[Based on extracts from The
Teaching Portfolio by Peter Seldin, Anker Publishing Co., Inc., Bolton,
MA, 1997]
"Because the portfolio
is a highly personalized product, no two are exactly alike. Both content
and organization differ widely from one faculty member to another"
and from one field to another. "The items chosen for the portfolio
depend on the teaching style of the professor, the purpose for which the
portfolio is prepared, and any content requirements of a professor's department
or institution."
"Based on empirical evidence,
certain items clearly turn up in portfolios with much more frequency than
others":
Materials from Oneself
Materials that show that you
have worked to improve your teaching and how you have done so.
Statement of teaching responsibilities
(course titles and numbers, enrollments, required or elective, graduate
or undergraduate)
A reflective statement describing
personal teaching philosophy, strategies and objectives
Representative course syllabi
detailing content and objectives, methods, readings and requirements
Description of curricular
and instructional innovations such as new course projects, materials,
and class assignments and assessment of their effectiveness
Steps taken to evaluate
and improve one's teaching including changes resulting from self evaluation,
time spend reading, and teaching goals for the next few years
Materials from Others
Materials from outside sources
commenting on your development as a teacher.
Statements from colleagues
who have either observed the teacher in action or who have reviewed
his or her teaching materials (e.g., course syllabi, assignments, testing
and grading practices etc.)
Student course or teaching
evaluation data
Distinguished teaching awards
or other recognition of teaching abilities.
Invitations to present at
a conference on teaching (either in one's discipline or on teaching
in general)
Products of Good Teaching
Materials that demonstrate
the learning outcomes in your classroom and reflect on your effectiveness
as a teacher. [Note: you must get the student's permission before using
any of these materials.]
Samples of graded essays
together with comments explaining why they were so graded
Student publications or
conference presentations on course related work
Statements from alumni on
the quality of instruction
Samples of student papers,
creative work, and reports (perhaps together with successive drafts
and the professors comments on how each draft could be improved
Other Items that Might be
Included
A videotape of the instructor
teaching a typical class
Participation in off-campus
activities relating to teaching
A statement by the dept.
chair assessing the teacher's teaching contribution to the department
Description of how instructional
technology has been used to promote learning
The portfolio should "integrate
documents and materials from oneself and others, as well as the products"
of good teaching into a coherent teaching profile. It should be supplemented
and adequately supported by an evidentiary appendix. (To improve coherence,
a small evidentiary appendix may be addended to each section of the portfolio.)
Both portfolio and appendix
should be of manageable size. Eight to ten pages plus supporting materials
is sufficient. A table of contents should be provided to help the reader
navigate the portfolio and to give a sense of the overall structure. The
portfolio should also include a cover sheet with the teacher's name, department,
college and institution, and the date.
[