement Links to an external site., Nancy Chism (1998) recommends the following major components for a Teaching Statement:

Conceptualization of Learning
Conceptualization of Teaching
Goals for Students
Implementation Strategy for Philosophy

Similarly, the above-referenced U of Nebraska site Links to an external site. lists these components:

Your goals for student learning
Your methods for achieving these goals
The methods you use to assess student learning
Your plans for developing or improving student learning

One approach that is often taken when writing a teaching statement is to use figurative language, such as a metaphor, for learning and work with that metaphor throughout the entire statement. Metaphors are used because they read easily and can weave the multiple components of the teaching statement together more cohesively than separated chunks about student learning, teaching, goals, assessment, and implementation. Additionally, metaphors can reflect discipline specific themes. For example, a post-doc in Pharmacology and Toxicology expressed his philosophy of teaching and learning through the metaphor of a chemical experiment in the lab, noting the theory, procedures, evaluations, adaptations, etc. that were required for success. A graduate student in Film and Media Arts composed a teaching philosophy around the analogy of teachers and screen writers - working with the background information on the characters (students), acknowledging that the story sometimes writes itself (honoring situational factors) and highlighting the self-reflective process (working with feedback to revise practice).

When it comes time to write or revise your teaching statement, read several from within and outside your discipline. Browse sites that guide you through the process and have others provide feedback. You might be surprised how much your views will change from year to year, especially if you engage in critically reflective practices Links to an external site. and invest in developing your craft. You can browse this small selection of sample teaching philosophies Download sample teaching philosophies

including two from our own CTLE staff. You should also search faculty pages at other institutions to see how others in your field represent themselves. *Note: Not all teaching statements that you find are good examples. Be sure to read a wide sample and consult with your colleagues as you prepare to share your portfolio for hiring and retention procedures. The University of Michigan provides a nice rubric that you can use when self-assessing your teaching philosophy statement. You'll find it embedded (p.7) in an article entitled Writing a Statement of Teaching Philosophy for the Academic Job Search Links to an external site. by Chris O’Neal, Deborah Meizlish, and Matthew Kaplan. They provide survey-based evidence from search committees regarding qualities of effective statements.

Writing and Evaluating a Curriculum Vitae (CV)

There are countless resources available for writing an effective CV Links to an external site.. Like the teaching statement, it is important that you get feedback on your CV and cover letter Links to an external site. when applying for a job. You can turn to peers or the career center in your institution. In general practice, as you update your CV on your faculty profile page, your personal website, LinkedIn Links to an external site., Academia.edu Links to an external site., etc. - invite your colleagues to review your CV from time to time to get a fresh perspective. Have them look for content, style, format and the little mistakes (e.g., spelling, grammar) we easily overlook as the authors. You might want to use a checklist Download checklist

when reviewing your CV (or that of others). Of course, with CVs, it may also hold true that 'imitation is the best form of flattery' - or at least, if someone has done a nice job of creating a model document, feel free to be inspired. In other words, peruse many samples Links to an external site. as you can and find what works for you and your field. These days, with so much of our interpersonal interactions being conducted on a screen, the presentation does matter! Carefully select your fonts, your heading formats, your choice of layout and most importantly, your language.

CTLE Workshop - Teaching Dossier

Below is the video from the Teaching Dossier Workshop hosted by CTLE in November 2012. We offer this workshop every fall as it satisfies one of the requirements of our Higher Education Teaching Specialist Links to an external site. program. During this workshop, we provide opportunities for participants to reflect on their own CV and teaching statement as well as provide meaningful feedback to peers. If you have questions about this workshop or would like additional information about compiling your Teaching Portfolio, we are more than happy to meet with you and provide support and guidance. Please visit our list of consulting services Links to an external site. and make an appointment for 'Syllabus and Materials Review'.